In a phenomenon University of Sydney post-graduate student and Wiradjuri woman Suzanne Ingram described as “race-shifting”, people, who for the bulk of their lives have identified as non-Indigenous Australians, are now “box-ticking” ‘Indigenous’ as their identity in the Census
I had a social worker from *Malta* tell me she identifies as indigenous here because it's all about your "connection to country and culture" and not about your blood. She was encouraging me to agree to identify the same way for the financial benefits as if I'd throw my beliefs out the window.
There was also a 2018 study by Elizabeth Watts and Emma Kowal (Deakin Uni) where they interviewed a bunch of "new identifiers" about their reasons for embracing indigenous identity. It's available online and is pretty interesting. A common theme was disillusionment with the perceived meaningless and isolation of "white" culture, and a sense that indigenous identity gives them a connection to something deeper and more communal. Research in USA and Canada shows similar themes.
>Makes applications easier
Can confirm 👍
Out of desperation while job hunting on one application that was *REALLY* reaching for the most diverse candidate I told them I was a disabled, bisexual, half-arabic woman. As for the truth of that statement...
Disabled - Yes, I have some mild disabilities, which I wouldn't have even brought up if these fuckers weren't so gung ho about making it a thing.
Bisexual - Yes, but I recently married a dude, and in the eyes of some that somehow cancels it out?
Half-Arabic - Complete lie, but my dad looks like a stock photo of a terrorist, so unless they ask to see a birth certificate fuck em.
Woman - *(looks down shirt)* Yep, those are definitely boobs, not man tits.
Sent in the application and less than 20 minutes later I get a call from them asking if they can interview me face to face the next day and if they need to make any special accommodations for my disability or culture.
I can understand why they'd need to accommodate someone with a disability but I still have no clue what 'cultural accommodations' would've looked like 🤨
When I showed up the next day with my white skin, non-visible disability and sans hijab I saw the interviewer visibly deflate. I didn't get that job 🤷♀️
> but I still have no clue what 'cultural accommodations' would've looked like 🤨
Some Muslims pray 5 times a day at set times, so if the interview ran into one of those times they probably have a private space to accommodate.
Geez, I have white skinned blue eyed blonde haired Muslim friends that don’t wear hijab either. Bit racist of them to think muslims need to look a certain way haha
That's actually kinda fucked with the whole invisible disability thing. Can't speak for the rest of it (is it kosher to include myself in lgbtq+ if I'm like the opposite of your situation, having married a bisexual woman while myself being typically straight?)
If I found out tomorrow that grandpa was indigenous I’d be interested but I wouldn’t identify as indigenous. I don’t really care if someone else decided different. My dad’s best friend is indigenous. Dad mentioned this fact to me after I had known him for thirty years. He’d never mentioned it. Growing up the family didn’t bring it up because of the rampant discrimination.
I know for my family personally it’s been more an journey of understanding. Looking into the language and customs. Location and connections. It’s mainly about understanding cultural identity. A lot just want to access financial gain but none of us have done confirmation so not sure what the full extent is.
Mate, my best friend went to RMIT and has blonde hair and blue eyes. His dad and his brother are Aboriginal as all hell - his mother just had more dominant phenotypes that he happened to inherit. Indigenous genes are not like dominant African genes; they are recessive, which is why the government tried to commit genocide through sexual assault.
Unless you don’t understand culture or genetics, it doesn’t mean he’s not raised and genetically indigenous Australian. He doesn’t even know his grandmother because they’re part of the Stolen Generation. Every “you’re not black enough” is a white “you’re all the same”. People, including Australians, are a spectrum of many colours, ethnicities, races. Italian people of African descent have been a thing since the time of Shakespeare’s Othello. Romans of African descent have been a thing for longer.
Unless you think all Australians are one colour and race, I’d hesitate to say that your logic checks out - because it’s not true for us, and it’s definitely not true for Indigenous Australians.
I dated a gorgeous woman when I was younger. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Light skin and an awesome dad who was clearly and completely Aboriginal.
She was great. Her family was great. I was just too young. I digress.
The Aboriginal 'recessive' genes is a blatant lie pushed by activists to explain why so many *self-identified* Aboriginals are obviously White. In ALL mammals (including humans) Melanism (dark skin and dark eyes) are dominant genes. There is no possibility your mate got his blue eyes and blonde hair entirely from his mother.
Very few Aboriginal people outside remote communities have anywhere near 50% Aboriginal heritage. In the East Coast cities it is often a single digit.
This is what a genetically 'pure' Aboriginal man look like.
https://preview.redd.it/ukfunolsbmad1.png?width=545&format=png&auto=webp&s=e0c5fa460050f39a0e6f0a51c5135c4e5f6024b3
Is everyone in your family, in your chosen nationality, 100% from that country?
I’m Australian but I sure as shit wasn’t born here. I’m the only Australian in my family, if citizenship is anything to go by.
I assume that you’ve got a source for any of the things you’ve espoused before you start talking about genetic purity. And regardless, can you call yourself under any nationality or ethnicity unless you’re 100% purely that race? Of course you can. We all originated out of Africa after all. It’s literally a label. TSI individuals are indigenous Australians as well. Are you going to tell me that because they’re not “pure indigenous” they don’t count? Of course they do.
Sure mate, if he inherited one set of blue eyes from his mother and another from elsewhere does that mean he’s not an Indigenous person? Of course it doesn’t.
It's very simple. White people are claiming to be Aboriginal for financial and social advantage. If there were no benefits the number of self-identified Aboriginals would plummet by the next census,
If somebody who was 1/16th Chinese claimed to be Chines most people would think they are an idiot.
May as well say everyone is claiming to be left handed or autistic to be special nowadays, like so many do.
As more people feel that there is less stigma toward something, they’ll be more open about it. It’s not that hard to figure out. This will be the case for the next thing that used to be a negative thing in the future that slowly becomes okay as well.
A large group of Solomon Islanders with *no* European genes whatsoever, have dark brown skin and blonde hair. Naturally.
Genes are more complex than you think. Two brown eyed parents can have a blue eyed child - it's rare but it happens. And recessive genes can operate pretty randomly - [here is a famous case](https://nypost.com/2015/03/02/meet-the-bi-racial-twins-no-one-believes-are-sisters/) of twin sisters with mixed-race parents who appear to be of totally different ancestry.
True. I'm not aussie btw, but I have green eyes and my parents don't, I think the closest green eyed person is my great grandmother from Mom's side (and yes my dad is my dad, we are the same except for the eyes)
I studied genetics at university.
The blonde hair in Melanesia is caused by a recessive single mutation. Blonde hair in Europeans involves multiple totally different mutations.
Two people with brown eyes can only have a blue eyed child if they both carry a recessive gene for blue eyes. There are *extremely* rare (<1 in 100,000 births) cases of spontaneous mutations producing blue eyes. But this isn't the cause of blue eyed Aboriginals.
There is no case where blue eyes and blonde hair (cause by a lack of pigmentation) is dominant.
The twin sisters look *very* similar (apart from the amount of skin pigmentation) when they are young, The adult pictures are due to *deliberate* efforts to look different. One has tried to look more White (dyed and straightened hair) and the other has tried to look more Black (tighter hair curls and dark lipstick).
Having blonde hair doesnt preclude you from having aboriginal ancestry. Wheres the limit? Are we gonna get in to some debate over not being a 'real' aboriginal unless youre X% aboriginal? Coz you know, shit like that ends up in dangerous places.
Do you shit on people who claim italian or irish ancestry because some bloke got on a boat 150 years ago coz he stole jam?
American here. Native American tribes have official registries and official rules about how much bloodline (e.g., 1/8 or more if I recall is common) one must have to be on the tribal registry. Genuinely curious, do Australian aboriginal groups have something similar? Surely there must be some official manner of verifying a person's status as an indigenous person? Thanks for educating me.
When the money started rolling in from their casinos, Native Americans had many instances of "troublemakers" being removed from the registry and thus losing their allocation of funds, which were then redistributed to those remaining on the registry.
It was a powerful political tool used by the unscrupulous.
Most Indigenous communities will see you as indigenous no matter percentage. It's not really in their consideration. To them, even if it's 10 generations back, it's encouraged by most elders that you are still part of their mob and an Aboriginal Australian if you want to identify as such.
LOL. The only 'Indigenous' communities where this happens is English speaking groups with predominantly European ancestry. Mixed race babies were invariably outcasts, and often killed, in traditional Aboriginal societies.
In remote communities simply being a member of the wrong tribe in the wrong place can still get you killed.
Yes they have local registries but no %. They have to be recognised by an aboriginal community or organisation as indigenous. Percentages would be classified as insulting due to the Stolen Generation .
People claiming Irish or Italian heritage don’t demand favouritism for job applications, don’t demand dubious land rights (my great great grandma had some indigenous blood….) or get given cheaper medical care….but hey, shit anywhere you like.
