Australian Indigenous Citizenship
( Penny Tripcony, Manager, Oodgeroo Unit, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.)
(Paper initially presented to the Aboriginal Nations and the Australian Constitution Conference, Old Parliament House, Canberra, 23-24 May 1997; and re-presented for the Oodgeroo Unit Guest Speaker Program, 23 July 1997.)
Preamble
In the early months of 1996, because of my experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education and curriculum development, I was contracted to prepare a background paper from research of ...recent and scholarly literature... on the topic of Australian Indigenous citizenship. The audience for this paper was to be developers of curriculum materials for a proposed national schools' curriculum. At that time, like most Australians with any knowledge of Indigenous issues, I believed that Indigenous citizenship had been formally recognized as a result of the Commonwealth referendum of 1967.
The literature search undertaken revealed a total of 93 items in the form of books, journal articles, research papers and other documents, as well as a few videos and films. Most important, however, was the information contained in those items - information that at first made me feel ashamed of my ignorance. Although I had passed through the schooling system and areas of higher education, and had worked in areas of Aboriginal affairs at both community and systems levels, I had not known the history of Indigenous citizenship and enfranchisement. Following the initial feeling of shame, came anger that content of Australian history and social studies subjects has been selective, with the result that extremely few Australians have been guided towards a sound knowledge of the history of this country.
Introduction
What is citizenship; and how is it determined?
If it is accepted that citizenship status can be determined solely by eligibility to vote, then at the time of the introduction of the Commonwealth Constitution in 1901, many of Australia's Indigenous people were, in fact, citizens. From 1829, the continent of Australia was part of the dominions of the Crown, the inhabitants of which were deemed to be British subjects. Aborigines were not considered separately at that time, thus included in this definition. During the 1850s, the Australian states began to form, and in the constitutions of four of those states British subjects (and therefore Aborigines) were legally entitled to vote. In fact, it has been recorded that Aboriginal people in South Australia did vote; and in New South Wales there is evidence of some voting by Aborigines around the Sydney area.
However, Aboriginal people were later disenfranchised through the passing of the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902, in combination with the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900. The implication of this is, I believe, that Aboriginal voting rights within the states had not been underpinned by notions of goodwill and inclusion, but simply because little, if any, thought had been given to Aboriginal participation in democratic processes.
Full Commonwealth voting rights to Aborigines (and Torres Strait Islanders) were conferred through the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962 - sixty years after the initial Act of Parliament that had removed these rights. Yet, the 1967 referendum is celebrated as the means by which Indigenous Australians gained recognition as citizens. Obviously then, citizenship means more than possessing the right to vote.
Early in our history, debate on 'citizens' and 'citizenship' centred on persons in possession of, or capable of possessing, full national political, economic and social rights and duties. Based on this definition, it was not considered possible for Aboriginal people, who were legally required to live on reserves or missions during the protection era (nineteenth century to the 1940s or 1950s) to be classed as citizens.
It was not until 1948 - the same year as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - that the concept of Australian citizenship was formally defined and came into existence with the passage of the Nationality and Citizenship Act (later the Australian Citizenship Act). Drafted specifically in relation to immigrants, the Act states that:
Australian citizenship represents formal membership of the community of the Commonwealth of Australia; and
Australian citizenship is a common bond, involving reciprocal rights and obligations, uniting all Australians while respecting their diversity...
The meaning of citizenship thus encompasses rights, freedoms, duties and responsibilities. Many of the rights and freedoms available to non-Indigenous Australians (such as those of freedom of expression, movement, spiritual belief, rights concerning education, health and living standards, remuneration for work or service, social security) had in some instances been legislatively denied Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people. Alternatively, many Indigenous Australians had fulfilled citizens' duties and responsibilities, such as allegiance (membership of defence forces), as well as observance of laws, and support for their enforcement ('trackers', 'native police', etc). Although rights and entitlements legislated over a period of time became available to citizens, they were not available to Aborigines; who also suffered impositions such as restrictions on movement both within and away from reserves and missions, denial of freedom of expression and cultural practices, and removal of children. Individual Aborigines, with the exception of those 'exempted', were initially excluded from receiving benefits, such as maternity allowance, child endowment and the age pension. Payments for maternity allowance and child endowment, however, were available to Aboriginal missions or charitable organisations with legal responsibility for Aborigines.
