Farewell to the spirit of 1967

One policy brings both sides of politics together in furious agreement. Both of them want to close the Indigenous gap, and both want symbolic recognition of Indigenous people in the constitution in time for the anniversary of the 1967 referendum next year. Yet both sides have steadfastly walked away from the intent of the 1967 referendum, which gave the lead to the federal government in promoting Aboriginal development. Without public debate, the administration of Aboriginal development is now mostly a state government responsibility, particularly in the most important areas of housing and municipal services. This is the Commonwealth’s version of win–win; its bureaucrats and politicians can cut back on funding and wind back on responsibility. During the manoeuvring to achieve this massive shift in Indigenous policy, Aboriginal people’s deficit, their “gap,” has been front and centre of political discourse. Over the past fifteen years, and increasingly since the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, or ATSIC, was abolished ten years ago, the Commonwealth has used a barrage of deficit metrics as a smokescreen for its retreat. Deficit metrics dominate Indigenous policy. They describe the variety of ways in which Aboriginal people, as a group, fall short of the rest of the population. And so we arrive at a stalemate that suits all governments well. Good white people throw up their hands and wonder what, after all, can be done about “the Aboriginal problem.” We have tried so much, received so little thanks, and in the end they won’t help themselves. The Commonwealth has backed out; the states will assimilate their Aboriginal populations into their underclass; top-up handouts are flung around as an Indigenous Advancement Strategy; and, like mainstream politics, no side is bold enough to put forward a vision. Farewell 1967