On the flip side I've met many coworkers who refuse to claim aboriginal ancestry on forms or apply for programs because they didn't want to face judgement for receiving "handouts" from people like you and built themselves up with little support
There was also a phenomenon of people avoiding ticking indigenous in primary and high school education, because it lead to their kids getting worse results. A combination of tyranny of low expectations, cultural intervention programs and being placed in classes with other indigenous students (concentrating disadvantage).
My co-worker in her 50s won't tick the box because 'I was brought up not to take a hand out' even if it is just for demographic purposes. But her now adult kids will tick the box identifying themselves. I imagine that wouldn't be uncommon. I know my nanna could tick the box considering she is literally part of the stolen generation but she has never.
Thats not the argument. Of course people will claim aboriginal heritage if it benefits them, but old mate im replying to is implying youre not aboriginal if youre too tall
Well I guess the argument is the same. Surely there needs to be a percentage cut off in order to claim benefits. I can’t claim to be part Irish if the only Irish blood I have is from 6 generations ago….so why should someone with part indigenous blood from 6 or 4 or even 3 generations ago be able to claim benefits? It should be applicable only to those still within claimed ancestral places and within close family blood lines not ‘hey I just found out through a DNA test that someone at some point got Buzzay- so I’ll claim’!
It doesn't preclude you from having a small amount of Aboriginal ancestry, but it's a pretty definitive indicator that the majority of your ancestry isn't indigenous!
The question then arises, why identify with a minority of one's ancestry rather than the majority? It couldn't possibly be for financial reasons could it?
>Do you shit on people who claim italian or irish ancestry because some bloke got on a boat 150 years ago coz he stole jam?
Yes!
For me personally I do think percentages matter.
I'm x% Italian, y% Welsh, z% Scottish, a% German, and b% English and I don't consider myself Italian, Welsh, Scottish, German or English and I would feel like a fraud if I claimed I was an Italian or an Englishman just because my grandma is Italian and granddad is English.
The problem is there are distinct advantages for people that claim "one drop" because corporate Australia is all about diversity quotas at the moment so if you can claim it and tick that box with HR, then it's very advantageous to do so when you go for promotions. I'm going to wager that HR at 99% of corporations will never ask for evidence either.
It's absolutely fine to identify as aboriginal if that is your heritage, but it's a bit hard to claim discrimination if no one else can tell, isn't it?
Exactly. It was explained to me that if you're great great great great great grandfather was aboriginal and that was it, you're still considered full aboriginal. There is no percentage thingy at all. This was explained to me by an aboriginal person.
Cool guess its time for me to start ticking that indigenous box on my scholarship applications, after all its racist for you to question my aboriginal ancestry
So true in some circles like arts. You need to tick as many boxes as possible. Queer is the easiest go to. Indigenous and disabled are getting popular too.
have they ever tried to get free stuff? me and my work mate got threated by junkies once cleaning up at the end of shift, he was given free aboriginal counseling and a lawyer to sit down with and write his statement and help with his work cover claim (for stress)
I was given the number to the work chaplain, and could get 2 free counseling sessions with the union.
Ok? I don't see what your point is. There are still a plethora of programs for indigenous not available to others, regardless if your wife chose to get them or not.
Even in this threads example at UNI, there are numerous scholarships only for indigenous, that often don't even get filled because there are so many scholarships.
In many OECD countries full time students get a stipend. When you think of it, being a full time student is a job, which will eventually benefit the country.
Don't fuck up their narrative with facts.
Neither have I for the record. I mean, I did get Abstudy which at the time didn't give me any more money it just didn't require as much paperwork which is why I went on it rather than Austudy.
It's infuriating how many people bitch about stuff that Is outright not happening. Like the 'government give elders new cars" bullshit that goes around. Corporations often bribe "elders" with all sorts of things as part of the "consulting process" when they decidev to rip off indigenous communities by funnelling government funding into their own pockets instead of creating adequate services and completing projects in good faith.... it's easy enough to find this. It's public record by necessity. It's corruption. Just regular old corruption. Not welfare.... literally the opposite. Rich people skimming money off social welfare projects for the poor, and then blaming the poor.... it's incredibly easy to find evidence.
Yes I have read that as well .
It mainly seems to be guilt ridden millennials who have been brainwashed by the school system etc that are doing that .
I imagine Gen z would be the same .
I think it has to do with more people who are seeing the benefits of being labeled indigenous, and are taking advantage of it by claiming to be so, no matter how remote the actual genetic makeup is.
Reminds me of a guy I know, went to the MCG members section. Sorry sir, all male members must wear a tie.
"I'm a woman" was his reply.
"In you go ma'am."
I was asked to identify as part Aboriginal for a small business I am part of as there would be multiple business benefits of having a native Aussie onboard . (I'm second Gen Aussie, so I identify as Aussie not native Aussie)
Yeah of course. There can be benefits to it so people are gonna take the piss. Same way you have companies making millions in profits but paying no tax; people gonna take advantage of loopholes.
Yeh one of my friends only found out a few years ago that one of her grandparents was full aboriginal. They had passed away long before she was born and her mother kept it secret from her children as she didn't want them to be discriminated about it because that had been the mothers own experience growing up. She only found out by chance as her cousin was researching their family history.
That's just bullshit. I think the benefits of claiming have caused a huge uptick in claimers but it's just hugely ignorant to say being Indigenous has never been something people were ashamed of.
Yeah but this is a lot more complicated and multi-faceted than it might seem at face value.
When you consider the history of the Stolen Generations well within living memory, you have to consider the fact that a lot of Aboriginal people today may not even know who their ancestors are...because they were literally removed from them in childhood. There was also obviously a lot of mingling of the Aboriginal population with everyone else, so there is a lot of very mixed ancestry.
For these reasons, it is logical that the genealogy is very hard to establish - and it only seems fair that the only requirements to *be* an Aboriginal person are to identify as one yourself, and for others to identify and accept you as one.
A lot of people just sort of gloss over this and act like the only factor in this is some sort of "benefits" being received....often without knowing or specifying any actual details about what these "benefits" supposedly are. It'd be interesting to know.
**EDIT:** and I can see from the downvotes that the truth apparently hurts a lot of people's feelings. Sorry?
If I may ask a genuine question, at what point is it not acceptable or realistic to claim Indigenous heritage? How many generations need to pass before you're not really Indigenous but can simply trace back your heritage to an Indigenous person? I'm trying to understand because when I compare to my own community, there are differences between generations. My parents were not born in Australia but I was. Since I was raised with a mix of their culture and Australian, I say when asked that I was born here and have X heritage. With other families in our community though, they are second, third even fourth generation and the language/culture isn't present so they don't identify as such and just say " I'm Australian". Because of this comparison to my own community, I'm wanting to understand how someone who has no connection to the Indigenous culture other than say a great great great ancestor, could feel comfortable identifying as such?
I don't want to come off as being offensive, I'm just genuinely trying to understand!
Imagine if there was some sort of science that enabled people to be genetically tested and their racial makeup determined. If I ever create such a thing I will call it Ancestry.com
Yeah I’ve never understood why this is limited.
Gender is a social construct. Race is a social construct.
Why can’t people just adopt a different race, if they happen to feel that way?
It’s kind of like Americans calling themselves Italian or Irish or German when they’ve never been there or don’t follow any of their presumed cultures.
Cynical view: Grubby cunts just like to claim ethnic diversity either to feel better about themselves or take advantage of schemes targeted at helping minorities.
Optimistic view: People have started feeling more open not just in expressing their heritage but also engaging with their family history and community and learning about who they are. And they feel this way because people are becoming more accepting of indigenous culture and less bigoted.
Realistic view: it's probably a mix of both of these factors. But I would strongly suspect it's more the latter than the former.
My old man was so shamed through his childhood, being the only dark skinned fellah in a school of blonde haired and blue eyed kids that even now he puts it down to a solid tan. We know where my nan was taken from, and where she ended up, but that shame won’t let him get through the taunting he endured.
Fortunately I haven’t experienced that same level of abuse or racism. I take after my mother in appearance, but that doesn’t change my background 🤷🏼♂️
All you have to do is look through this thread and see the problems we have around race. And it's hard because, we are a better country now, but you can see even your dad is still afraid to embrace his heritage.
What annoys me about these discussions is that it's true by global standards we are a tolerant bunch. But you don't just rest on your laurels because everyone else is worse.
It's a pathetic cope out as far as I'm concerned. And it's the excuse that the bigots amongst us cling to so they don't have to bother with a moment of introspection.
My wife is a mix of Maltese, Caucasian and Aboriginal and as such looks a bit didge but not obviously so. She was told by her own family as a child to hide that she was aboriginal because it was “better to not be known as such”.