Research on issues relating to Australian Indigenous citizenship reveals numerous complex legislative measures, as well as a range of political, legal and bureaucratic interpretations and contradictions of legislation. The meaning of citizenship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people changes from the British imposed model, to a model based on nineteenth century values that were in turn influenced by social and economic factors impinging on the federation of Australian states, and the emergent Commonwealth of Australia. The two world wars, and particularly the second, led to changed attitudes for several reasons, but the consequent focus on human rights contributed significantly to citizenship issues.
What then, was the 1967 Commonwealth referendum all about?
The 1967 Commonwealth referendum
The referendum required Australian voters to indicate their agreement or otherwise to two proposed changes to sections of The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, which in their original form read as follows:
Section 51: The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution , have the power to make laws for the peace, order, and good Government of the Commonwealth with respect to.....
(xxvi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws;....
And Section 127: In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted.
Changes proposed were the amendment of Section 51
(xxvi) by removing the words ...other than the aboriginal race in any State...; and the repeal of Section 127.
The referendum was conducted on 27 May 1967, with the result that 90.77% of Australian voters supported the changes. McCorquodale (1987:9) notes that:
Of a total of 5,801,584 persons to whom ballot papers were issued in the States, 5,183,113 (a majority in every State) voted in favour of the proposal and 527,007 against. There were 91,464 informal votes. At that time electors in the Territories did not vote in constitutional referenda.
Why was this issue so overwhelmingly supported? To be carried, an issue put to a federal referendum must be supported by a majority of voters in the majority of states; and historically, Australian voters have demonstrated caution when it comes to constitutional/legislative change. ( Of 42 referenda conducted in Australia to date [1997], only 8 have been carried.)
To find some of the answers, I believe we must examine some of the relevant major events since the early nineteenth century within their respective social, economic and political contexts - both nationally and globally.
I have chosen linear approach to assist understanding of the chain of major events that in my view contributed to the 1967 referendum and the widespread support for Aboriginal rights among the Australian voting population. The following is not a so-called 'black armband' view of history. Rather, it is a series of facts chosen from a range of documents and writings, much of the interpretation of which I leave to you, the audience.
Pre-Federation
1901 |
Aborigines were classed as British subjects, legally entitling Aboriginal males to vote in four (South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales) of the six Australian states which had become self-governing during the 1850s. Voting was only exercised by some Aborigines in South Australia and south-eastern Australia. (It should be noted that in 1894 when South Australian women were enfranchised, so too were Aboriginal women eligible to vote.) It should be noted that the 'protection' acts had been introduced in states during the mid-eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. Under these acts, Aborigines were confined to specified reserves, controlled by a manager.
Federation - the Commonwealth was established under the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 , a British Imperial Act. In addition to Sections 51 (xxvi) and 127, of note is Section 41 which states that: No adult person who has or acquires a right to vote at elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of a State shall, while the right continues, be prevented by any law of the Commonwealth from voting at elections for either House of the Parliament of the Commonwealth. The inclusion of this section in the Act was seen ...as a victory for women. (Stretton and Finnimore, 1993.527). While it was initially permitted that the voting rights of those Aboriginal Australians who had been entitled to vote prior to Federation would continue, Aborigines were no longer eligible to register as voters after the carriage of this legislation. Offspring of those early Aboriginal voters were not entitled to vote. 'The Bulletin' reported that coloured 'aliens' were barred from voting. It did not mention that Aborigines were included in the ban. (Ibid, p.527) There were various interpretations in relation to section 41, and several challenges to those interpretations, most of which reflect the 'white Australia' attitudes of the time. Stretton and Finnimore, who have researched this topic in some detail, add comments based on Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, volume 9, of 10 April 1902: Disparaging remarks about non-whites peppered the discussion: 'savages and cannibals', 'idolaters', 'cannibal' and of Aborigines 'no lower type of humanity on this planet'. Many members were certain that the framers of the Constitution had never intended that Aborigines should vote. If they could not be included in the census how could they be allowed to vote? Why were they not to be counted? Because they were disqualified from voting... Clarke and Galligan also discuss official interpretations of the term 'aboriginal native' during these years, and comment: To summarize the situation for this early period 1901 to 1920, formal Commonwealth citizenship entitlements and restrictions separated 'white' European from 'black' non European. (1995:528).
