Aboriginal politics

Learn about the Stolen Generations, get to know some Aboriginal politicians and explore essential topics such as the NT intervention or apartheid in Australia.

Selected statistics

3
House of Representative members Aboriginal people could have if they were represented according to their percentage of Australia's population. Number of Senators: 1.
15
Minimum number of Aboriginal candidates in the 2010 Federal election.
32%
Percentage of Australians who trust the media. Same figure for all surveyed countries: 57%.
37%
Percentage of Australians who trust the government. Same figure for all surveyed countries: 41%.
89%
Northern Territory voter turnout in 1996, assisted by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Electoral Information Service (ATSIEIS) which ensured Aboriginal people were on the electoral roll.
68%
Voter turnout in 2010. John Howard had scrapped the ATSIEIS in 1996 after his election.
70%
Percentage of Australians who think improving Aboriginal living conditions should be a high or very high priority for the government.
1984
Year it became compulsory for Aboriginal people to vote.
58%
Percentage of surveyed Australians saying that Australian politicians do not know enough about Aboriginal history and culture.
52%
Percentage of Australians who think Australian politicians have not learned from past successes and failures in Aboriginal policy.

List of articles

I clearly recollect the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Gough Whitlam, standing before 60 of us Aboriginal people and asking that we tell him what we wanted from his government rather than 'what we think is best for you'. No other Prime Minister had ever made that statement and nobody since, including Kevin Rudd.

— Chicka Dixon, Aboriginal activist and humanitarian

Story: Like in a James Bond thriller

Stephen Hagan, an Aboriginal academic, tells how he felt when he had to do business at an office for Aboriginal-specific services.

"I had cause to visit a Indigenous-specific office in Brisbane with a relative to speak to a public servant and was appalled to observe the process we had to go through in securing a face-to-face meeting.

We had to press a button on a blank wall - there was no Indigenous art decor to speak of or sitting room to take a seat in - and wait for an anonymous voice to come over the intercom to direct us to another floor where someone observing our movement on a security camera continued to direct us through slowly opening doors.

At the end of a series of manoeuvres that wouldn't look out of place in a James Bond thriller, we arrived at our destination to be greeted by a non-Indigenous public servant in a most uninviting meeting room.

I shook my head and knew at that instant why Indigenous clients don't visit these offices..."

References

View article sources (4)

[1] [1a] 'Hopefuls ready to face voters', Koori Mail 482 p.7
[2] [2a] 'Distrustful nation: Australians lose faith in politics, media and business', SMH 21/1/2017
[3] [3a] 'Election wrap up - it's a worry', Koori Mail 484 p.23
[4] [4a] [4b] 'Opinion poll scathing of Government', Koori Mail 459 p.3

Cite this page

Korff, J 2019, Aboriginal politics, <https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics>, retrieved 19 March 2024

Creative Spirits is a starting point for everyone to learn about Aboriginal culture. Please use primary sources for academic work.

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