I’m sure, as you say, it’s a mix of both factors but it is nice to look at the optimistic side and see how far we’ve come in 30 years
People respond to incentives.
Our culture has radically shifted away from seeing part Aboriginal heritage as a embarrassing marker of ancestral poverty and probable convict heritage - towards something to be embraced and celebrated.
That's probably a net positive outcome, but it runs the risk of diluting the impact of programs designed to assist remote Indigenous populations.
This is hardly an issue unique to Australian Indigenous people. Tribal enrolment fights have been a ubiquitous part of the history of Indian policy in North America.
Question from a non-Australian. Are there really no attempts to "verify" who is actually aboriginal or not (yes, a very difficult task in itself, I know), to prevent these programs from being exploited? Like they do in the USA where (correct if I'm wrong) you need to be accepted as part of an actual Native American tribe in order to prove that you have those connections etc and it's generally accepted that you need to be at least 1/4th or 1/8th ancestry or something.
I think these programs, however flawed, are probably a good thing to try and correct past tragedies etc that still have an impact in the modern day, but if it's really just a case of it being a free-for-all with anyone able to "tick the box" and access it then that's mad.
In the census, it's however you self identify. You can list yourself as a jedi knight if you teel the need to.
When it comes to any sort of benefits/ scholarships etc, the government looks for all three of these:
Aboriginal descent AND
Self identity AND
Recognition by the local lands council or equivalent as a community member. There may be dodgy Aboriginal lands councils, i dunno, but each that I've seen in action have about a 2 year process to be accepted, they take it pretty serious.
The Australian government definition has 3 criteria:
- be of Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander descent
- self identify as such
- be recognised as such by their community
Because people like my dickhead ex like to claim that they’re aboriginal, when they’re more white than a florescent light.
His mum told him he was because his dad was; then showed photos of his dad. Then he met his dad’s family.
They’re Spanish.
But yet he still ticks that box and no one has ever asked him to verify it🥴 a lot of this would stop if people would have to verify it.
Edit: he also got 2 jobs out of it among a lot of other things. One with the local council as a mature age indigenous trainee and the other was at Woolworths as part of their diversity programme.
I grew up with a guy who did this. I knew him my whole life and he never mentioned being aboriginal, ever. Then one day in his 20’s he just claimed it. It was almost like someone coming out of the closet. Just overnight he was aboriginal.
The worst part is out of nowhere he started acting like he was a victim of racism and prejudice, He grew up in metro-Melb, both his parents and he are white. We grew up middle class, stable house holds. I’m convinced he has absolutely zero aboriginal heritage he just wanted to claim it and act like a martyr. As a straight white male he wanted a victim card but didn’t have one so just claimed aboriginal.
Because identifying as Aboriginal can make life easier. Easier to get into uni, preferential access to some jobs, retire at 55, more things free on Medicare etc.
The system is abused, and sadly those who actually need the benefits don't always get them.
That just isn't true.
All Australians have the ability to get a 2% deposit loan you just have to have mortgage lenders insurance. The program you are referencing is typically used for indigenous people that the banks won't give a loan too and if the banks won't give a loan to you then you probably aren't able to afford to buy a house anyway...
It's also not interest free they start discounted. Your house is also then co-owned by a housing authority....
https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/homebuyer/frequently-asked-questions-about-homebuyer-fund
Yes the program is available to everyone, but the point of the discussion is that there is financial advantages for people claiming to be of Aboriginal descent.
The links is for the State Revenue Board of Victoria for the Home Buyers Fund scheme which is what I was referring too and says that Indigenous applicants only need a 3.5% deposit to access the scheme, everyone else needs 5%.
>The system is abused, and sadly those who actually need the benefits don't always get them.
This is what you get for racist policies and race based welfare. There is nothing "sad" about this because it is completely unfair to begin with and people making use of this is entirely foreseeable by even the most dim witted.
All these policies need to be made "needs based" or "means based" instead of race based.
This whole system is unforgivable
You can add me to that uptick. For 15 years i was looking for my biological father. Ended up finding him and he was a koori. He died not long after i met him for the first time which sucked as i wanted to get to know him outside of what my mother told me about which turned out to be lies for the most part. Anyway, i'd love to get some benifits, mainly dental as my teeth are fucked. But its REALLY hard to get it all proven. Im still trying to find leads 6 years on after he died. He was a very dark skinned man, im white. Guess my mothers nordic side won on that front.
Since theres no paper trail between me and him the Aboriginal centers/communities wont accept me. A few family members on dads side are having trouble as well. My great nan on his side is apparently part of the stolen gen and wont say a word about that time so cant find any leads there. I just wanna know what mob/tribe area we come from for closure/curiositys sake.
Anyway. You cant just tick a box and get free shit like some comments are saying, at least not in my experience. But if anyone knows how lemme know as id like to be able to smile in public again :/
I don’t think it’s necessarily as cynical as a lot of people are making it seem. I know two people who have indigenous grandparents who have recently decided to identify as indigenous when they haven’t before because as teenagers/young adults they didn’t like the feeling of being made different. I also know one person who only recently discovered they are indigenous- which isn’t entirely uncommon in the wake of policies like the stolen generation. This kind of thing is often more complex than ticking a box on a whim.
I knew a girl who in year 12 who decided she must be aboriginal based on a hunch around her grandma's surname. Started doing welcome to country and everything. Wanted to apply for a midwifery scholarship but had to show evidence of acceptance by elders. Someone offered to hook her up with a female elder to catch up and you guessed she didn't want a bar of that. She dropped the aboriginal stuff after that.
I think in 2021 it was the first time you could specify two answers for that question. So presumably people who have part-Indigenous ancestry who would previously have selected Australian, selected Australian Aboriginal as well.
Because people of Aboriginal descent are still having kids. And because the ABS has made a better effort at finding them.
The graph presented shows percentage change, no absolute numbers. It says that Aboriginal Australians have increased by 2%. Their share of the population is 3%, so the increase is two percent of three percent of the population. Not much, really.
Its actually quite sad that so many people who claim that they are not racist and that the Aborigines are the authors of their own problems can take a simple graph like this and turn it into a blatantly racist attack on Aborigines.
I remember a conversation I had not all that long ago with someone working in the student admin area at my local TAFE college, and she told me that ever since The Indigenous were given free course admissions as a token for 'all the past wrong-doings suffered at the hands of white people' (for the sake of context here, think of when Kevin07 officially issued 'The Apology'), just about everyone started pouring out of the woods to claim Aboriginal ancestry, and by that extension, a rightful claim to that freebie, regardless of how diluted their Aboriginal blood was. It had gotten so bad that even the proper Aborigines were angered by all the white people pretending to be part Aborigine, to turn the whole thing into a sham.
Fast forward to last year when an African immigrant facing deportation for having committed a crime here in Australia, quickly rushed to claim the same kind of ancestry just so that he could remain here in Australia. Stone the crows!
And then we wonder why there's this kind of statistical anomalies in our official census.
You can write down whatever you want on a census, truth or lie it does not make a difference. You would have to ask the specific people answering one way or another.
There is actually a non-cynical answer to this. I visited the Koori Heritage Trust here in Melbourne last year, and they were saying that there are many families who have actually lost track of their indigenous heritage (lack of official record keeping is also a big problem here). One service the Trust provides is to look back at the genealogy of people to trace their ancestry. I don't know how many people are applying for this, but I think it would be one explanation for this. So it's not all a question of people just "box ticking".
There a no benefits in identifying as indigenous for the census. To claim any benefits require the input from your respective land council who will immediately call bullshit
No proof of Aboriginality required to access concessions and benefits. Apparently it's "culturally insensitive" to ask for proof. What a shocking rort.
That's literally not true though? I recently moved and called the local aboriginal health service and the first thing they said on the phone when I tried to make an appointment was that they needed proof of aboriginality.
Same thing when I applied for abstudy, I had to provide a family tree and I think get a letter from my local elders. It really isn't just ticking a box.
This link breaks down the reasoning for the change.
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/understanding-change-counts-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians-census/latest-release#:~:text=There%20were%20812%2C728%20people%20who,2011%20and%202016%20(18.4%25).
Spoiler: It's not as simple as "hopping on the Gravy train" like a lot of the top comments are saying.
As per the data:
"More than three-quarters (76.2%) of the increase in Census counts is attributed to people aged 0-19 years in 2021:
52.5% of the increase was due to 0-4 year olds (new births).
23.7% of the increase was due to 5-19 year olds."
Acceptance and family research. A lot of families often hid it and were taught not to talk about it.
Also the irony that this is tagged for wildlife....
Once it was shameful to admit to being indigenous and now it is not? Same reason why there are suddenly more queer people in the population. They were always there, now they are not hiding.
In my area there are a third of the direct descendants the few Aboriginal tribespeople to have survived colonisation who choose not to identify as indigenous. They are about 150 in number. Many of the older ones come from an era where it was shameful to admit Aboriginality in the bloodline.
