Voting rights of Australian Aboriginals
Encyclopedia
Historically the voting rights of Australian Aborigines, or Indigenous Australians
, had been restricted in Australian parliaments
and local government
bodies.
, got a polling station in the 1890s and Aboriginal men and women voted there in South Australian elections and voted for the first Commonwealth Parliament
in 1901. However, it was not until 1983 that Indigenous Australians had equivalent voting rights to other Australians, that is compulsory voting at all Commonwealth elections.
Section 41 of the Australian Constitution
is designed to ensure the right to vote in Australian Commonwealth elections to those who have the right to vote in state elections. The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902
, provided that "No aboriginal native of Australia ... shall be entitled to have his name placed on an Electoral Roll unless so entitled under section forty-one of the Constitution". However, Sir Robert Garran
, the first Solicitor-General, interpreted section 41 to give Commonwealth voting rights only to those who were already State voters in 1902, limiting those rights to a theoretical maximum of only a few hundred Indigenous people.
Garran’s interpretation of section 41 was challenged in 1924 by Mitta Bullosh a Melbourne resident Indian
who had been accepted as a voter by Victoria
but rejected by the Commonwealth. He won his case in the District Court, and the Commonwealth government later withdrew a High Court challenge to the magistrate's ruling. The Electoral Act was subsequently amended. These developments were confined to British subjects of Asian origin resident in Australia. They had no effect on right to vote of Aboriginal people.
In 1949
the Chifley
Labor
government passed an Act to confirm that all those who could vote in their States could vote for the Commonwealth. This gave the right to vote to Aboriginal people in all states except Queensland and Western Australia.
In 1962 the Commonwealth Electoral Act was amended to give Indigenous people the right to enroll and vote in Commonwealth elections irrespective of their voting rights at the state level. If and only if they were enrolled, it was compulsory to vote. However, enrolment itself was not compulsory and it was illegal under Commonwealth legislation to encourage indigenous people to enrol to vote.
In 1983 the Act was amended to remove optional enrollment for Indigenous people, removing all discrimination based on race in the Australian electoral system.
There is a common misconception that the 1967 referendum gave Aborigines the right to vote. However, this referendum gave the Commonwealth powers to make laws with respect to the Aboriginal people and counted them in the Census
.
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
, had been restricted in Australian parliaments
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
and local government
Local government in Australia
Local government in Australia is the third tier of government, administered by the states and territories which in turn are beneath the Commonwealth or federal tier. Unlike New Zealand, the US or the UK, there is only one level of local government in all states, with no distinction such as...
bodies.
Commonwealth elections
Some Aboriginal people voted in the very first Commonwealth election. Point McLeay, a mission station near the mouth of the Murray RiverMurray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
, got a polling station in the 1890s and Aboriginal men and women voted there in South Australian elections and voted for the first Commonwealth Parliament
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
in 1901. However, it was not until 1983 that Indigenous Australians had equivalent voting rights to other Australians, that is compulsory voting at all Commonwealth elections.
Section 41 of the Australian Constitution
Section 41 of the Australian Constitution
Section 41 of the Australian Constitution is a provision of the Constitution of Australia 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...
is designed to ensure the right to vote in Australian Commonwealth elections to those who have the right to vote in state elections. The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902
Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902
The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which defined who was allowed to vote in Australian federal elections. The Act granted Australian women the right to vote at a national level, and to stand for election to the Parliament...
, provided that "No aboriginal native of Australia ... shall be entitled to have his name placed on an Electoral Roll unless so entitled under section forty-one of the Constitution". However, Sir Robert Garran
Robert Garran
Sir Robert Randolph Garran GCMG KC was an Australian lawyer and public servant, an early leading expert in Australian constitutional law, the first employee of the Government of Australia and the first Solicitor-General of Australia...
, the first Solicitor-General, interpreted section 41 to give Commonwealth voting rights only to those who were already State voters in 1902, limiting those rights to a theoretical maximum of only a few hundred Indigenous people.
Garran’s interpretation of section 41 was challenged in 1924 by Mitta Bullosh a Melbourne resident Indian
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
who had been accepted as a voter by Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
but rejected by the Commonwealth. He won his case in the District Court, and the Commonwealth government later withdrew a High Court challenge to the magistrate's ruling. The Electoral Act was subsequently amended. These developments were confined to British subjects of Asian origin resident in Australia. They had no effect on right to vote of Aboriginal people.
In 1949
1949 in Australia
-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Governor-General – William McKell*Prime Minister – Ben Chifley , then Robert Menzies-State Governors:*Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott*Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack...
the Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government passed an Act to confirm that all those who could vote in their States could vote for the Commonwealth. This gave the right to vote to Aboriginal people in all states except Queensland and Western Australia.
In 1962 the Commonwealth Electoral Act was amended to give Indigenous people the right to enroll and vote in Commonwealth elections irrespective of their voting rights at the state level. If and only if they were enrolled, it was compulsory to vote. However, enrolment itself was not compulsory and it was illegal under Commonwealth legislation to encourage indigenous people to enrol to vote.
In 1983 the Act was amended to remove optional enrollment for Indigenous people, removing all discrimination based on race in the Australian electoral system.
There is a common misconception that the 1967 referendum gave Aborigines the right to vote. However, this referendum gave the Commonwealth powers to make laws with respect to the Aboriginal people and counted them in the Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
.