Photo on 5 02 2018 at 3.07 pm

Government policies and their effects on Indigenous Australians

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    Dispossession/Dispersal

    • It was not a criminal offence to hunt, shoot or kill Aboriginal people
    • It was believed they would die out
    • Indigenous population reduced
    • Indigenous areas became farm land
    • Aboriginal people could be shot on sight -Settlers were authorised to shoot Aboriginal people
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    Protection

    • Aboriginal protection acts in NSW and VIC
    • Gave wide powers to the Board for the Protection of Aborigines in regards to the lives of Aboriginal people eg. work, live, marry etc.
    • It also gave them the power to remove children from homes which lead to the Stolen Generations
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    Assimilation and Integregation

    • The Aboriginal population was high so they were 'Europanised' to ultimately make them 'white'
    • Nationality and Citizenship Act allowed Aboriginal people to become Australian citizens
    • 'Exemption Certificates' were given out to some citizens which meant the holders were 'not Aboriginal' however this also meant they had to live a strict, European lifestyle
    • Amendments were made to the Commonwealth Electoral Act which gave all Indigenous people the right to vote
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    Reconciliation

    • The Constitution was amended and the phrase 'other than the Aboriginal race in any state' was removed from s51 allowing specific, beneficial laws for Aboriginal people to be made
    • s127 was removed as it stated that Aboriginal people were not to be counted as part of the population for census purposes
    • Creating a Nation for us all was presented to the 2012 prime minister explaining how the constitution should be amended to show recognition to all Indigenous peoples