What did the 1967 referendum mean?
The 1967 referendum made history: Australians voted overwhelmingly to amend the constitution to include Aboriginal people in the census and allow the Commonwealth to create laws for them.
What was the referendum for?
The 1967 Referendum sought to change two sections of the Constitution in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
What does referendum mean in Australia?
In Australia, a referendum is a vote used to approve a change to the Australian Constitution. Section 128 of the Constitution sets out certain rules that must be followed in order for a change to be approved.
What was the 1967 referendum and what did and didn’t it change?
The Referendum gave the federal government the power to make laws for First Nations people, but it didn’t require that those laws would ensure equality and wouldn’t be discriminatory.
Why is the referendum important?
The REFERENDUM allows citizens, through the petition process, to refer acts of the Legislature to the ballot before they become law. The referendum also permits the Legislature itself to refer proposed legislation to the electorate for approval or rejection.
How did the referendum affect Australia?
The 1967 referendum did not end discrimination in Australia but instead opened a door for the Australian Government to make specific laws that applied to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that could assist in addressing inequalities.
Did the 1967 referendum fail?
Most Australians thought that the 1967 referendum would allow full citizenship rights for Indigenous Australians. But the referendum didn’t give Aborigines the vote, equal pay or citizenship rights. It also didn’t address their rates of pay or personal freedoms – issues that also needed urgent attention.
Why was the 1967 referendum so important?
The 1967 Referendum was the most successful in our history winning 93 percent of votes cast. This empowered the national government to make laws in respect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that could assist in addressing inequalities.
What is the difference between referendum and vote?
The key difference is what voters are required to write on their referendum ballot paper. In a referendum, voters are required to write either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the box opposite each question on the ballot paper.
How did the 1967 referendum impact Australia?
How did the 1967 referendum affect Australia?
What was the 1967 referendum?
The 1967 Referendum sought to change two sections of the Constitution in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 90.77 per cent of Australian voters voted ‘Yes’ to the changes.
What is referendum?
When an ambassador receives propositions touching an object over which he has no sufficient power and he is without instruction, he accepts it ad referendum, that is, under the condition that it shall be acted upon by his government, to which it is referred.
When was the first referendum used in the United States?
The referendum for constitutional ratification was first used in the state of Massachusetts in 1778. Other forms of referendum and initiative were first used in Swiss cantonal government: the facultative referendum was used in the canton of Sankt Gallen in 1831, the initiative in Vaud in 1845,…
How many referendums have there been in Australia since 1901?
Since 1901, 19 referendums have proposed 44 changes to the Constitution; only eight changes have been agreed to. Before a referendum can take place, the proposed changes must be approved by the Parliament and put to the Australian voting public.