The Racial Discrimination Act at 50: the bumpy, years-long journey to Australia’s first human rights laws

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 12:15:50 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/the-racial-discrimination-act-at-50-the-bumpy-years-long-journey-to-australias-first-human-rights-laws-257245>

"On June 11, Australia marks 50 years since the Racial Discrimination Act
became law. This important legislation helps make sure people are treated
equally no matter their race, skin colour, background, or where they come from.

But the act didn’t happen overnight. It took nearly ten years for Australia to
follow through on the promises it made to the world to fight racism when it
signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination
 in 1966.

When Australia first signed that agreement, it still had laws and attitudes
shaped by the White Australia Policy.

Even after Australia started moving away from the White Australia Policy,
federal leaders held off on making anti-racism laws. They weren’t sure it was
allowed under the Constitution, worried about the cost, and didn’t want to
upset the states. Many also feared that Australians wouldn’t support it.

It took the courage of Gough Whitlam, Australia’s 21st prime minister, to pass
Australia’s first anti-discrimination law. Between 1973 and 1975, Whitlam and
his government made four attempts to pass laws against racial discrimination.
The act was the result of their fourth try – this time, it worked."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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