|
1902 |
The Commonwealth Franchise Act disfranchised most Aboriginal people for 60 years, specifically Section 4, which states: No person of unsound mind, attainted of treason, or convicted and under sentence for one year or more is entitled to vote at any election of members of the Senate or House of Representatives. No Aboriginal native of Australia, Asia, Africa or the Islands of the Pacific except New Zealand shall be entitled to have his name on an Electoral Roll unless so entitled under s.41 of the Constitution.
|
1914-1918 |
World War I - although not recognized as Australian citizens, many Aborigines formalized the customary practice of defence of their country by 'signing up' with the armed forces. Although during their time in the services during the first world war, some 300 to 400 Aborigines joined the forces, despite the Defence Act of 1909 which excluded persons not substantially of 'European descent'. At the end of the war, there was no recognition of such efforts. Hall notes that: Although the creation of a national myth at Gallipoli in the First World War had helped white Australians to define themselves, Aboriginal veterans of that war were unable to share in their new national identity, being relegated to inferior and separate status on their return to civilian life and with their cultural heritage under constant assault from white Australian society. (1989:2) Aboriginal men enjoyed the 'mateship' of their fellow servicemen, on their return to 'civilian life' they were again relegated to non-citizen status.
|
1918 |
The Commonwealth Electoral Act. Section 39(5), reaffirmed the 1902 Act - No Aboriginal native of Australia, Asia, Africa or the Islands of the Pacific (except New Zealand) entitled to vote unless so entitled under s.41 of the Constitution.
|
1919 |
In Europe, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and establishment of the League of Nations and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), ...whose aims include promoting better working conditions for employees and upholding freedom of association. In the 1920s, the ILO played an important part in stemming illegal traffic in women and children. (O'Neill and Handley, 1994:11). Conditions for Aborigines in Australia were thus contrary to the work of the ILO.
|
Mid-1920s |
The Association for the Protection of Native Races was re-activated. Originally formed in 1913, this organisation had been dormant for some years. In 1928 it argued for a Royal Commission on the Constitution to give the Commonwealth control of Aboriginal affairs. During the late 1920s and the 1930s, Australia was experiencing economic depression. I believe that during these years there was significant interaction between Aborigines and the itinerant workers from both urban and rural areas who travelled widely in order to obtain seasonal work and odd jobs of various kinds. It was the practice of reserve managers to release (usually temporarily) Aboriginal people to take up duties as stockmen, farm workers, domestic servants, etc. Through this interaction in many instances, living and working conditions were discussed, and bonds were created. Among many of the itinerant workers, unionism and knowledge of labour issues was strong, adding a further dimension to Aboriginal political awareness.
|
1937 |
Aborigines' Progressive Association formed in NSW - fought for granting of full citizenship rights to Aboriginal people. Major players were Bill Ferguson and Jack Patten.
|
1938 |
Australian Aborigines Conference Day of Mourning and Protest, Sydney, 26 January. William Cooper of the Australian Aborigines' Advancement League, joined with the Aborigines' Progressive Association. An Aboriginal deputation to Prime Minister Lyons, 31 January, presented a Long Range Policy for Aborigines' which included the establishment of a Ministry and Department of Aboriginal Affairs with the primary aim ...to raise all Aborigines throughout the Commonwealth to full Citizenship Status...
|
1939-45 |
World War II brought a focus on events overseas. Again, Aboriginal people, and this time, Torres Strait Islanders, participated in the defence of the nation. Also again, the great Australian 'mateship' was experienced during the years of service, but upon being discharged at the end of the war, Indigenous servicemen and women returned to their previous status.
|
1945 |
The United Nations Charter was drawn up at the San Francisco Conference, April-June. O'Neill and Handley (1993.12) comment that ...the importance of human rights was affirmed in the preamble to the Charter which states: We the peoples of the United Nations, determined...to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small...do hereby establish an international organisation to be known as the United Nations. Article 1 of the United Nations Charter further states: To achieve international co-operation...in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all with distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. O'Neill and Handley point out that The UN Charter does not, however, spell out what are these rights and freedoms.
|
1949 |
Commonwealth Electoral Act extends voting rights to Indigenous people who had been, and/or continued to be, members of Defence Forces. In addition to overseas service, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders had played an important part in the protection of northern Australia during the Second World War (Hall 1989, 1991). Because of the Commonwealth's assimilation policy at the time, the lesser pay rates for Indigenous servicemen and non-recognition on return (except to receive voting rights under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1949) led to anger and resentment. ( These issues have only recently been brought to public notice.)
|
1956 |
Australia hosted the Olympic Games in Melbourne, and international attention was focused on this event. With the event came the introduction of television, leading to increased and immediate media coverage of Australian content, both glorious and shameful, which over the following few years reached a wide viewing audience. Given the status and living conditions of the majority of its Indigenous population, how was the Australian nation, as a party to international human rights agreements, to perceive itself, and to be seen by others?
|
1957 |
Two major events occurred during this year. Firstly, Jessie Street's Petition calling for a referendum to include Aborigines in the census, was received and read in the House of Representatives, 14 May. Street had been an active member of the Anti-Slavery Society (London) since 1954, and in Australia from 1956, she firmly believed that a Commonwealth-wide body should be established to pursue Aboriginal citizenship and a referendum for Commonwealth jurisdiction over Aboriginal affairs. Her husband, Sir kenneth Street was the Chief Justice of New South Wales: thus, Jessie Street possessed the status to interact with the nation's decision-makers. Secondly, Albert Namatjira and his wife, Robina, were granted special citizenship rights. Prior to the passage of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962, grants of citizenship were made to a few Aborigines who had become widely recognized in a particular field of endeavour. Such an 'honour' was often short-lived. Special citizenships had devastating effects, simply because they were granted to individuals without understanding or consideration of Aboriginal social structures, kinship obligations or protocols. In 1957, the first people granted special citizenship were Albert Namatjira, whose paintings had been internationally acclaimed, and his wife. At the time, all Aborigines, including the Namatjiras' adult sons, were wards of respective State or Territory directors responsible for Aboriginal affairs. (Shortly after, another citizenship was granted to Robert Tudawali, the actor. Within a short time, the lives of the Namatjiras and Tudawali took tragic turns.)
|
1958 |
The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) was formed. It was this body, that linked with a number of similar organisations in other states, that conducted the campaign for a referendum on Aboriginal issues. FCAATSI membership comprised both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, many of whom were leaders in their own fields of endeavour.
|
1962 |
Commonwealth Electoral Act enfranchised Indigenous people by repealing the exclusion clause of the 1902 Act. Because of their eligibility to vote in state elections, Aborigines in all states except Queensland became eligible to vote during 1962. (Queensland did not extend state voting rights to Aborigines until 1965.)
|
1963 |
Freedom rides, drawing media and public attention to discriminatory practices in New South Wales, were led by Charles Perkins.
|
1966 |
Two Covenants, drafted as the second stage of the International Bill of Rights, following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, were approved by the United Nations' General Assembly on 16 December. These were the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights. (Although it did not take effect until 1976.) The Gurindji people, led by Vincent Lingiari, walked off Wave Hill Station (600 kilometres south-west of Katherine in the Northern Territory). As Sir William Deane described this significant event, ...the ripples from the Wave Hill walk-off and strike were to keep travelling outwards across Australian society, gathering the force of a wave which eventually reshaped the agenda of relationships between indigenous Australians and the wider society. (1996:v)
|
1967 |
A referendum to amend Section 51(xxvi) and repeal Section 127 of the Commonwealth Constitution was, after considerable debate and several deferments (as well as several petitions from FCAATSI), finally put to the Australian people by the federal government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sir Harold Holt. Holt had become Prime Minister in January 1966 - succeeding Sir Robert Menzies - and had signed the United Nations International Accord for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, requiring a redress of the 'White Australia' policy. After the referendum, the Council for Aboriginal Affairs (i.e. Ministers responsible for Aboriginal Affairs in all States, Territories and the Commonwealth) was quickly established by the Federal government to recommend policies and to coordinate programs across States.
