Indigenous rights in Australia, 40 years after referendum

KERRY O'BRIEN: This Sunday will mark 40 years since that embarrassingly long overdue referendum in which Aborigines were finally given full citizenship rights in their own country.

The overwhelming "yes" vote was the culmination of a 10-year campaign by white and black Australians, led by the daughter of a South Sea Islander slave, Faith Bandler.

At the time it was widely hoped the referendum would also deliver something closer to equality for Aborigines, but after more than 100 years of deep inequality, Aborigines were also looking for justice.

Forty years on, the push for Aboriginal rights has produced mixed results. The poor health and poverty rates of Aboriginal communities remain an international blight.

Deborah Cornwall reports on the campaign which led to the 1967 referendum, and its legacy.

Indigenous viewers are warned that this story contains images of people now deceased.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 24/05/2007
Reporter: Deborah Cornwall

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