2017 Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum Stamp and Coin Cover PNC

This stamp and Coin issues commemorates australia's most successful Federal Referendum.

On 27 May 1967, Australians voted in a federal referendum involving two questions. The first related to the balance of numbers in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The second question, the one for which the referendum is remembered, concerned changes to the constitution that would empower the federal government to make legislation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in the same way it could for all other Australians, and would include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the census. The aspiration was for all Australians to be treated equally under the constitution.

By 1967, the mood to rid the constitution of discrimination was growing, including within parliament. In fact, a “no” campaign was never even formulated. The vote was decisive, with 90.77 per cent of Australians voting “yes”. In the wake of the vote, the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) Act 1967 (Cth) received assent on 10 August 1967.

On 27 May 2017, it will be 50 years since the historic “yes” vote took place.