|
Summary and Conclusion
I have sequenced the events included within this paper, which are by no means the only factors that led to the dramatic change of official directions on Aboriginal (and Torres Strait Islander) affairs, but I believe they are the major ones.
From documents researched, the initial debates of law-makers clearly expressed that Aborigines were not valued as human beings, hence not worthy of enfranchisement and other rights and entitlements. Later, the awarding of special citizenship status to individuals was done in terms of the values and attitudes of the dominant culture. Awards were given for international recognition, but in white terms. There was no recognition of the awardees' cultural contexts, nor of the social, cultural and legal implications for those individuals granted rights not available to their families and communities. However, there is ample evidence that Aborigines fulfilled their duties and obligations to the nation in a number of ways, particularly in defence of the nation, and in supporting the enforcement of law. Yet, the underlying attitudes of non-recognition and non-valuing of Aborigines prevailed, and continue to this day.
I believe the sequence of events in this paper demonstrates that the widespread support for Aboriginal rights recorded in the 1967 Commonwealth referendum came about largely as part of a ripple effect of international reaction to the Second World War - that same reaction that produced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I do not believe that attitudes of the overall Australian population towards Aborigines have really changed to such an extent that if such a referendum were held in 1997, it would be passed so overwhelmingly.
What happened after the referendum is the subject of another paper. We know that change was initially slow, but has gained momentum as Aboriginal groups and individuals have increased awareness of political and bureaucratic structures and agendas. Whether, in retrospect, the 1967 amendments to the Commonwealth Constitution have led to policies and programs in accordance with expectations of those involved in the referendum campaign, is open to debate.
Although Indigenous Australians met their duties and obligations to both the country and the nation, it took many years for the reciprocal rights and entitlements of citizenship to be bestowed. However, in the struggle there were many supporters: Australians both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, worked together to achieve Indigenous rights. Thus, Walking Together, the theme of the current Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, is not new....it has been here for some time.
Copyright Penny Tripcony, 1997.
References:
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (1994) Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. (Two volume set and CD-Rom versions available.)
Bennett, Scott (1989) Aborigines and Political Power. St.Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Clarke, Tom and Galligan, Brian (1995) Aboriginal Native' and the institutional construction of the Australian citizen." In Australian Historical Studies, 26(105), October 1995. Department of History, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052.
Deane, Sir William (1996) Some Signposts from Daguragu. (The Inaugural Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture, Northern Territory University.) Canberra: Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
Hall, Robert A. (1989) The Black Diggers: Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander in the Second World War Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Hall, Robert A. (1991) Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the Second World War'. Chapter 12, in Desmond Ball (ed) Aborigines in the defence of Australia. Botany, NSW: Australian National University Press.
Jane Hardy, J V S Megaw and M Ruth Megaw (eds) (1992) The Heritage of Namatjira: The Watercolourists of Central Australia. Port Melbourne: William Heinemann.
McCorquodale, John (1987) Aborigines and the Law: A Digest. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
O'Neill, Nick and Handley, Robin(1994) Retreat from Injustice: Human Rights in Australian Law. Leichhardt, NSW: The Federation Press
Skinner, Leslie E (1975) Police of the Pastoral Frontier: Native Police 1849-1859. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press
Stretton, Pat and Finnimore, Christine (1993). Black fellow citizens: Aborigines and the Commonwealth franchise.' In Australian Historical Studies, 25(101), October 1993. Department of History, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052.
Videotape (VHS) (1988) First Citizen. (One of the 'Changing Australia" series.) Sydney: Jupiter Films.
.