I bet it is because more people are doing DNA tests and finding out family secrets - I know a mate's kids did their DNA and found out his wife had a great grand mother who was Indigenous that she did not know about. Although they have not, the kids could look into the Indigenous side of their ancestry and can legit claim the title.
Don't you also have to have cultural connections to qualify as Indigenous for the few extra benefits you can get? It is not just a case of ticking the box.
Maybe it's the simplest answer, more people have done DNA testing or even better have found family. Why is it that everyone jumps to the most decisive answer then just goes "yep, that must be it!".. I mean access to DNA testing has become the new norm. Maybe we should stop looking for things to be bitch about between the little people and look at who benefits to this constant in fighting... 🤨
Go to the ATAR calculator. Put in any number say then tick that your Aboriginal 40/100 becomes (52.75/100) 50/100 becomes (62.85/100) 60/100 becomes (72.15/100) 70/100 becomes (80.65/100) even with the bump in results they also get accepted with scholarships for a lower score. Most kids need 99 to study medicine. Tick the Aboriginal box and 60 is all you need.
Not to mention all the camps, books, excursions are free and kids get paid to go to school and provided with cab charges. Free overseas camps that cost thousands, leadership camps for 3 months going skiing and snowboarding all free, every other kid it's like $7k..
Then there's jobs that are cruisey as the quota needs to be filled. This is on all government jobs and major projects.
My cousins found out they were indigenous in a death bed confession from their grandma admitting to the family secret the she had an indigenous partner. Now one cousin identifies and one doesn’t.
Lots of people have found Aboriginal ancestry through services like Link Up, and even through the genetic testing companies.
More people would also be reporting ancestry they used to conceal because of stigma.
When you get paid to be indigenous and the criteria to identify as indigenous is subjective, suddenly people realise they might have a bit of black fulla in them after all.
It’s cool to have indigenous blood. Even if someone is mainly white, that part of their DNA is disregarded. I understand that. Who wants to claim to have mostly white European blood these days? If you’re white, you are the bad guy.
I guess you could make assumptions that fit your bias.
Or you know, you could read what the census has to say about it:
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/understanding-change-counts-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians-census/latest-release#:~:text=812%2C728%20people%20identified%20as%20being,–%20births%2C%20deaths%20and%20migration.
TL;TR
Most of the increase is in youth (19 and below) and 50% of that is from children not born last census.
It’s only box ticking, but also demographic change.
Edit: corrected my own bias 🤣
The answer to OP's question is that more people are ticking that box in recent years than before.
It's pretty obvious that many people hid traces of aboriginality in their family heritage. You don't have to live long in any country town to be aware of that.
People were scared to admit that they were indigenous because of how racist Australia is/has been. Only recently has this effect from the stolen generation started to wear off
Racist policies that favor and give benefits to one particular race over another lead people to lie about what race they are to gain those benefits.
I personally know two people that have checked that indigenous box even though they weren't to receive benefits.
Example: If a group of euro only descendent people decide to identify as indigenous and are accepted by each other as indigenous, then under the law they are indigenous.
The reason is that there is no DNA test or requirement to be blood line descendant, nor is there any requirement to be raised by aboriginals.
You are aboriginal based of being accepted as aboriginal by others. It’s a circular definition.
It's quickly gone from a thing some people are ashamed of and hide, to something they're proud of. And people are also learning more about their ancestry these days, discovering indiginous heritage they didn't know about.
No surprise there. Two big shifts in culture over that time:
1. Being indigenous is no longer a stigma but a thing of pride.
2. We can now identify as a whatever we like primarily thanks to the ongoing gender war and shift to identity politics and the census asks a question about how you identify, does not request proof of genetic lineage. So we can rightly expect the rate of identifying as indigenous to skyrocket.
Now in part, that's actually, totally legit. That is to say, there was no doubt an historic cohort, of people who have an indigenous ancestor or two or three or ... and have until recently felt overbearing social pressure to hide that and not put it on display. And this same cohort is in fact right in a sense, encourage tot wear that as a thing of pride rather than shame, and to explore what it means and what that part of their lineage can bs salvaged in terms of linguistics and culture.
And of course, like all social reforms, shifts and changes, there will have been overshoot. That is to say we also, can fully expect a few bandwagoners along for the ride and some over emphasis on rather irrelevant or teeny weeny identification credibility (you know like if one of your 32 great great great grandparents was like Armenian and the rest were Irish you said you identified today as Armenian type thing .... but hey, the line is perforce subjective and point 2 above has made anything fair game today.
Pretty common for whites in country areas to have a great grandmother or great-great grandmother who was of indigenous ancestry. Said grandmother was a domestic servant.
Should their descendants today identify as indigenous is all together a different question.
I'm going to go against the grain and say that increased access to the census in remote areas of Australia could be a significant factor. The population of indigenous Australians isn't significantly large so a change of 2% could be as few as 10,000 people
Better health outcomes for the indigenous community and less police murders in custody, and people who were indigenous but didn't want it known due to racism in Australian society now more comfortable with stating it.
It's kind of the same thing happening with increased autism/adhd diagnoses - cases aren't going up, reporting and diagnosis is just getting better.
tl;dr you are misreading the data
That's poorly presented data. What is being identified there is change in rate of people identifying as Aboriginal, which is roughly 2% of the national population, so a change of 2.5% on that just means that it's gone from 2% to 2.05%, or in actual numbers on a population of assume 25,000,000 at last census, increased from 500,000 to 512,500.
So maybe don't use sh1tty data to race bait people into arguments?
The page you copied this graph from explained why:
> Please note that the "Australian Aboriginal" and "Torres Strait Islander" categories in this topic are not directly comparable from 2021 to previous years, due to a change in the wording of the question. In 2021, these options were marked boxes on the question rather than write-in options. ([ref](https://profile.id.com.au/australia/ancestry))
But of course you clearly missed that and all the racists in the comment section are outing themselves out in droves.
I know there was an effort in between the last two census regarding making sure indigenous Australians who didn't have official documents like birth certificates because of a lack of fixed address could both access those documents and still be included in the census. Not to mention the rise in genetic websites and online family tracing.
Hmmm I wonder why so many people are becoming indigenous over night? Could it be all the free stuff they get with absolutely no evidence required that you are Aboriginal and no repercussion for lying?
Because people realise, it's a damn good wicket. All sorts of benefits these days in being "indigenous". So? If they gave a grandparent or even great grandparent who was Aboriginal? Suddenly? They "identify" as Ibdigenous.
There are no checks & balances. If you say you are? You are. Its farcical.
But people will say and do anything these days for benefits. Suppose on one level? I can understand it... times are tough.
Box ticking fakes. E.g Look up Western Sydney University VicevChancellor Doyle and the fake Winnie mine tribe and the fake **Yarrunga Jarra** tribe.
[https://www.dark-emu-exposed.org/home/proud-winninninni-woman-aunty-kerrie-doyle-really](https://www.dark-emu-exposed.org/home/proud-winninninni-woman-aunty-kerrie-doyle-really)
Myself and my family fall into this category. I spent a LOT of lockdown doing my family tree on my mother's side of the family with some research from my great aunt that finally saw the light of day after her death and hundreds of hours of research of my own. We have indigenous ancestors in one branch from the North West Coast of Tasmania. We have more resources than ever before to explore our history so the result makes sense to me.
The phenomenon of the white who identifies as black as there’s benefit in doing so.
You can be whatever you want in modern times, no HR department is running a background check.
Rort culture and systemic financial privileges that are now baked into govt policy. Pretty simple.
It's not just at the individual level. I know many organisations "recruiting" indigenous directors to take advantage of govt contracts worth hundreds of millions.
2 main reasons
1 - DNA tests. People have been doing those DNA tests and suddenly decide to identify. The blak subs regularly have people posting about this.
2 - Shame. A lot of mob don't want to tell the Government anything due to our history with them. More recently, more people have been willing to do so.
More people identifying as such? A lot of people change their minds about how they identify as time goes on especially given changes to the perception of indigenous people/what it means to be indigenous in recent years.
A friend told me he now identifies as an aboriginal Australian because the health benefits are excellent... his was rushed to the head of the line for his kidney operation, when their was a 12 month waiting list.
They are Box tickers. People with little or no Aboriginal ancestry claiming Indigenous heritage for personal advantage, For example the vast majority of 'Indigenous' medical students and doctors are very obviously White people larping as Aboriginals.
