AMELIA: The 1960s were a time for change, from pop culture...
(A HARD DAY'S NIGHT BY THE BEATLES PLAYS)
..to milestones in science...
NEIL ARMSTRONG: That's one small step for man...
..and human rights movements.
I have a dream... (APPLAUSE)
..that my four little children will, one day, live
in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin,
but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today. (APPLAUSE)
Here in Australia, people's attitudes were also starting to change.
For a long time, Indigenous people didn't have the same rights
as other Australians.
They faced a lot of discrimination
and weren't counted as citizens of their own country,
but many Indigenous and non-Indigenous Aussies realised
that things could - and should - be different
and they started demanding equality.
In 1962, all Indigenous people were given the right to enrol to vote
in federal elections like everyone else.
In 1965, Indigenous workers stood up against unfair working conditions
and fought for land rights.
And in the same year, uni students protested against racism
and poor living conditions around country New South Wales.
Mrs Bandler, how concerned are you as a New South Wales representative?
Around this time, activists had also set their sights on a really big goal
that would involve the whole nation.
They wanted to change sections of the country's constitution
which discriminated.
I feel that the time has come
when Australia can no longer tolerate legal racial discrimination
against its Indigenous people.
The constitution is the most important legal document
in the whole country.
It sets out just how Australia works.
So, how the government's put together,
how the courts work, how the states work
and what the government can and can't do.
So changing it isn't easy!
To change the constitution, there has to be a referendum.
That's where everyone over 18 votes
yes or no to the changes.
To get the government to even hold that referendum,
campaigners set out to get signatures on a petition.
They set up tables in the streets of all capital cities and country towns,
and even waited outside footy matches and churches.
Eventually, they collected 100.000 signatures
and after 10 years of campaigning, they finally got their vote!
On May 27, 1967,
Australians went to the polls.
In the end, 90% voted yes to changing the constitution.
It was the biggest yes-vote in our nation's history!
The changes meant two lines were removed from the document,
giving Indigenous people the right
to be included in Australia's population figures,
and giving the federal government the power to make laws
for Indigenous Australians.
That last one later paved the way for things like the Land Rights Act,
which has given many Indigenous Aussies traditional ownership
of their land again.
50 years on, there are still problems that need to be solved,
and for many years, people have been pushing
to change Australia's constitution again
because it doesn't recognise Indigenous Australians
as the nation's first people,
and it still lets governments make laws
which discriminate based on race.
But the 1967 referendum is still seen as a milestone
in our country's history that brought Australians together
and changed the nation for the better.