Preview

How Have the Attitudes and Policies of the States and Federal Governments Impacted the Aboriginal People?

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1462 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Have the Attitudes and Policies of the States and Federal Governments Impacted the Aboriginal People?
How have the attitudes and policies of the states and federal governments impacted the aboriginal people? There are various ways in which the policies of the state and federal governments have impacted the aboriginal people. The government policies includes; the policy of paternalism, Protectionism, Assimilation, Integration and Self – determination. These policies have impacted the aid of Aborigines due to the fact that the governments thought that the Aboriginals were a species that needed to be protected but instead had the reverse effect.
The policy of Paternalism was a policy that regarded the Aboriginals as their children and Australians themselves as fathers. The definition of Paternalism is a policy or practice of treating or governing people in a fatherly manner, especially by providing for their needs without giving them rights or responsibilities. Although the 'frontier' period of Australian history can be viewed in the terms of war, there were also many white settlers who were appalled at the treatment of the Indigenous people and wanted to help them. Some of those who tried to help were government officials, others were Christian missionaries. These people truly believed that the Aboriginal people needed their help and without it they would die out. Charles Darwin's theories on evolution and survival of the fittest were wholly accepted by the settlers. They believed that Aboriginal people were weaker and inferior because of the color of their skin. They judged the Aboriginal peoples by their own European standards and decided that they were primitive and uncultured. They became convinced that the 'black races' had to die out, and so they thought they could make that process better for Aboriginal people by placing them on government reserves or in church missions where they could die in peace. This new approach to Aboriginal affairs was known as 'Protection' policy. Unfortunately like many other initiatives to help
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Abst100 Nter
    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Abst100 Nter

    The Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) was a legislation established by John Howard in 2007, with support of the Labor Party put in place to blanket 73 Aboriginal communities, in total 20,000 recipients in Northern Territory with restrictive policies that would control and dictate the present and future lives of the Indigenous inhabitants of Australia in the name of “protecting Indigenous children from sexual abuse in remote indigenous communities” (Thalia Anthony), however multiple policies have been scrutinized for their necessity of implementation in the name of protecting Indigenous children, in companionship is that no cases of sexual abuse consequential of “Rings of Pedophiles” as Howard put it (Tom Calma 2013), have been found or resolved under this controversial legislation that also breached Racial Discrimination Act 1975 consequential of its policies which have “also been criticized from a legal perspective and described as “unilaterally responding to child sexual assault in the NT in a manner that defies international human rights law, the rule of law and national and international research with respect to Indigenous children’s “Wellbeing””” (Libesman, 2007b, p 24). The NTER is current to this day with some policies spreading throughout Australia, blanketing the freedom of Indigenous people not just in the NT where the children are being affected by sexual abuse, but Queensland, and now frighteningly New South Wales, which delivers no further protection for NT Indigenous children from sexual abuse. Interestingly the Social Security Amendment Act, quarantining of payment is a system implemented by the government which controls up to 100% of an Indigenous person’s payment to which can only be spent at specific stores for groceries, some clothing, and paying rent (Thalia Anthony). This is dictation of what Indigenous people do, or rather don’t have as freedom, and entitlement to their human rights. “What the government had implemented had…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Loss Of Land's Impact On Indigenous Australians
    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page

    Loss Of Land's Impact On Indigenous Australians

    Loss of land: The impact on indigenous Australians was immense once the settlers arrived in 1977 and claimed the land as their own, stocking it with cattle & sheep. This left no food resources for them & many perished .The indigenous tribes of Australia began to starve and their numbers rapidly declined. This also resulted in loss of connection to their land, & broken kinship ties which impacted immensely on the mental & spiritual wellbeing of the indigenous people; these issues are still being felt today. The loss of the land has contributed to a loss of language, stories, & sacred places vital to the ongoing culture of the indigenous people. The effects are still strong to this day & present themselves as lack of…

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Did The Whitlam Government Contribute To Reform Australia
    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Did The Whitlam Government Contribute To Reform Australia

