Anniversaries of the 67 Referendum

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30 years on

Native title, particularly the Wik debate, and the launch of the ‘Bringing Them Home’ Report were two major issues receiving wide public exposure and debate during 1997. Both issues very much tested Commonwealth and State governments’ willingness to act for the benefit of Indigenous Australians

The process of reconciliation, which had been formally set up in 1991 had four years to run and the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation convened a major Reconciliation Convention in Melbourne. As part of the Conference, a ceremony was held to honour the FCAATSI campaigners for the 1967 Referendum. ¹

The first Social Justice Commissioner, Mick Dodson, wrote the final report of his five year term, and in Chapter 2 outlined policy changes since the 1967 Referendum, and reflected on the social justice issues that still needed addressing. He said:

“I have asked many people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who have been around for some time what they thought had changed for Indigenous peoples since 1967. The most frequent answer I received was: ‘everything and nothing’. My own answer to this question is the subject of this chapter.

To claim that nothing has changed would be foolish and harmful. Of course things are different today for Indigenous people. But the contours of change have been complex and multi-dimensional. In some areas there have been major improvements, in some areas nothing has changed. In other areas the situation has deteriorated. Indigenous affairs exist in the context of a changing Australia and a changing world. As some obstacles are overcome, others come into play. As some problems are addressed their shape changes.”

He goes on to give a “considered appraisal of the last thirty years”, exploring the dynamic of change in Indigenous affairs and seeking to “offer some explanations for both the stagnation and the improvements of the last three decades”. ²

_{(1) The people's movement for reconciliation : proceedings of the Australian Reconciliation Convention. Book 1, [Canberra, ACT : Communications Section, Aboriginal Reconciliation Branch, Dept. of Prime Minister & Cabinet], 1997 p.
(2) Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commission, fifth report 1997, Canberra : Australian Govt. Pub. Service, 1997, Chapter 2, p. Link}