Why was the 1967 referendum so successful?
In the 1967 referendum, our nation’s most successful, more than 90% of voters said ‘yes’ to removing discriminatory references to Indigenous people in the Australian Constitution. Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians campaigned side by side for more than a decade to educate the community on the importance of the ‘yes’ vote. Both main political parties also supported the ‘yes’ vote. What’s the difference between Constitutional rights and rights set out in another kind of charter of rights? Constitutional rights can only be changed by a majority of Australians agreeing to a change to the Constitution through a referendum. Governments cannot suspend or ignore the Constitution and can only make laws which comply with it. A legislative charter or statute of rights would be created by our federal government and could be changed or suspended by parliament. Further reading: Reconciliation Australia co-chair Professor Mick Dodson’s speech The continuing relevance of the Constitution for In