    The Whitlam government made a significant contribution to social reform in Australia through the implementation of key domestic policies. These domestic policies focused on promoting social equality for various minority groups, which had suffered injustice in the past. These groups included Aboriginals, women and migrants. This is reinforced through the Whitlam government establishing the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Land Rights, introducing self- determination, implementing the Racial Discrimination Act and giving Aboriginals the same rights as other Australians. The government successfully introduced multiculturalism, which accepts cultural and ethnic differences within society, by abolishing assimilation…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary: The Mistreatment Of Indigenous Australians
    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Summary: The Mistreatment Of Indigenous Australians

    The mistreatment of indigenous people started when the European’s took over Australia, and escalated over time. They were considered to be second class citizens. By the time of federation, in 1901, aboriginal people were not included in the constitution or the census and were excluded from society which was known as protectionism. The white Australians believed that they were helping the Aborigines by using the protection policies. But in reality these policies isolated them from their families, traditional land and removed them from their natural heritage and culture. The Aborigines were taught to live like the white Australians so the could assimilate into the white society and were often trained to be slaves for White People. Charles Perkins was an aborigine who like many was taken from his family and land. He was however treated well compared to what most Indigenous…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People's Ill Health Case Study
    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People's Ill Health Case Study

    In 1788, nearly 1000 Europeans arrived to Australia. From this year, conflicts between Aboriginals and Europeans continued until 1860. Before colonization, indigenous people were struck down by diseases introduced by Europeans. Indigenous people had no immunity to new diseases, so the common cold, sexually transmitted disease and smallpox resulted in a rapid decline of their population. In 1856, the British government authorized the appointment of a “Protector of Aborigines” to settle problems such as people’s illness, language and occupation. In 1860, the Victorian government established the Aborigines Protection Board. In 1910, Australia government forcibly took more than 100 000 Aboriginal children from their families and placed in church or state based institutions. (Jupp,J 2001, p.9).…

    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Explain How Australian Government Improves The Lives Of Aboriginal Today
    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Explain How Australian Government Improves The Lives Of Aboriginal Today

    This essay focuses on how Aboriginal lives varied after the 1970s by arguing that the government played a significant role when achieving better qualities of Aboriginal lives nowadays. The government considers indigenous affairs as national priority and implements Indigenous Advancement Strategy which consolidates beneficial programmes targeting Aboriginals. I argue they do this to promote cultural diversity in Australia.…

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Describe the human characteristics that make Australia unique. Explain how Australia's changing demographic characteristics are influencing the nature and identity of Australian society
    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Describe the human characteristics that make Australia unique. Explain how Australia's changing demographic characteristics are influencing the nature and identity of Australian society

    The Indigenous population has been rapidly increasing since the 1967 Referendum to include indigenous people in the Australian census. Since the census, Indigenous Australians have been included as part of Australia. This shows Australia's increasing acceptance and understanding of Indigenous Aborigines, and the growing need to rectify the problems associated with the mistreatment of Indigenous Aborigines in the past. From 1911 to 1971, the population figure of Indigenous people lingered around 80,000 people. However, there was an exponential increase in Indigenous people, where in 2001, there are about 450,000 people.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    HUMA DB
    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages

    HUMA DB

    After the European arrived, the aboriginal culture changed as a result of forced integration. Most aboriginal people joined white rural and urban communities (Siasoco, 2007). Mixing the communities brought on diseases among the aboriginal people. Consequence of assimilation was massive relocation and extinction for aboriginal tribes. Land and property rights powered an important civil rights movement in the 1970s (Siasoco, 2007). Aborigines spoke out for equal rights, for land rights for property that had been forcibly taken by British settlers; therefore led to the Aboriginal Rights Act, passed in 1976 (Siasoco, 2007).…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Changes in Freedom Rights for Aboriginals in Australia
    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Changes in Freedom Rights for Aboriginals in Australia

    In the early 20th century it was believed that Aboriginals we unable to care for themselves or make effective decisions as they were considered uncivilised by the Australian public. The protection policy was implemented; therefore the government would control every aspect of an Aboriginal’s life. The Aborigines Protection Act was passed in 1909 to control and restrict the movement of Aborigines across reserves, the money distribution and removing children from their families to ‘educate’ them. The removal of Aboriginal children from their families was known as The Stolen Generation. It was a system used to strip the Aboriginal culture from a child from a young age to bring them up into a civilised, white culture. The Stolen Generation continued through from 1869 to 1969 and in some places, even through till the 70’s. This destroyed many Aboriginal families, some children never saw their parents again and they were taken to reserves or white foster families which only a handful of children received a kind upbringing. This was considered the cruelest act towards Indigenous Australians which time still hasn’t entirely healed.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Aboriginal Poverty Caused by Canada's Bad Treatment
    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Aboriginal Poverty Caused by Canada's Bad Treatment

