Rights and Freedoms

Question 1

What is the purpose of the United Nations?

Answer 1

The UN Charter sets out four main purposes: Maintaining worldwide peace and security. Developing relations among nations. Fostering cooperation between nations in order to solve economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian international problems.

Question 2

Describe the origins of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Answer 2

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a historic document that outlined the rights and freedoms everyone is entitled to. It was the first international agreement on the basic principles of human rights. The Universal Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948.

Question 3

Australia’s involvement in the UDHR

Answer 3

Australia played an active role in developing the Universal Declaration and the international human rights treaties that followed. Australia was one of the eight nations involved in drafting the universal declaration. The head of Australia’s delegation to the UN, Dr. Herbert Vere Evatt, was president of the General Assembly when the document was adopted. The Commission, with Australia as one of its 8 members, drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Question 4

Significance of the UDHR

Answer 4

The UDHR’s principles have been embodied in what states do and it serves as the foundation for the International Bill of Rights and several other crucial human rights agreements. the UDHR’s principles have been embodied in what states do and it serves as the foundation for the International Bill of Rights and several other crucial human rights agreements.

Question 5

What was the day of mourning and why was it significant?

Answer 5

The 1938 Day of Mourning was a unique event in Aboriginal history. It was the first national Aboriginal civil rights gathering and represents the identifiable beginning of the contemporary Aboriginal political movement. the It was the 150th anniversary of the British colonization of Australia. The protest became a traditionalist on, and annual Days of Mourning have been held to this day.

Question 6

Significance of early twentieth-century Aboriginal activism

Answer 6

From the late 1950s, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal activists came together to: campaign for equal rights for Indigenous Australians, and. to bring about the repeal of laws that deprived Indigenous Australians of civil liberties.

Question 7

The rights and freedoms denied to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples before 1965

Answer 7

The Freedom Rides aimed to bring attention to (campaign) the poor state of Aboriginal health, education and housing, particularly in the country towns of New South Wales. They hoped to point out and help to lessen the socially discriminatory barriers which existed between Aboriginal and white residents.

Question 8

role and policies of the Aboriginal Protection Board

Answer 8

The Board had the power to: move Aboriginal people out of towns; set up managers, local committees and local guardians (police) for the reserves; control reserves; prevent liquor being sold to Aboriginals, and stop whites from associating with Aboriginals or entering the reserves.

Question 9

methods used by civil rights activists to achieve change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Answer 9

• Led by Charlie Perkins, Australia’s first indigenous university graduate, the Freedom Riders traveled through the NSW country towns
• The students protested and demonstrated against racial segregation and discrimination taking place in various locations such as town hotels, shops, cinemas, swimming pools, RSL clubs, and public parks.

Question 10

Effects of the assimilation policy for rights and freedoms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Answer 10

The ultimate intent of this policy was the destruction of Aboriginal society. Protection and assimilation policies which impacted harshly on Indigenous people included separate education for Aboriginal children, town curfews, alcohol bans, no social security, lower wages, State guardianship of all Aboriginal children and laws that segregated Indigenous people into separate living areas

Question 11

aims of the US civil rights movement

Answer 11

The civil rights movement was a mass popular movement to secure for African Americans equal access to and opportunities for the basic privileges and rights of U.S. citizenship. Although the roots of the movement go back to the 19th century, it peaked in the 1950s and 1960s.

Question 12

Methods of the civil rights movement

Answer 12

Non-violent action - boycotts, sit-ins, Freedom Rides, marches or walks, and similar tactics that relied on mass

Question 13

How the Freedom Rides in the US inspired civil rights campaigners in Australia

Answer 13

• Charles Perkins saw the success of the American freedom rides and took inspiration from them

Question 14

The impact of the NSW Freedom Ride on the civil rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Answer 14

The legacy of the Freedom Ride was that it gave many Australians a greater awareness about the struggle of our First Peoples for equality and sparked debate about Indigenous affairs of the day, leading to the 1967 referendum.

Question 15

The role of Charles Perkins in the struggle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights and freedoms

Answer 15

• Charles Perkins was a pioneering figure in the recognition of the Aboriginal people of Australia.
• In the 1960s he led the freedom rides which brought discrimination against Aborigines into Australian politics.
• Charles Perkins co-led a group of 30 students from Sydney University who, in a hire bus traveled through the townships of rural New South Wales.

Question 16

1962 right to vote federally

Answer 16

• In 1962, Indigenous people achieved the right to vote in federal elections. This allowed Indigenous people to vote in the 1967 referendum.
• The Commonwealth Electoral Act was amended so all Indigenous Australians could enroll to vote at federal elections and referendums. Enrolment and voting were not compulsory.
• The 1962 Electoral Act (Cwlth) stated that, as long as they enrolled for voting, Aboriginal people could vote in federal elections regardless of the view of their state governments.

