The beginning of the end of a bad beginning

The

·        Invalid and Old Age Pensions Act 1908;

·        Maternity Allowance Act 1912;

·        Child Endowment Act 1941;

·        The Widow’s Pension Act 1942; and the

·        Unemployment and Sickness Benefits Act 1944

all excluded Aboriginals. These exclusions were progressively dismantled between 1959 and 1966 - before the Referendum. Some of the original legislation had excluded Aboriginals who were 'nomadic or primitive'.

In the early 1970s it is estimated about 45% of Aboriginals had no health insurance of any kind, and were (like some other Australians) dependent on the charitable inclinations of doctors.

Medibank (which has since morphed into Medicare) first provided free, universal health cover to Australians in July 1975.

In 1968, the Commonwealth commenced funding Indigenous programs in health, education, housing and employment by subsidising state government programs.

Given the political will, this could have happened a heck of a lot sooner.

The 1967 referendum did not lead to any great change except at census time, but it was a turning point in Australia’s legal history.

In 1972, Labor swept into office with Gough Whitlam at the helm. No lover of state governments, his was to be the first federal government which used the new constitutional wording to actively intervene in Aboriginal Affairs.