    Contrary to the popular belief, the Aboriginal people in Canada do not live a good life. People may ask, then, where all the money the Canadian citizens have paid for with their taxes has gone to. Truthfully, this is an extremely conceited opinion. People believe that the Aboriginals use most of the funds for drugs and alcohol, but this is far from the reality. While it is true that many aboriginals do get intoxicated quite often and spend money on such things, the same thing happens in the Canadian society generally. Nowadays, it is becoming a thing of the past. Other provinces in Canada also get funds, and it is a fact that Aboriginal reserves require funds from the Canadian government for better environment. Many aboriginals and other Canadians are trying to ameliorate the situation. However, the money flows out in various ways. Some examples include a chief using the money sent from the government for schools to build his house and work with his truck, or a health care center using their funds for the staff to have a nice boating trip. Due to the self-governing policies present in reserves, such things happen. The Aboriginals in power also distribute funds more favorably to people who they are closely acquainted with. As a result, it is still hard for the Aboriginals to step up from poverty.…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On The Impact Of Protest On Aboriginals Rights
    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay On The Impact Of Protest On Aboriginals Rights

    The Australian Aborigines were the first people to live on the continent Australia, being here longer than the White Australians. During that time, the Aboriginal people made a special bond with the land and their kinship to their families. After the invasion of the Europeans settlers, laws were introduced to take away the land traditionally owned. Protectionism was one of the first policies meaning that Aborigines and the European settlers were separated and ‘protected’ for their own good. This was failing and that’s when assimilation was introduced which meant…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Freedom Rides and 1967 Referendum
    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Freedom Rides and 1967 Referendum

    Although Aboriginals were technically citizens since 1947, they were not treated as such with poor housing and amenities living in towns where racism was entrenched. Aboriginal people suffered verbal and physical abuse along with segregation and prejudice.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Effect of the European Settlement on the Aboriginal People Essay Example
    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Effect of the European Settlement on the Aboriginal People Essay Example

    The European settlement had a devastating impact on the entire Aboriginal population, not only those who died from disease and violence. This is despite the fact that some white settlers, including colonial government officials and Christian missionaries, tried to help Indigenous people. These people believed that the Aboriginal people were primitive and uncultured, and that without their help they would die out. Their somewhat misguided attempts to help the Indigenous people are known as paternalism. Paternalism means looking after someone and taking care of their interests in the belief that they cannot do it themselves.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Impact Of Assimilation On Aboriginals
    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Impact Of Assimilation On Aboriginals

    Beginning in 1910 and ending in the 1970s, Australians Federal and State government agencies and church missions made a policy to forcibly take many aboriginal and Torres Strait children away from their families in an attempt to destroy the Aboriginal race and culture. There was an impact on the aboriginals with a particular policy the Australian Government had introduced, which was the policy of ‘Assimilation’. This policy was to encourage many Aboriginal people to give up their culture, language, tradition, knowledge and spirituality to basically become white Australians. Unfortunately this policy didn’t give the Aboriginals the same rights as white Australians, as a result of discrimination, aboriginals were moved to live in special housing…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Myra Willard's White Australia Policy
    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Myra Willard's White Australia Policy

    Myra Willard’s 1920’s context influences her view that the ‘White Australia Policy’ was valid to ensure that the Australian population formed a stable society and a strong sense of nationalism. Willard states that the reasoning for the ‘White Australia Policy’ originated from the 1850’s gold rush era. It was believed the policy needed to be established as countries, including America, struggled with the influence of non-white races. The 19th Century thought that continued into Willard’s context was that “British-Australian nationality” (as cited in Gare and Ritter, 2008, p.261) needed to be maintained for the sake of Australia’s future. When first established, the policy’s main objective was to preserve the British presence in the colonies.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics