Commentary
In 1967, 55 years ago, a referendum was held in Australia to allow a change to the Constitution that would remove the last impediment to the recognition of our Aboriginal people as full citizens.
Australians are slow to accept constitutional changes: we have held 44 referenda since federation, but only eight of them returned a positive result.
Yet the 1967 referendum succeeded dramatically—90.77 percent voted YES. It was an extraordinary outcome. It’s a matter of lasting pride to me that I was among those of the voting public who voted in favour.
Of course, 1967 was the era of the student revolution worldwide. Young people were in ferment. Demonstrations demanding change were frequent and often violent. Everywhere policies were changed and governments fell in response to passionate radicalism….