Editing History of Australia (section)

====Indigenous Australians====
[[File:Lionel Rose 1968.jpg|thumb|alt=Portrait of Lionel Rose|[[Lionel Rose]], 1968 [[Australian of the Year]]]]
[[File:Evonne Goolagong 1971.jpg|thumb|Tennis No. 1 [[Evonne Goolagong]] was 1971 [[Australian of the Year]]]]

The 1960s proved a key decade for Indigenous rights in Australia, with the demand for change led by Indigenous activists and organisations such as the [[Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders]], and embraced by the wider population as citizenship rights were extended.<ref>Haebich, Anna; Kinnane, Steve. "Indigenous Australians". ''The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 2''. p. 344-5</ref>

At the start of the decade, Aboriginal affairs were still regulated by state governments and, in the Northern Territory, by the Australian government. In most states Aboriginal Australians were banned from drinking alcohol and their freedom of association, movement and control of property was restricted. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory banned Aboriginal people from voting and Queensland and Western Australia controlled their right to marry. Aboriginals were often subjected to unofficial "colour bars" restricting their access to many goods, services and public facilities, especially in country towns.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Broome|first=Richard|title=Aboriginal Australians|publisher=Allen and Unwin|year=2019|isbn=9781760528218|edition=fifth|location=Sydney|pages=219–25}}</ref>

The official policy of the Australian government and most state governments, however, was the assimilation of Aboriginal people into mainstream culture.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Haebich|first1=Anna|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 2|last2=Kinnane|first2=Steve|pages=344|chapter=Indigenous Australians}}</ref> In 1962, the [[Menzies Government (1949–1966)|Menzies Government]]'s ''Commonwealth Electoral Act'' gave Indigenous people the right to vote at federal elections. In 1965, Queensland became the last state to confer state voting rights on Aboriginal people.<ref name="autogenerated522">{{cite web|title=AEC.gov.au|url=http://aec.gov.au/Voting/indigenous_vote/indigenous.htm|access-date=14 July 2011|publisher=AEC.gov.au}}</ref><ref>Geoffrey Bolton (1990) p.190</ref>

In 1963, the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land sent a bark petition to the Australian parliament asking for recognition of their traditional land rights. They subsequently took their case to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory which ruled against them in September 1971.<ref>Broome, Richard (2021). pp. 227–9</ref> In 1965, [[Charles Perkins (Aboriginal activist)|Charles Perkins]], helped organise [[Freedom Ride (Australia)|freedom rides]] into parts of Australia to expose discrimination and inequality. In 1966, the [[Gurindji Strike|Gurindji]] people of Wave Hill station commenced the [[Gurindji strike]] in a quest for equal pay and recognition of land rights.<ref>Geoffrey Bolton (1990) pp. 193, 195</ref>

In 1966, the Australian government gave Aboriginal people the same rights to social security benefits as other Australians.<ref>SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision) 2020, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators 2020, Productivity Commission, Canberra. Section 1.7</ref> A [[Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)|1967 referendum]] changed the [[Australian constitution]] to include all Aboriginal Australians in the national census and allow the Federal parliament to legislate on their behalf.<ref>Geoffrey Bolton (1990) pp. 190–94. The vote represented a record in terms of support for constitutional change.</ref> A Council for Aboriginal Affairs was established.<ref>Geoffrey Bolton (1990) pp. 190–94.</ref>

Popular acclaim for Aboriginal artists, sportspeople and musicians also grew over the period. In 1968, boxer [[Lionel Rose]] was proclaimed [[Australian of the Year]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/may/11/lionel-rose-obituary Lionel Rose obituary]; The Guardian; 11 May 2011</ref> That same year, artist [[Albert Namatjira]] was honoured with a postage stamp.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/namatjira-albert-elea-11217#:~:text=Albert%20(Elea)%20Namatjira%20(1902%2D1959)%2C%20artist,Namatjira%20and%20his%20wife%20Ljukuta. Albert (Elea) Namatjira (1902–1959)]; Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref> Singer-songwriter [[Jimmy Little]]'s 1963 Gospel song "[[Royal Telephone]]" was the first No.1 hit by an Aboriginal artist.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jimmy-Little Jimmy Little]; Encyclopedia Britannica online</ref> Women's Tennis World No. 1 [[Evonne Goolagong Cawley]] was celebrated as Australian of the Year in 1971.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lewis, Wendy|author-link=Wendy Lewis|title=Australians of the Year|publisher=Pier 9 Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-74196-809-5}}</ref>

[[File:Adam Giles Portrait 2015.jpg|thumb|Country Liberal [[Adam Giles]] became the first indigenous Australian to head a state or territory government when he became [[Chief Minister of the Northern Territory]] in 2016.]]

