Paul Keating Redfern Park Speech Analysis

Paul Keating was Australia’s SOMETHINGTH Prime Minister, holding office from December of 1991 to March of 1996. His time in the role lead to many accomplishments as well as many failures. He made great strides in the recognition of lands right for Indigenous people, some of which were under subsequent governments, not followed through with. Of his notable legislative contributions, The Native Title Act 1993 which nationally recognised and protected native title, a result of the Mabo v Queensland, and The Land Fund and Indigenous Land Corporation Bill 1995 are potentially the most remarkable contributions made to Indigenous rights in Australia. Leading up to the passing of these legislative polices, Keating gave a speech in Redfern. The importance of the speech may not have been …show more content…
At the time, this area was known for its high Indigenous population, which played a large part in the choice of location. In terms of why they had specifically chosen Redfern, P.M. Keating addresses the choice in his …show more content…
Information was limited for the Australian public and as Keating commented, history had been “white blind-folded”. The damage caused by “muddying the waters of issues raised in Redfern” (Manne, R. u.k) has set back the Australians who were and still are committed to reconciliation. This, I speak of from experience. I was brought up during the time of the Howard government. Everything I heard in relation to Indigenous Australia was filtered down from the Howard government stand point. It wasn’t until I was in my late teens that I was able to understand the way history was often changed and information was guarded in order to appease the oppressors. With this understanding, I have a more open mind when new information is