Question 17

1967 Referendum

Answer 17

• On 27 May 1967, the Australian Government held a referendum. This was a momentous
  turning point in Australian history.
• More than 90 per cent of Australian voters chose ‘Yes’ to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the census and give the Australian Government the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Question 18

What rights did Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have before 1967 (the referendum)?

Answer 18

Before 1967, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples did not have the same rights as
other Australians under the Australian Constitution. Many aspects of their lives were controlled
by the state governments, including the right to:
 Vote in state elections
 Marry whomever they chose
 Move to wherever they chose
 Own property wherever they chose
 Be the legal guardian of their own children
 Receive the same pay for the same work
 Drink alcohol.

Question 19

What changed after the 1967 referendum?

Answer 19

• The referendum opened a door; it allowed the Australian Government to change the constitution so it could be involved in the affairs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• The 1967 referendum was about the removal of the discriminatory sections of the Constitution
• Many state laws affecting Indigenous peoples reinforced the policy of protection and so denied Aboriginal people rights that other Australians enjoyed.
• If the Commonwealth Government could make laws for Aboriginal Australians, then it could override laws that discriminated against them.

Question 20

Did the referendum end discrimination in Australia?

Answer 20

The referendum did not end discrimination. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples did not receive equal wages as a result of the referendum; this right was granted through a different process.

Question 21

Reconciliation

Answer 21

The official movement toward national reconciliation began in 1991 with the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation… to acknowledge the unfair and often inhumane treatment of Indigenous Australians throughout history. Reconciliation is about unity and respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians. It is about respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and valuing justice and equity for all Australians.

Question 22

Reconciliation movement

Answer 22

The official movement toward national reconciliation began in 1991 with the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. The Council set out some of the key goals of reconciliation in Australia:

• to educate all Australians about Indigenous issues
• to improve economic and living standards for Indigenous people,
• to acknowledge the unfair and often inhumane treatment of Indigenous Australians throughout history.

Question 23

Australian Reconciliation Convention

Answer 23

• In 1997, Australia took a huge step towards these goals with the Australian Reconciliation Convention, a forum for Australians to gather and discuss Indigenous issues. Almost 1800 people attended, including lawyers, teachers, health workers, religious leaders, government officials and students all of whom had participated in meetings across the country in the year prior to the Convention.
• The Convention succeeded in bringing the issue of reconciliation into the national consciousness, and Howard’s words couldn’t stop delegates working toward, and hoping for, a better future.

Question 24

Mabo Decision

Answer 24

• On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia decided that terra nullius should not have been applied to Australia. This decision – known as the Mabo decision – recognized that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have rights to the land – rights that existed before the British arrived and can still exist today.
• The Mabo decision was named after Torres Strait Islander Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo who led the fight to change land laws to recognize Indigenous connection and traditional ownership of land in Australia.

Question 25

Mabo Significance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' rights

Answer 25

The Mabo decision was a turning point for the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' rights because it acknowledged their unique connection with the land. It also led to the Australian Parliament passing the Native Title Act in 1993.

Question 26

What is was like prior to 1992 (before the Mabo decision)

Answer 26

- Until 1992, land laws claimed that Australia was terra nullius or ‘land belonging to no one’. Effectively, these laws denied the fact that Indigenous peoples had prior occupation and connection to the land.

Question 27

Problems with the Mabo decision

Answer 27

- A key problem is that native title is hard to prove. The High Court has said that a claimant must show a continuous observance of traditional law and customs since the British arrived. However, the dispossession and dispersal of Aboriginal peoples can make this impossible, meaning that native title rights have been lost.

Question 28

Why was the Mabo case so important

Answer 28

The Mabo decision was a turning point in the recognition of land rights. It overturned the legal fiction that Australia had been terra nullius when the British took possession of it in 1788. The High Court recognized that: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were the original owners of Australia some of these peoples might still retain native title to traditional lands.

Question 29

Bringing them home report

Answer 29

- Bringing Them Home is the Australian Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. The report marked a pivotal moment in the controversy that has come to be known as the Stolen Generations. This marked a pivotal moment in the healing journey of many Stolen Generations members. - The Bringing them Home report included 54 recommendations to support healing and reconciliation for the Stolen Generations, their families and the Australian public more broadly.

Question 30

What did the Bringing Them Home report change?