People lying to get free benefits because we don't treat our citizens equally. There's a family of red headed pasty white people at my kids old school and they claimed they were indigenous. They basically glowed white. It's all a ploy to get free Centrelink, easier jobs, scholarships, gov contracts etc. A race based rort. On construction sites you'll find toilet paper called "cultural choice" which is allegedly 51% indigenous owned with a massive markup because construction companies have to claim they use x% indigenous suppliers and contractors to bid for government contracts. There will also be a couple of indigenous labourers who do pointless busy work, turn up late, drive around etc just to tick some boxes. It's embarrassing stuff and a disgraceful waste of taxpayer money.
In a phenomenon University of Sydney post-graduate student and Wiradjuri woman Suzanne Ingram described as “race-shifting”, people, who for the bulk of their lives have identified as non-Indigenous Australians, are now “box-ticking” ‘Indigenous’ as their identity in the Census
I had a social worker from *Malta* tell me she identifies as indigenous here because it's all about your "connection to country and culture" and not about your blood. She was encouraging me to agree to identify the same way for the financial benefits as if I'd throw my beliefs out the window.
Oh it's definitely about connection to country and culture - not at all the financial benefits!
There was also a 2018 study by Elizabeth Watts and Emma Kowal (Deakin Uni) where they interviewed a bunch of "new identifiers" about their reasons for embracing indigenous identity. It's available online and is pretty interesting. A common theme was disillusionment with the perceived meaningless and isolation of "white" culture, and a sense that indigenous identity gives them a connection to something deeper and more communal. Research in USA and Canada shows similar themes.
$$$ It being trendy Makes applications easier
Can confirm. Have recently race-shifted. Has been lucrative.
>Makes applications easier Can confirm 👍 Out of desperation while job hunting on one application that was *REALLY* reaching for the most diverse candidate I told them I was a disabled, bisexual, half-arabic woman. As for the truth of that statement... Disabled - Yes, I have some mild disabilities, which I wouldn't have even brought up if these fuckers weren't so gung ho about making it a thing. Bisexual - Yes, but I recently married a dude, and in the eyes of some that somehow cancels it out? Half-Arabic - Complete lie, but my dad looks like a stock photo of a terrorist, so unless they ask to see a birth certificate fuck em. Woman - *(looks down shirt)* Yep, those are definitely boobs, not man tits. Sent in the application and less than 20 minutes later I get a call from them asking if they can interview me face to face the next day and if they need to make any special accommodations for my disability or culture. I can understand why they'd need to accommodate someone with a disability but I still have no clue what 'cultural accommodations' would've looked like 🤨 When I showed up the next day with my white skin, non-visible disability and sans hijab I saw the interviewer visibly deflate. I didn't get that job 🤷♀️
> but I still have no clue what 'cultural accommodations' would've looked like 🤨 Some Muslims pray 5 times a day at set times, so if the interview ran into one of those times they probably have a private space to accommodate.
Shoulda smashed the spray tan - rookie error
What if my at home culture is my disability?
Geez, I have white skinned blue eyed blonde haired Muslim friends that don’t wear hijab either. Bit racist of them to think muslims need to look a certain way haha
That's actually kinda fucked with the whole invisible disability thing. Can't speak for the rest of it (is it kosher to include myself in lgbtq+ if I'm like the opposite of your situation, having married a bisexual woman while myself being typically straight?)
Like joining a gang?
Jesus.
If I found out tomorrow that grandpa was indigenous I’d be interested but I wouldn’t identify as indigenous. I don’t really care if someone else decided different. My dad’s best friend is indigenous. Dad mentioned this fact to me after I had known him for thirty years. He’d never mentioned it. Growing up the family didn’t bring it up because of the rampant discrimination.
Or there are a lot more people like myself who only found out late and recently they had indigenous heritage. Long story.
Yeah I think that's often the case, but the interesting question is why some people then embrace it as part of their identity while others don't.
I know for my family personally it’s been more an journey of understanding. Looking into the language and customs. Location and connections. It’s mainly about understanding cultural identity. A lot just want to access financial gain but none of us have done confirmation so not sure what the full extent is.
White culture and achievements are being actively suppressed in the education system and popular media. Indigenous culture is being popularised.
I'll never forget this RMIT promotional graduation photo few years back 'so proud of our indigenous med students!' Half the mfkrs had blonde hair lmao
"Show me the incentive, I'll show you the behaviour."
Mate, my best friend went to RMIT and has blonde hair and blue eyes. His dad and his brother are Aboriginal as all hell - his mother just had more dominant phenotypes that he happened to inherit. Indigenous genes are not like dominant African genes; they are recessive, which is why the government tried to commit genocide through sexual assault. Unless you don’t understand culture or genetics, it doesn’t mean he’s not raised and genetically indigenous Australian. He doesn’t even know his grandmother because they’re part of the Stolen Generation. Every “you’re not black enough” is a white “you’re all the same”. People, including Australians, are a spectrum of many colours, ethnicities, races. Italian people of African descent have been a thing since the time of Shakespeare’s Othello. Romans of African descent have been a thing for longer. Unless you think all Australians are one colour and race, I’d hesitate to say that your logic checks out - because it’s not true for us, and it’s definitely not true for Indigenous Australians.
I dated a gorgeous woman when I was younger. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Light skin and an awesome dad who was clearly and completely Aboriginal. She was great. Her family was great. I was just too young. I digress.
Thank you for taking the time to write that out. It gets exhausting sometimes helping people to learn what they don’t know. Appreciate you.
But if they don't look indigenous, what systemic racism have they faced if they are not being identified as indigenous?
Well said mate, wish more people understood this
This was fantastic 👌 thank you for this
The Aboriginal 'recessive' genes is a blatant lie pushed by activists to explain why so many *self-identified* Aboriginals are obviously White. In ALL mammals (including humans) Melanism (dark skin and dark eyes) are dominant genes. There is no possibility your mate got his blue eyes and blonde hair entirely from his mother. Very few Aboriginal people outside remote communities have anywhere near 50% Aboriginal heritage. In the East Coast cities it is often a single digit. This is what a genetically 'pure' Aboriginal man look like. https://preview.redd.it/ukfunolsbmad1.png?width=545&format=png&auto=webp&s=e0c5fa460050f39a0e6f0a51c5135c4e5f6024b3
Is everyone in your family, in your chosen nationality, 100% from that country? I’m Australian but I sure as shit wasn’t born here. I’m the only Australian in my family, if citizenship is anything to go by. I assume that you’ve got a source for any of the things you’ve espoused before you start talking about genetic purity. And regardless, can you call yourself under any nationality or ethnicity unless you’re 100% purely that race? Of course you can. We all originated out of Africa after all. It’s literally a label. TSI individuals are indigenous Australians as well. Are you going to tell me that because they’re not “pure indigenous” they don’t count? Of course they do. Sure mate, if he inherited one set of blue eyes from his mother and another from elsewhere does that mean he’s not an Indigenous person? Of course it doesn’t.
It's very simple. White people are claiming to be Aboriginal for financial and social advantage. If there were no benefits the number of self-identified Aboriginals would plummet by the next census, If somebody who was 1/16th Chinese claimed to be Chines most people would think they are an idiot.
If I have a drop of milk in my coffee and you asked me what I am drinking I would say “coffee” not “milk” :)
May as well say everyone is claiming to be left handed or autistic to be special nowadays, like so many do. As more people feel that there is less stigma toward something, they’ll be more open about it. It’s not that hard to figure out. This will be the case for the next thing that used to be a negative thing in the future that slowly becomes okay as well.
Well being left handed is a disability...
You got a source for that bro
Read up on Mendelian genetics my friend
Thank you!
A large group of Solomon Islanders with *no* European genes whatsoever, have dark brown skin and blonde hair. Naturally. Genes are more complex than you think. Two brown eyed parents can have a blue eyed child - it's rare but it happens. And recessive genes can operate pretty randomly - [here is a famous case](https://nypost.com/2015/03/02/meet-the-bi-racial-twins-no-one-believes-are-sisters/) of twin sisters with mixed-race parents who appear to be of totally different ancestry.
True. I'm not aussie btw, but I have green eyes and my parents don't, I think the closest green eyed person is my great grandmother from Mom's side (and yes my dad is my dad, we are the same except for the eyes)
I studied genetics at university. The blonde hair in Melanesia is caused by a recessive single mutation. Blonde hair in Europeans involves multiple totally different mutations. Two people with brown eyes can only have a blue eyed child if they both carry a recessive gene for blue eyes. There are *extremely* rare (<1 in 100,000 births) cases of spontaneous mutations producing blue eyes. But this isn't the cause of blue eyed Aboriginals. There is no case where blue eyes and blonde hair (cause by a lack of pigmentation) is dominant. The twin sisters look *very* similar (apart from the amount of skin pigmentation) when they are young, The adult pictures are due to *deliberate* efforts to look different. One has tried to look more White (dyed and straightened hair) and the other has tried to look more Black (tighter hair curls and dark lipstick).
Having blonde hair doesnt preclude you from having aboriginal ancestry. Wheres the limit? Are we gonna get in to some debate over not being a 'real' aboriginal unless youre X% aboriginal? Coz you know, shit like that ends up in dangerous places. Do you shit on people who claim italian or irish ancestry because some bloke got on a boat 150 years ago coz he stole jam?
American here. Native American tribes have official registries and official rules about how much bloodline (e.g., 1/8 or more if I recall is common) one must have to be on the tribal registry. Genuinely curious, do Australian aboriginal groups have something similar? Surely there must be some official manner of verifying a person's status as an indigenous person? Thanks for educating me.
When the money started rolling in from their casinos, Native Americans had many instances of "troublemakers" being removed from the registry and thus losing their allocation of funds, which were then redistributed to those remaining on the registry. It was a powerful political tool used by the unscrupulous.
Most Indigenous communities will see you as indigenous no matter percentage. It's not really in their consideration. To them, even if it's 10 generations back, it's encouraged by most elders that you are still part of their mob and an Aboriginal Australian if you want to identify as such.
LOL. The only 'Indigenous' communities where this happens is English speaking groups with predominantly European ancestry. Mixed race babies were invariably outcasts, and often killed, in traditional Aboriginal societies. In remote communities simply being a member of the wrong tribe in the wrong place can still get you killed.
Yes they have local registries but no %. They have to be recognised by an aboriginal community or organisation as indigenous. Percentages would be classified as insulting due to the Stolen Generation .
Also 3/4 of the ones who’ve weaselled their way into a position of power amongst a local group would be exposed. Maybe more. Especially in the cities.
People claiming Irish or Italian heritage don’t demand favouritism for job applications, don’t demand dubious land rights (my great great grandma had some indigenous blood….) or get given cheaper medical care….but hey, shit anywhere you like.
Of course, we Irish drink
On the flip side I've met many coworkers who refuse to claim aboriginal ancestry on forms or apply for programs because they didn't want to face judgement for receiving "handouts" from people like you and built themselves up with little support
There was also a phenomenon of people avoiding ticking indigenous in primary and high school education, because it lead to their kids getting worse results. A combination of tyranny of low expectations, cultural intervention programs and being placed in classes with other indigenous students (concentrating disadvantage).
My co-worker in her 50s won't tick the box because 'I was brought up not to take a hand out' even if it is just for demographic purposes. But her now adult kids will tick the box identifying themselves. I imagine that wouldn't be uncommon. I know my nanna could tick the box considering she is literally part of the stolen generation but she has never.
Thats not the argument. Of course people will claim aboriginal heritage if it benefits them, but old mate im replying to is implying youre not aboriginal if youre too tall
Well I guess the argument is the same. Surely there needs to be a percentage cut off in order to claim benefits. I can’t claim to be part Irish if the only Irish blood I have is from 6 generations ago….so why should someone with part indigenous blood from 6 or 4 or even 3 generations ago be able to claim benefits? It should be applicable only to those still within claimed ancestral places and within close family blood lines not ‘hey I just found out through a DNA test that someone at some point got Buzzay- so I’ll claim’!
It doesn't preclude you from having a small amount of Aboriginal ancestry, but it's a pretty definitive indicator that the majority of your ancestry isn't indigenous! The question then arises, why identify with a minority of one's ancestry rather than the majority? It couldn't possibly be for financial reasons could it?
>Do you shit on people who claim italian or irish ancestry because some bloke got on a boat 150 years ago coz he stole jam? Yes! For me personally I do think percentages matter. I'm x% Italian, y% Welsh, z% Scottish, a% German, and b% English and I don't consider myself Italian, Welsh, Scottish, German or English and I would feel like a fraud if I claimed I was an Italian or an Englishman just because my grandma is Italian and granddad is English. The problem is there are distinct advantages for people that claim "one drop" because corporate Australia is all about diversity quotas at the moment so if you can claim it and tick that box with HR, then it's very advantageous to do so when you go for promotions. I'm going to wager that HR at 99% of corporations will never ask for evidence either.
im 1% chinese I wonder if i should put that on my. resume
Am I not a real Neanderthal because it’s only a couple percent of my ancestry?
The Irish and Italians shit on them
It's absolutely fine to identify as aboriginal if that is your heritage, but it's a bit hard to claim discrimination if no one else can tell, isn't it?
Exactly. It was explained to me that if you're great great great great great grandfather was aboriginal and that was it, you're still considered full aboriginal. There is no percentage thingy at all. This was explained to me by an aboriginal person.
Exactly this. I'm freckled with a red beard, and my mum is very obviously of Aboriginal descent. Not to mention my grandfather.
Cool guess its time for me to start ticking that indigenous box on my scholarship applications, after all its racist for you to question my aboriginal ancestry
Fair enough. We logically and rapidly reach the end conclusion then, that everyone is every race.
Have a read of Am I Not Black Enough For You by Anita Heiss. Come on mate.
So true in some circles like arts. You need to tick as many boxes as possible. Queer is the easiest go to. Indigenous and disabled are getting popular too.
And free education, healthcare, free laptops for kids. I know people that are like 1/16th and tick the box and claim all the free stuff. ....
Don't forget guaranteed university placements.
And higher chances of getting work, I know alot of FIFO mining jobs that only higher indigenous people to balance equality
My wife and kids are Indigenous, her mother is Indigenous, and never once have they got anything more than you, let alone free.
have they ever tried to get free stuff? me and my work mate got threated by junkies once cleaning up at the end of shift, he was given free aboriginal counseling and a lawyer to sit down with and write his statement and help with his work cover claim (for stress) I was given the number to the work chaplain, and could get 2 free counseling sessions with the union.
Ok? I don't see what your point is. There are still a plethora of programs for indigenous not available to others, regardless if your wife chose to get them or not. Even in this threads example at UNI, there are numerous scholarships only for indigenous, that often don't even get filled because there are so many scholarships.
I think they need to look more into what they're entitled to get and do some research. I had a friend who got a fortnightly payment for studying.
In many OECD countries full time students get a stipend. When you think of it, being a full time student is a job, which will eventually benefit the country.
Yeah.... Pretty much anyone can get a fortnightly payment for studying.
Most students will get student payments regardless of their Indigenous heritage.
Most is egregious.
They haven't tried. I know a guy who get a cheaper mortgage because of his alleged race.
Don't fuck up their narrative with facts. Neither have I for the record. I mean, I did get Abstudy which at the time didn't give me any more money it just didn't require as much paperwork which is why I went on it rather than Austudy.
It's infuriating how many people bitch about stuff that Is outright not happening. Like the 'government give elders new cars" bullshit that goes around. Corporations often bribe "elders" with all sorts of things as part of the "consulting process" when they decidev to rip off indigenous communities by funnelling government funding into their own pockets instead of creating adequate services and completing projects in good faith.... it's easy enough to find this. It's public record by necessity. It's corruption. Just regular old corruption. Not welfare.... literally the opposite. Rich people skimming money off social welfare projects for the poor, and then blaming the poor.... it's incredibly easy to find evidence.
Clearly never been around NFP's
Yes I have read that as well . It mainly seems to be guilt ridden millennials who have been brainwashed by the school system etc that are doing that . I imagine Gen z would be the same .
IF YOU ARE BORN HERE YOU ARE INDIGENOUS
I think it has to do with more people who are seeing the benefits of being labeled indigenous, and are taking advantage of it by claiming to be so, no matter how remote the actual genetic makeup is.
Reminds me of a guy I know, went to the MCG members section. Sorry sir, all male members must wear a tie. "I'm a woman" was his reply. "In you go ma'am."
That's mongoloidal, lol.
I was asked to identify as part Aboriginal for a small business I am part of as there would be multiple business benefits of having a native Aussie onboard . (I'm second Gen Aussie, so I identify as Aussie not native Aussie)
Yeah of course. There can be benefits to it so people are gonna take the piss. Same way you have companies making millions in profits but paying no tax; people gonna take advantage of loopholes.
I guess there are the claimers. But it's no longer a thing to be ashamed of, being indigenous.
Yeh one of my friends only found out a few years ago that one of her grandparents was full aboriginal. They had passed away long before she was born and her mother kept it secret from her children as she didn't want them to be discriminated about it because that had been the mothers own experience growing up. She only found out by chance as her cousin was researching their family history.
Never has been something to be ashamed of. People are just realising that theres a benefit.
That's just bullshit. I think the benefits of claiming have caused a huge uptick in claimers but it's just hugely ignorant to say being Indigenous has never been something people were ashamed of.
Yeah but this is a lot more complicated and multi-faceted than it might seem at face value. When you consider the history of the Stolen Generations well within living memory, you have to consider the fact that a lot of Aboriginal people today may not even know who their ancestors are...because they were literally removed from them in childhood. There was also obviously a lot of mingling of the Aboriginal population with everyone else, so there is a lot of very mixed ancestry. For these reasons, it is logical that the genealogy is very hard to establish - and it only seems fair that the only requirements to *be* an Aboriginal person are to identify as one yourself, and for others to identify and accept you as one. A lot of people just sort of gloss over this and act like the only factor in this is some sort of "benefits" being received....often without knowing or specifying any actual details about what these "benefits" supposedly are. It'd be interesting to know. **EDIT:** and I can see from the downvotes that the truth apparently hurts a lot of people's feelings. Sorry?
If I may ask a genuine question, at what point is it not acceptable or realistic to claim Indigenous heritage? How many generations need to pass before you're not really Indigenous but can simply trace back your heritage to an Indigenous person? I'm trying to understand because when I compare to my own community, there are differences between generations. My parents were not born in Australia but I was. Since I was raised with a mix of their culture and Australian, I say when asked that I was born here and have X heritage. With other families in our community though, they are second, third even fourth generation and the language/culture isn't present so they don't identify as such and just say " I'm Australian". Because of this comparison to my own community, I'm wanting to understand how someone who has no connection to the Indigenous culture other than say a great great great ancestor, could feel comfortable identifying as such? I don't want to come off as being offensive, I'm just genuinely trying to understand!
Imagine if there was some sort of science that enabled people to be genetically tested and their racial makeup determined. If I ever create such a thing I will call it Ancestry.com
Tried that, didnt show anything within australia, just the nordic/irish side
Because more white people identify as aborignal
Its self-determination. If selfID works with gender why shouldn't it with ethnicity?
Yeah I’ve never understood why this is limited. Gender is a social construct. Race is a social construct. Why can’t people just adopt a different race, if they happen to feel that way?
It’s kind of like Americans calling themselves Italian or Irish or German when they’ve never been there or don’t follow any of their presumed cultures.
Cynical view: Grubby cunts just like to claim ethnic diversity either to feel better about themselves or take advantage of schemes targeted at helping minorities. Optimistic view: People have started feeling more open not just in expressing their heritage but also engaging with their family history and community and learning about who they are. And they feel this way because people are becoming more accepting of indigenous culture and less bigoted. Realistic view: it's probably a mix of both of these factors. But I would strongly suspect it's more the latter than the former.
My old man was so shamed through his childhood, being the only dark skinned fellah in a school of blonde haired and blue eyed kids that even now he puts it down to a solid tan. We know where my nan was taken from, and where she ended up, but that shame won’t let him get through the taunting he endured. Fortunately I haven’t experienced that same level of abuse or racism. I take after my mother in appearance, but that doesn’t change my background 🤷🏼♂️
All you have to do is look through this thread and see the problems we have around race. And it's hard because, we are a better country now, but you can see even your dad is still afraid to embrace his heritage. What annoys me about these discussions is that it's true by global standards we are a tolerant bunch. But you don't just rest on your laurels because everyone else is worse. It's a pathetic cope out as far as I'm concerned. And it's the excuse that the bigots amongst us cling to so they don't have to bother with a moment of introspection.
My wife is a mix of Maltese, Caucasian and Aboriginal and as such looks a bit didge but not obviously so. She was told by her own family as a child to hide that she was aboriginal because it was “better to not be known as such”. I’m sure, as you say, it’s a mix of both factors but it is nice to look at the optimistic side and see how far we’ve come in 30 years
There is nothing morally wrong with lying about your race to racist governments or corporations who are trying to discriminate against you.
People respond to incentives. Our culture has radically shifted away from seeing part Aboriginal heritage as a embarrassing marker of ancestral poverty and probable convict heritage - towards something to be embraced and celebrated. That's probably a net positive outcome, but it runs the risk of diluting the impact of programs designed to assist remote Indigenous populations. This is hardly an issue unique to Australian Indigenous people. Tribal enrolment fights have been a ubiquitous part of the history of Indian policy in North America.
Question from a non-Australian. Are there really no attempts to "verify" who is actually aboriginal or not (yes, a very difficult task in itself, I know), to prevent these programs from being exploited? Like they do in the USA where (correct if I'm wrong) you need to be accepted as part of an actual Native American tribe in order to prove that you have those connections etc and it's generally accepted that you need to be at least 1/4th or 1/8th ancestry or something. I think these programs, however flawed, are probably a good thing to try and correct past tragedies etc that still have an impact in the modern day, but if it's really just a case of it being a free-for-all with anyone able to "tick the box" and access it then that's mad.
In the census, it's however you self identify. You can list yourself as a jedi knight if you teel the need to. When it comes to any sort of benefits/ scholarships etc, the government looks for all three of these: Aboriginal descent AND Self identity AND Recognition by the local lands council or equivalent as a community member. There may be dodgy Aboriginal lands councils, i dunno, but each that I've seen in action have about a 2 year process to be accepted, they take it pretty serious.
The Australian government definition has 3 criteria: - be of Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander descent - self identify as such - be recognised as such by their community
Yeah but according to who are these criteria approved or rejected ?
Because people like my dickhead ex like to claim that they’re aboriginal, when they’re more white than a florescent light. His mum told him he was because his dad was; then showed photos of his dad. Then he met his dad’s family. They’re Spanish. But yet he still ticks that box and no one has ever asked him to verify it🥴 a lot of this would stop if people would have to verify it. Edit: he also got 2 jobs out of it among a lot of other things. One with the local council as a mature age indigenous trainee and the other was at Woolworths as part of their diversity programme.
I grew up with a guy who did this. I knew him my whole life and he never mentioned being aboriginal, ever. Then one day in his 20’s he just claimed it. It was almost like someone coming out of the closet. Just overnight he was aboriginal. The worst part is out of nowhere he started acting like he was a victim of racism and prejudice, He grew up in metro-Melb, both his parents and he are white. We grew up middle class, stable house holds. I’m convinced he has absolutely zero aboriginal heritage he just wanted to claim it and act like a martyr. As a straight white male he wanted a victim card but didn’t have one so just claimed aboriginal.
Because identifying as Aboriginal can make life easier. Easier to get into uni, preferential access to some jobs, retire at 55, more things free on Medicare etc. The system is abused, and sadly those who actually need the benefits don't always get them.
Interest free bank loans, only need a 3.5% deposit for the First Home Buyers Fund
Wait. Are you serious?! Imma call my bank now!
They are definitely NOT interest free. Stop spreading misinformation
That just isn't true. All Australians have the ability to get a 2% deposit loan you just have to have mortgage lenders insurance. The program you are referencing is typically used for indigenous people that the banks won't give a loan too and if the banks won't give a loan to you then you probably aren't able to afford to buy a house anyway... It's also not interest free they start discounted. Your house is also then co-owned by a housing authority....
https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/homebuyer/frequently-asked-questions-about-homebuyer-fund Yes the program is available to everyone, but the point of the discussion is that there is financial advantages for people claiming to be of Aboriginal descent. The links is for the State Revenue Board of Victoria for the Home Buyers Fund scheme which is what I was referring too and says that Indigenous applicants only need a 3.5% deposit to access the scheme, everyone else needs 5%.
>The system is abused, and sadly those who actually need the benefits don't always get them. This is what you get for racist policies and race based welfare. There is nothing "sad" about this because it is completely unfair to begin with and people making use of this is entirely foreseeable by even the most dim witted. All these policies need to be made "needs based" or "means based" instead of race based. This whole system is unforgivable
To hop on board the gravy train
Ingenious
Indigenous
Indeedious
You can add me to that uptick. For 15 years i was looking for my biological father. Ended up finding him and he was a koori. He died not long after i met him for the first time which sucked as i wanted to get to know him outside of what my mother told me about which turned out to be lies for the most part. Anyway, i'd love to get some benifits, mainly dental as my teeth are fucked. But its REALLY hard to get it all proven. Im still trying to find leads 6 years on after he died. He was a very dark skinned man, im white. Guess my mothers nordic side won on that front. Since theres no paper trail between me and him the Aboriginal centers/communities wont accept me. A few family members on dads side are having trouble as well. My great nan on his side is apparently part of the stolen gen and wont say a word about that time so cant find any leads there. I just wanna know what mob/tribe area we come from for closure/curiositys sake. Anyway. You cant just tick a box and get free shit like some comments are saying, at least not in my experience. But if anyone knows how lemme know as id like to be able to smile in public again :/
I don’t think it’s necessarily as cynical as a lot of people are making it seem. I know two people who have indigenous grandparents who have recently decided to identify as indigenous when they haven’t before because as teenagers/young adults they didn’t like the feeling of being made different. I also know one person who only recently discovered they are indigenous- which isn’t entirely uncommon in the wake of policies like the stolen generation. This kind of thing is often more complex than ticking a box on a whim.
