Australia marks 50th anniversary of historic aboriginal referendum
Source: Xinhua   2017-05-26 11:51:34

by Sophie Heizer

CANBERRA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Australia is celebrating this week the 50th anniversary of one of the most significant days in its history -- the 1967 national referendum which gave indigenous Australians the right to vote for the first time.

Until that historic day, May 27, 1967, indigenous Australians were not counted as a part of Australia's population in the census, regarded instead as "non-citizens".

But the nation came together 50 years ago to resoundingly right that historic wrong, with 90.7 percent of Australians voting "Yes" to changing two key parts of the constitution.

These changes essentially recognized Aborigines as Australian citizens, and prohibited the federal government from making laws specific to Indigenous people in any state.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addressed Parliament on the issue on Wednesday, saying the referendum helped bring Australia together as a more united and cohesive society.

"This week we honor those milestones that helped our nation chart a course towards reconciliation and healing -- the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, 25 years since the Mabo High Court decision, and 20 years since the Bringing Them Home report," Turnbull told Parliament.

"Fifty years ago, laws and regulations controlled where our First Australians could and couldn't move and what they could and couldn't do -- lives limited, lives demeaned, lives diminished.

"Generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were removed from their families and communities. We acknowledge that this removal separated children from their mothers and fathers, their families, their lands, their languages and cultures cared for by their ancestors for over 50,000 years."

Sydney Swans champion Lance Franklin is one of 10 Australian football players who will mark the 50th anniversary this weekend by changing their guernsey numbers for the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.

Franklin and six others from different Australian Football League (AFL) teams will wear the number 67 in memory of the historic day, while three other players will wear the number 50 to commemorate the anniversary.

The Australian Mint has released a special 50 cent coin to celebrate the referendum and the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision, featuring Eddie Mabo's face.

The Mabo decision was a legal decision made by the High Court of Australia on June 3, 1992 to recognize Indigenous Australians as the traditional owners of the land, spearheaded by Eddie Mabo.

To coincide with the three important indigenous anniversaries this week, delegates from Aboriginal communities in each state have gathered at Uluru, a spiritual meeting place in central Australia, to discuss constitutional reform which would recognize indigenous Australians as the nation's "first people".

Noel Pearson, prominent indigenous lawyer, academic and land rights activist, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday that Constitutional Recognition talks being held in Uluru were "the start of a long, arduous trek".

"I think this is a very important opportunity. It's one that many Indigenous peoples have been fighting for for a long, long time," Pearson said.

"There is a structural issue here. A structural issue of disempowerment, and the place that power starts in our country is the constitution and we can no longer be token about this question."

"We've got to fully empower Indigenous people to have a voice in their own destiny, and a destiny that will succeed or fail because of our own contribution to it and our determination to lift ourselves out of our powerless condition."

The federal government is also supporting celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the referendum with 2.5 million Australian dollars in grants for local councils.

Every local council is eligible for a one-off 5,000 Australian dollars grant to partner with a local Indigenous organization for celebrations during the National Reconciliation Week.

The funding is an opportunity for local councils to work in partnership with a local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organization.

There are also hundreds of smaller celebration parties planned in towns and outback communities across the country.

Editor: ZD
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Australia marks 50th anniversary of historic aboriginal referendum

Source: Xinhua 2017-05-26 11:51:34
[Editor: huaxia]

by Sophie Heizer

CANBERRA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Australia is celebrating this week the 50th anniversary of one of the most significant days in its history -- the 1967 national referendum which gave indigenous Australians the right to vote for the first time.

Until that historic day, May 27, 1967, indigenous Australians were not counted as a part of Australia's population in the census, regarded instead as "non-citizens".

But the nation came together 50 years ago to resoundingly right that historic wrong, with 90.7 percent of Australians voting "Yes" to changing two key parts of the constitution.

These changes essentially recognized Aborigines as Australian citizens, and prohibited the federal government from making laws specific to Indigenous people in any state.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addressed Parliament on the issue on Wednesday, saying the referendum helped bring Australia together as a more united and cohesive society.

"This week we honor those milestones that helped our nation chart a course towards reconciliation and healing -- the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, 25 years since the Mabo High Court decision, and 20 years since the Bringing Them Home report," Turnbull told Parliament.

"Fifty years ago, laws and regulations controlled where our First Australians could and couldn't move and what they could and couldn't do -- lives limited, lives demeaned, lives diminished.

"Generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were removed from their families and communities. We acknowledge that this removal separated children from their mothers and fathers, their families, their lands, their languages and cultures cared for by their ancestors for over 50,000 years."

Sydney Swans champion Lance Franklin is one of 10 Australian football players who will mark the 50th anniversary this weekend by changing their guernsey numbers for the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.

Franklin and six others from different Australian Football League (AFL) teams will wear the number 67 in memory of the historic day, while three other players will wear the number 50 to commemorate the anniversary.

The Australian Mint has released a special 50 cent coin to celebrate the referendum and the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision, featuring Eddie Mabo's face.

The Mabo decision was a legal decision made by the High Court of Australia on June 3, 1992 to recognize Indigenous Australians as the traditional owners of the land, spearheaded by Eddie Mabo.

To coincide with the three important indigenous anniversaries this week, delegates from Aboriginal communities in each state have gathered at Uluru, a spiritual meeting place in central Australia, to discuss constitutional reform which would recognize indigenous Australians as the nation's "first people".

Noel Pearson, prominent indigenous lawyer, academic and land rights activist, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday that Constitutional Recognition talks being held in Uluru were "the start of a long, arduous trek".

"I think this is a very important opportunity. It's one that many Indigenous peoples have been fighting for for a long, long time," Pearson said.

"There is a structural issue here. A structural issue of disempowerment, and the place that power starts in our country is the constitution and we can no longer be token about this question."

"We've got to fully empower Indigenous people to have a voice in their own destiny, and a destiny that will succeed or fail because of our own contribution to it and our determination to lift ourselves out of our powerless condition."

The federal government is also supporting celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the referendum with 2.5 million Australian dollars in grants for local councils.

Every local council is eligible for a one-off 5,000 Australian dollars grant to partner with a local Indigenous organization for celebrations during the National Reconciliation Week.

The funding is an opportunity for local councils to work in partnership with a local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organization.

There are also hundreds of smaller celebration parties planned in towns and outback communities across the country.

[Editor: huaxia]
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