The 1967 Referendum

Question 1

What sections were sought to be amended?

Answer 1

Section 51(xxvi), which provided the Commonwealth the right to make laws about any race except for Aboriginal peoples. Therefore, the ability to make laws affecting Aboriginal peoples was a residual power.

Section 127, which prevented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from being counted in a national Census. Therefore, trends about their health, incarceration, geographic location, and more, could not be produced and evaluated, as no data to create these trends was available.

Question 2

What amendments were proposed?

Answer 2

Removing the part of s 51(xxvi) that suggested the Commonwealth could make laws with respect to race for people ‘other than the aboriginal race in any State’.
Removing the entirety of s 127 so it was completely eliminated from the Constitution

Question 3

How many people voted yes?

Answer 3

90.77%