Treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

In the 1940s and 1950s, the government’s policy towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was one of assimilation. This meant that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were told to live in the same way as the non-Indigenous population. This did not work because they did not want to lose their traditional cultures.

In the 1960s, the policy changed to one of integration. Most men in Australia gained the right to vote in the 1850s, but Commonwealth voting rights were not extended to all Aboriginal peoples until 1962. As part of this integration, Aboriginal peoples were given civil liberties but they were still expected to adapt to non-Indigenous Australian culture.

In 1967, more than 90 per cent of Australians voted ‘Yes’ in a historic referendum that allowed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be counted in Australia’s five-yearly Census of Population and Housing. This showed that, at the time, the vast majority of Australians thought Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be given the same rights as everyone else.

This broadening of society’s values and strong Aboriginal protest led to the introduction of self-determination as a key guiding principle for policy-making in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The government recognised the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples having a say in their own political, economic, social and cultural development.

Protests over land rights gained public attention in the 1960s with the Gurindji Strike at Wave Hill in the Northern Territory. Aboriginal stockmen, led by Vincent Lingiari, walked off the job at the cattle station in protest of pay and working conditions. Their actions led the way for Eddie Mabo and others to fight for land rights.

Under the 1976 Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act, Aboriginal peoples were granted areas of land in outback Australia. In the early 1990s, the High Court’s Mabo decision and the Native Title Act 1993 recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had a claim to land based on their own traditional laws and customs.

A growing proportion of Australia is covered by native title determinations. In these areas, aspects of traditional society continue.

In May 1997, the ‘Bringing them home’ report was presented to the Australian Parliament. The report was the result of an inquiry into the removal of large numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. These children came to be known as the ‘Stolen Generations’. As a result of the report, thousands of Australians showed support for their Indigenous fellow Australians by marching together on the first national ‘Sorry Day’ in 1998.