How Did Charles Perkins Impact Australian Society

Throughout Australian history, there have been men and women who fought for the entitlements of the indigenous people. The most respected and recognised of these is Eddie Mabo, a Torres Strait Islander. Mabo stood up for the rights of his people from a very young age all the way to his death, in order to generate changes in the policies and laws of the government. Mabo battled for his right to own the land which he had inherited from his adoptive father, a fight which was resolved only after his demise. Despite this, Eddie Mabo became one of the key influential figures in the Aboriginal rights movement, as his strong will, determination, and intelligence allowed him to bring about change.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am here to discuss the effects that Neville Bonner had on the land rights and freedoms of aboriginal Australians. Australia has a history of discrimination. This is proven by the amount of effort it took to change the rights of indigenous Australians. One of the most effective aboriginal Australian’s was Neville Bonner, who I will speak about today. Neville Bonner had a significant impact on the rights and freedoms of indigenous peoples due to his involvement in parliament and his determination to live freely as an aboriginal. We will discuss throughout the speech Neville’s background and childhood, the changes he made to the rights of aboriginal peoples and who they impacted, as well as why he decided to make a difference to the lives of aborigines.

The 1967 referendum also had many positive effects. The popular ‘yes’ vote, “was a high water mark for the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people”(Behrendt). In a time of discrimination, this had a big effect on the public. They were also able to realize the harshness Aboriginals dealt with and become aware of their situation and how the government neglected the indigenous people. The Freedom Rides led by Charles Perkins and a group of university students, “brought to the attention of people in the cities the crude and racist conditions that existed in places like Walgett and Brewarrina and garnered public sympathy for Indigenous issues.” (Behrendt). By bringing Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people together the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) started in 2006. Although this happened years after the Referendum, the referendum led up to organizations such as these. The RAP “These RAPs outlines practical actions the organization will take to build strong relationships and enhanced respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians…. RAP Program is about working with organizations across Australia to turn their good intentions into real actions”(Reconciliation Australia).

The attitudes of the white Australians also had a huge impact on change of rights and freedoms as it pressured the government into giving Aboriginals rights and freedoms. The 1967 was testament to this when a huge 90.77% of Australians agreed that Aboriginals had the right to be counted in the census. There has never been any real public objections to giving aboriginals rights, merely quiet harbored prejudices in the persons’ mind. On the other side of the case the Aboriginal rights in general have not improved with many Aboriginals being

‘The Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair was the trigger that led my research into the effects of the Stolen Generation on Aboriginals in Australia. This film is about an Aboriginal singing group who want to make a name for themselves, but find it difficult because of the racism against them. This film also tells the stories of their cousin Kay, who was a half-caste and was stolen from her Aboriginal family at a young age to be taught the ways of white people, and forget her culture. This film made me realise that I am lucky to live in a country where racism of such an extent in which children are stolen from their indigenous families, isn’t part of our history, and has not affected me personally. From my research, I have found six main sources that have helped me to understand how large this problem was and continues to be. My sources: ‘The Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair; a film about a group of Aboriginal singers who are affected by racism which is based on a real life singing group; ‘The Sorry Speech’, by Kevin Rudd who was the Prime Minister of Australia in 2008 who explains the damage and apologises for the way that the actions of past governments tore apart the lives of their indigenous people. Then there is ‘Blind Eye,’ the documentary in which people who were stolen are interviewed and tell their stories. The film, ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ this tells the story of two girls who were stolen and gives us insight into how brutally that they were treated after being ripped apart from

Stan Grant’s speech ‘Racism and the Australian Dream’ (2015) effectively reminds the Australian population of the racism and harsh inequalities indigenous Australians have faced in the past and still face today. In reminding us of this reality, Grant engages us to discover issues of civic participation in Aboriginal people and in doing so perpetuates a need for social change. More?