[[Neville Bonner]] was appointed Liberal Senator for QLD in 1971, becoming the first federal parliamentarian to identify as Aboriginal. [[Eric Deeral]] (QLD) and [[Hyacinth Tungutalum]] (NT) followed at a state and territory level in 1974.<ref>[https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1718/Quick_Guides/IndigenousParliamentarians Indigenous parliamentarians, federal and state: a quick guide]; Parliament of Australia</ref> In 1976, Sir [[Doug Nicholls]] was appointed [[Governor of South Australia]], the first indigenous Australian to hold vice-regal office.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/nicholls-sir-douglas-ralph-doug-14920 Sir Douglas Ralph (Doug) Nicholls (1906–1988)]; Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref> By the 2020s, Aboriginal representation in the federal parliament had exceeded the proportion of Aboriginal people in the general population, and Australia had its first Aboriginal leader of a state or territory in 2016, when the Country Liberal Party's [[Adam Giles]] became [[Chief Minister of the Northern Territory]].<ref>[https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2021/Quick_Guides/IndigenousParliamentarians2021#:~:text=Adam%20Giles%20(CLP%2C%20NT%20Legislative,2013%20to%2027%20August%202016. Indigenous Australian parliamentarians in federal and state/territory parliaments: a quick guide]; Parliament of Australia</ref>

In January 1972, Aboriginal activists erected an [[Aboriginal Tent Embassy|Aboriginal "tent embassy"]] on the lawns of parliament house, Canberra and issued a number demands including land rights, compensation for past loss of land and self-determination. The leader of the opposition Gough Whitlam was among those who visited the tent embassy to discuss their demands.<ref>Haebich, Anna; Kinnane, Steve. "Indigenous Australians". ''The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 2''. p. 345-49</ref>

The Whitlam government came to power in December 1972 with a policy of self-determination for Aboriginal people.<ref name="Haebich"/> The government also passed legislation against racial discrimination and established a [[Aboriginal Land Rights Commission|Royal Commission into land rights]] in the Northern Territory, which formed the basis for the Fraser government's [[Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976]].<ref name="Haebich"/>

[[File:CSIRO ScienceImage 4247 Ayers RockUluru in central Australian desert Northern Territory 1992.jpg|left|thumb|Uluru: returned to traditional owners in 1985]]

Following this, some states introduced their own land rights legislation; however, there were significant limitations on the returned lands, or that available for claim.<ref name="aiatsisland2">{{cite web|date=3 June 2015|title=Land rights|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/land-rights|access-date=21 July 2020|website=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies}}</ref> In 1985, the Hawke government handed over [[Uluru]] (Ayers Rock) to traditional owners with a lease back to the Commonwealth.<ref>Broome, Richard (2109). pp. 237–44</ref>

In 1992, the High Court of Australia handed down its decision in the [[Mabo v Queensland (No 2)|Mabo Case]], holding that Indigenous native title survived reception of English law and continued to exist unless extinguished by conflicting law or interests in land. The Keating government passed a Native Title Act in 1993 to regulate native title claims and established a Native Title Tribunal to hear those claims. In the subsequent Wik decision of 1996, the High Court found that a pastoral lease did not necessarily extinguish native title. In response, the Howard government amended the Native Title Act to provide better protection for pastoralists and others with an interest in land.<ref>Haebich, Anna; Kinnane, Steve. "Indigenous Australians". ''The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 2''. pp. 352–54</ref> By March 2019 the Native Titles Tribunal had determined that 375 Indigenous communities had established native title over 39 per cent of the Australian continent, with one third under exclusive title.<ref>Broom, Richard (2019). p. 361-62</ref>

From 1960 the Indigenous population grew faster than the Australian population as a whole. The Aboriginal population was 106,000 in 1961 (1 per cent of the total population) but by 2016 had grown to 786,900 (3 per cent of the population) with a third living in major cities.<ref>Broome, Richard (2019). pp. 216, 320–21, 352–3</ref> Despite the drift to large cities, the period from 1965 to 1980 also saw a movement of Indigenous Australians away from towns and settlements to small [[Outstation (Aboriginal community)|outstations]] (or homelands), particularly in Arnhem Land and Central Australia. The movement to outstations was associated with a wider trend for the revival of traditional culture. However, the expense of providing infrastructure to small remote communities has seen pressure from federal, state and territory governments to redirect funding towards larger Indigenous communities.<ref>Broome, Richard (2019). pp. 247–48, 367–68</ref>

From 1971 to 2006, indicators for Indigenous employment, median incomes, home ownership, education and life expectancy all improved, although they remained well below the level for those who were not indigenous.<ref>Broome, Richard (2019). p. 353-54</ref> High rates of Indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody were highlighted by the report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in April 1991. The Keating government responded with $400 million in new spending to address some of the recommendations of the report. However, by 2001 Indigenous incarceration rates and deaths in custody had increased. Deaths in custody continued at an average of 15 per year during the decade to 2018.<ref>Broome, Richard (2019). pp. 274–78, 363–4</ref>

Richard Broome has concluded: "To close the gap [between Indigenous and other Australians] on inequality and well being will take many years; some despairingly say generations. Compensation for lost wages, for missing out on native title settlements and for being removed from one's family and kin remain unresolved."<ref>Broome, Richard (2019). p. 378</ref>