Answer 30

The Bringing Them Home report created some positive change: it provided the opportunity for Stolen Generations members to put their stories on the public record; it led to the Apology; it foreshadowed a greater focus on social and emotional wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Question 31

The apology

Answer 31

On 13 February 2008, the Parliament of Australia issued a formal apology to Indigenous Australians for forced removals of Australian indigenous children from their families by Australian federal and state government agencies. The apology was delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. John Howard MP who refused, under any circumstances, to say sorry. The Howard government had refused to apologize, partially because it did not feel responsible for the misdeeds of past administrations

Question 32

Importance of the apology

Answer 32

- These formal apologies were an important step towards building a respectful new relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Many Stolen Generations members felt that their pain and suffering was acknowledged and that the nation understood the need to right the wrongs of the past. - The Apology was not an expression of personal responsibility or guilt by individual Australians but it does reflect our Australian values of compassion, justice and a fair go, and allows the victims of bad policy to feel that their pain and suffering has been acknowledged.

Question 33

An effective civil rights campaign: The Greenboro Sit-ins

Answer 33

The Greensboro sit-in was a civil rights protest that started in 1960, when young African-American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South.

Question 34

Greensboro Sit-ins impact

Answer 34

- The sit-ins demonstrated that mass nonviolent direct action could be successful and brought national media attention to the new era of the civil rights movement. - The protests led to the Woolworth Department Store chain ending its policy of racial segregation in its stores in the southern United States. The Greensboro Sit-Ins were the first prominent sit-ins of the civil rights movement.

Question 35

The experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were forcibly removed from their families (Stolen Generations) - Netta's story

Answer 35

- When Netta was about five years old, a policeman tried to tempt the young girl away from her mother with a tin of apricot jam. He put her on a truck headed for an institution in Alice Springs where she would be trained as a domestic servant. - Her mother tried to get Netta back. The child fell asleep on the truck and awoke to find her gone. - Netta would later describe her treatment at the institution as that of 'inmates' and 'like bullocks in a paddock'. - She was told by an older lady who could speak her language, "You're going to be here for the rest of your life, like the rest of us. You are going to be here all the time now. You won't see your mother anymore."

Question 36

Bill Simon's Story

Answer 36

- "I saw her hammering her fists into the road" - Simon and his brothers were stripped away from their mother one morning in 1957. - Simon was ten years old when he was taken to Kinchela where he remained until he was 17 years old. The abuse he suffered left him unable to have healthy relationships and trying to numb his rage and violence with drugs and alcohol.

Question 37

What the Mabo case decided

Answer 37

It decided: - in favour of the Meriam Islanders and against the State of Queensland - that native title to land had existed before 1788 and might still be in existence on land that governments had never sold or given away - that for native title to continue to exist, Indigenous families and their descendants would have to have lived continuously on the land since 1788 and continued to follow traditional customs - that on land that had been legally granted or sold by governments to someone else for their exclusive use native title had ceased to exist.

Question 38

Which prime minister was reluctant to apologize

Answer 38

John Howard, the prime minister of the time, rejected the idea of making a formal apology saying that ‘Australians of this generation should not be required to accept guilt and blame for past actions and policies over which they had no control’

Question 39

More apology shiii

Answer 39

In March 2008, the Commonwealth Government announced its commitment to ‘closing the gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians with regard to health, life expectancy, levels of education and employment opportunities. This policy, along with the Apology, seemed to promise a turning point in the Commonwealth Government’s relationship with Indigenous Australians.

Question 40

Activists in the Australian Freedom Ride were concerned with:

Answer 40

- Aboriginal peoples’ appalling living and health conditions - Aboriginal people being forced to live on reserves outside country towns - local authorities denying Aboriginal people access to facilities such as hotels, clubs and swimming pools; service in shops; and equal treatment in cinemas - the ways in which rural communities discriminated against Aboriginal people.

Question 41

Perkins' inspiration

Answer 41

Perkins admired US civil rights activist Martin Luther King, particularly King’s emphasis on ‘non-violent direct action’ and establishing ‘creative tension’ by dramatically highlighting examples of discrimination so that people could not continue to ignore them.

Question 42

The first step of the freedom rides

Answer 42

The first step in each town was to survey Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to find out about the living, education and health conditions of local Aboriginal people. If there was an issue of blatant discrimination, the freedom riders took action to publicize and hopefully overturn it.

Question 43

Doc Evatt

Answer 43

Doc Evatt served in many important roles in Australian law and politics: as a High Court judge, Attorney-General, Minister for External Affairs and as leader of the Labor Party.

Question 44

67 referendum

Answer 44

On 27 May 1967, Australians voted in one of the most important referendums in the nation’s history. It was important both for its subject matter — the place of Indigenous Australians within Australian society — and for its results: 90.77 per cent of Australian voters voted ‘yes’. Such a high ‘yes’ vote was remarkable in a country that other nations often judged to be racist and where voters were traditionally reluctant to change the status quo.