Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the vote.
It was 1962 before all Indigenous Australians gained the right to vote, and another 21 years before voting for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples became compulsory.
Why did this happen?
There was a widespread belief Indigenous Australians were a dying race who needed to be 'protected', or looked after. Each state had an Aboriginal Protection Act which allowed them to put Indigenous Australians on reserves and make them wards of the state. Because they were treated as dependents, it was thought Indigenous people did not need the vote. In 1949 following the Second World War, attitudes began to change. People felt Indigenous Australians who had served in the military, and who had been willing to put their lives on the line for their country, should have the vote. In 1961, it was recommended all Indigenous Australians be given the right to vote at federal elections. The following year, the Parliament amended, or changed, the Commonwealth Electoral Act to do just that. However, unlike other Australians, Indigenous people did not have to vote. Voting was only compulsory for those who enrolled to vote. In 1983 when the Commonwealth Electoral Act was amended to make it compulsory for all Indigenous Australians to vote. |
So it was a LONG WAIT for
voting to be fair. Click here |