THIS year sees the 40th anniversary of what was arguably the most successful referendum in Australia’s history. On 27 May 1967, more than 90 per cent of voters endorsed a proposal to amend the Australian Constitution to include Aborigines in the national census. Aborigines had recently won full voting rights, yet it was the referendum that most symbolised the coming together of a nation.
It is ironic, then, that life expectancy among Aborigines today is 17 years lower than that of the average Australian. While the gap has narrowed for indigenous people of other nations, in Australia it has not…
