The Referendum Results

Of the 44 referendum questions put to voters since federation, only 8 have been approved. The Aboriginal question received the highest Yes vote ever. Ironically enough, the nexus question put to voters at the same time – the original reason for having a referendum in 1967 – ended up on the shelf with all the other losers.

The Yes vote on the Aboriginal question was close to 91%. The No vote was highest in the states with the largest number of Aboriginals, and, in other states, highest in the rural or remote areas where there were large numbers of Aboriginals.

In retrospect, this was not a surprising pattern. In some areas with a high Aboriginal population, there is even today some lingering animosity, and distaste for the squalor and unacceptably anti-social behaviour of some Aboriginal fringe-dwellers.

I can't imagine an Aboriginal committing any crime no white person has ever committed; the problem seems to be one of visibility. From an Aboriginal perspective, visibility is not the problem: Getting drunk in public or engaging in acts of domestic violence is something white people are hypocritical enough to keep private.

Despite the widespread lack of information about Aboriginals, or lack of  power to influence the lot of Aboriginals, there have always been whitefellas fighting alongside Aboriginals for Aboriginal rights. More importantly, when we consider the absolute rubbish we were fed as a part of our education, and the accusations we are an indifferent and racist people, the 91% yes vote is pretty high, really.