Once the group had finished visiting these towns and had ended their journey Charles Perkins reported what had happened to a crowd of approximately two hundred at the 1965 Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islands conference in Canberra. The responses after this conference were mainly positive and because of Charles Perkins’ the NSW Aboriginal Welfare Board had announced they would spend sixty-five thousand pounds on more housing in Moree for the Aboriginals. The Australian Freedom Riders had caused many debates all across Australia which had then caused the 1967 Referendum which got rid of a law in the constitution that had stated ‘laws can be made for the people of any race, other than the Aboriginal race in any state, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws’. The law was changed and removed the section ‘other than the Aboriginal race’ this was a positive change as it meant laws could be made in favour of the Aboriginals which could help protect them. Another positive aspect that came out of the

Although this is a long quote, I feel that it is one that truly spoke on the issues faced by Aboriginal families and communities. He shows that the government is in fact failing Indigenous persons and communities in finding any justice for them or in providing them with the support they need to prevent/put an end to the violence that they face. This quote made me realize an important fact. It displays that colonialism does not affect Indigenous persons and communities in one way but it affects them in many ways. The lack of assistance they receive regarding violence against women is just one of the results of colonialism. It impacts their education, the funds and resources that they receive from the government, the media attention they

Through my life, I have seen several different approaches to Indigenous people’s rights and importance in Australia. I have been fortunate enough to visit Ayers Rock and undertake a tour which allowed me to see Aboriginal culture in art and drawings as well as hearing Dreamtime stories from guides. I have also witnessed family friends who have been severely racist and disrespectful of Indigenous heritage and history. I also was lucky to work with some Indigenous students who were in Reception during my Professional Experience 1, and I was able to see first-hand how a culture clash can affect a student’s behaviour. I feel that even before entering this course, I have had the privilege of being able to observe both positives and negatives

Arrived in the gold fields in Ballarat 1853 from Ireland, Peter Lalor was a freedom fighter, a rebel and the leader of the Eureka stockade. He believed in fighting for the miners’ rights and liberties. He had a great impact on Australian democracy. Peter Lalor played a great role in shaping Australia’s identity.

Charles Perkins was the elected leader of the Student Action For Aborigines. On the 12th of February 1965, Charles Perkins and Jim Spigelman led about 28 members of Student Action For Aborigines on a 14-day 3200-kilometre bus tour of new south wales. Their focus was the desegregation of leisure facilities. They publicised discrimination used non-violent direct action.

In, 1967 Charles Perkins dedicated his life to Aboriginal liberation rights in Australia, because he believed everyone should be able to equality indigenous or not. In his life Perkins has contributed his time and effort to make something transpire that should have already transpired and because of this accomplished a lot, and became a consequential figure in native Indigenous rights history.

It involved a group of 29 students from Sydney university led by Charles Perkins who was inspired by the American freedom ride of 1961 organised a bus tour through the western and coastal towns of New South Wales. In hopes of raising awareness to the racism, discrimination and segregation the indigenous population were enduring. In 1964 the students formulated a body called ‘Student Action for Aborigines’ (SAFA) to plan this trip and to guarantee media coverage. Over the course of two weeks they chartered a bus around the regional towns of NSW visiting Walgett, Gulargambone, Kempsey, Bowraville and Moree, rural towns that were populated by Indigenous population.

Noel Pearson’s speech ‘an Australian history for us all’ discusses his approach to trying to solve some of the most systemic problems facing Australian Aboriginals today. The speakers are successful in understanding the ideas and values of the speech. Through the uses of various language techniques and context, Pearson’s speech details the struggles of the relationship between the first European settlers and Aboriginal Australians.

My name is Mary Doe and it is an honour to represent the Queensland Youth Parliament during reconciliation week. This presentation will focus on Fred Hollows significance in promoting change for Indigenous Australia. As you may well know Fred Hollows was an able advocate for Indigenous health and focused much of his life on ending curable blindness among numerous Indigenous communities.