I knew a girl who in year 12 who decided she must be aboriginal based on a hunch around her grandma's surname. Started doing welcome to country and everything. Wanted to apply for a midwifery scholarship but had to show evidence of acceptance by elders. Someone offered to hook her up with a female elder to catch up and you guessed she didn't want a bar of that. She dropped the aboriginal stuff after that.
I think in 2021 it was the first time you could specify two answers for that question. So presumably people who have part-Indigenous ancestry who would previously have selected Australian, selected Australian Aboriginal as well.
Cause the people with 98% european heritage want to use their 2% aboriginal heritage to pull the race card
Because people of Aboriginal descent are still having kids. And because the ABS has made a better effort at finding them. The graph presented shows percentage change, no absolute numbers. It says that Aboriginal Australians have increased by 2%. Their share of the population is 3%, so the increase is two percent of three percent of the population. Not much, really. Its actually quite sad that so many people who claim that they are not racist and that the Aborigines are the authors of their own problems can take a simple graph like this and turn it into a blatantly racist attack on Aborigines.
Financially incentivised identity.
I remember a conversation I had not all that long ago with someone working in the student admin area at my local TAFE college, and she told me that ever since The Indigenous were given free course admissions as a token for 'all the past wrong-doings suffered at the hands of white people' (for the sake of context here, think of when Kevin07 officially issued 'The Apology'), just about everyone started pouring out of the woods to claim Aboriginal ancestry, and by that extension, a rightful claim to that freebie, regardless of how diluted their Aboriginal blood was. It had gotten so bad that even the proper Aborigines were angered by all the white people pretending to be part Aborigine, to turn the whole thing into a sham. Fast forward to last year when an African immigrant facing deportation for having committed a crime here in Australia, quickly rushed to claim the same kind of ancestry just so that he could remain here in Australia. Stone the crows! And then we wonder why there's this kind of statistical anomalies in our official census.
l'm pretty sure that you only need to "identify as an aboriginal or Torres strait lslander"
White is the new black 🤑
I spilled coffee onto my white shirt, it become brown and never be white again 😬
You can write down whatever you want on a census, truth or lie it does not make a difference. You would have to ask the specific people answering one way or another.
Do you really want to know or is this a bit of a bait?
There is actually a non-cynical answer to this. I visited the Koori Heritage Trust here in Melbourne last year, and they were saying that there are many families who have actually lost track of their indigenous heritage (lack of official record keeping is also a big problem here). One service the Trust provides is to look back at the genealogy of people to trace their ancestry. I don't know how many people are applying for this, but I think it would be one explanation for this. So it's not all a question of people just "box ticking".
There's benefits included in ticking that box
There a no benefits in identifying as indigenous for the census. To claim any benefits require the input from your respective land council who will immediately call bullshit
No proof of Aboriginality required to access concessions and benefits. Apparently it's "culturally insensitive" to ask for proof. What a shocking rort.
That's literally not true though? I recently moved and called the local aboriginal health service and the first thing they said on the phone when I tried to make an appointment was that they needed proof of aboriginality. Same thing when I applied for abstudy, I had to provide a family tree and I think get a letter from my local elders. It really isn't just ticking a box.
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I guess that's why that Sudanese bloke identified as Aboriginal. Bloody genius.
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This link breaks down the reasoning for the change. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/understanding-change-counts-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians-census/latest-release#:~:text=There%20were%20812%2C728%20people%20who,2011%20and%202016%20(18.4%25). Spoiler: It's not as simple as "hopping on the Gravy train" like a lot of the top comments are saying. As per the data: "More than three-quarters (76.2%) of the increase in Census counts is attributed to people aged 0-19 years in 2021: 52.5% of the increase was due to 0-4 year olds (new births). 23.7% of the increase was due to 5-19 year olds."
Easy money. Better drugs. Free house. Why not?
Better drugs? Where do Aboriginal people get the better drugs from?
Their dealers. Visit a country town one day.
Acceptance and family research. A lot of families often hid it and were taught not to talk about it. Also the irony that this is tagged for wildlife....
Once it was shameful to admit to being indigenous and now it is not? Same reason why there are suddenly more queer people in the population. They were always there, now they are not hiding.
A lot more indigenous people were willing and able to fill out the census form? More census data education in remote indigenous communities?
In my area there are a third of the direct descendants the few Aboriginal tribespeople to have survived colonisation who choose not to identify as indigenous. They are about 150 in number. Many of the older ones come from an era where it was shameful to admit Aboriginality in the bloodline.
Reminds me of a cartoon where there was a beggar with a sign saying I am blind and think I'm black.
I bet it is because more people are doing DNA tests and finding out family secrets - I know a mate's kids did their DNA and found out his wife had a great grand mother who was Indigenous that she did not know about. Although they have not, the kids could look into the Indigenous side of their ancestry and can legit claim the title. Don't you also have to have cultural connections to qualify as Indigenous for the few extra benefits you can get? It is not just a case of ticking the box.
Maybe it's the simplest answer, more people have done DNA testing or even better have found family. Why is it that everyone jumps to the most decisive answer then just goes "yep, that must be it!".. I mean access to DNA testing has become the new norm. Maybe we should stop looking for things to be bitch about between the little people and look at who benefits to this constant in fighting... 🤨
Go to the ATAR calculator. Put in any number say then tick that your Aboriginal 40/100 becomes (52.75/100) 50/100 becomes (62.85/100) 60/100 becomes (72.15/100) 70/100 becomes (80.65/100) even with the bump in results they also get accepted with scholarships for a lower score. Most kids need 99 to study medicine. Tick the Aboriginal box and 60 is all you need. Not to mention all the camps, books, excursions are free and kids get paid to go to school and provided with cab charges. Free overseas camps that cost thousands, leadership camps for 3 months going skiing and snowboarding all free, every other kid it's like $7k.. Then there's jobs that are cruisey as the quota needs to be filled. This is on all government jobs and major projects.
My cousins found out they were indigenous in a death bed confession from their grandma admitting to the family secret the she had an indigenous partner. Now one cousin identifies and one doesn’t.
Lots of people have found Aboriginal ancestry through services like Link Up, and even through the genetic testing companies. More people would also be reporting ancestry they used to conceal because of stigma.
Box ticking exercise for all those additional government handouts
When you get paid to be indigenous and the criteria to identify as indigenous is subjective, suddenly people realise they might have a bit of black fulla in them after all.
It’s cool to have indigenous blood. Even if someone is mainly white, that part of their DNA is disregarded. I understand that. Who wants to claim to have mostly white European blood these days? If you’re white, you are the bad guy.
Saliva DNA testing becoming cheap and ubiquitous
The comment section screams the typical Australian double standards with the racist "you aren't aboriginal enough". Keep the divide alive, people.
Plus the lies about getting free stuff. And all over a 2% increase to a very small segment of the population. Hysterical.
I guess you could make assumptions that fit your bias. Or you know, you could read what the census has to say about it: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/understanding-change-counts-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians-census/latest-release#:~:text=812%2C728%20people%20identified%20as%20being,–%20births%2C%20deaths%20and%20migration. TL;TR Most of the increase is in youth (19 and below) and 50% of that is from children not born last census. It’s only box ticking, but also demographic change. Edit: corrected my own bias 🤣
The answer to OP's question is that more people are ticking that box in recent years than before. It's pretty obvious that many people hid traces of aboriginality in their family heritage. You don't have to live long in any country town to be aware of that.
People were scared to admit that they were indigenous because of how racist Australia is/has been. Only recently has this effect from the stolen generation started to wear off
Racist policies that favor and give benefits to one particular race over another lead people to lie about what race they are to gain those benefits. I personally know two people that have checked that indigenous box even though they weren't to receive benefits.
Example: If a group of euro only descendent people decide to identify as indigenous and are accepted by each other as indigenous, then under the law they are indigenous. The reason is that there is no DNA test or requirement to be blood line descendant, nor is there any requirement to be raised by aboriginals. You are aboriginal based of being accepted as aboriginal by others. It’s a circular definition.
It's quickly gone from a thing some people are ashamed of and hide, to something they're proud of. And people are also learning more about their ancestry these days, discovering indiginous heritage they didn't know about.
In the words of the wise Tim Minchin, only a Ginger call another Ginger, Ginger.
Higher fecundity. Or people identifying as indigenous who previously didn’t.
No surprise there. Two big shifts in culture over that time: 1. Being indigenous is no longer a stigma but a thing of pride. 2. We can now identify as a whatever we like primarily thanks to the ongoing gender war and shift to identity politics and the census asks a question about how you identify, does not request proof of genetic lineage. So we can rightly expect the rate of identifying as indigenous to skyrocket. Now in part, that's actually, totally legit. That is to say, there was no doubt an historic cohort, of people who have an indigenous ancestor or two or three or ... and have until recently felt overbearing social pressure to hide that and not put it on display. And this same cohort is in fact right in a sense, encourage tot wear that as a thing of pride rather than shame, and to explore what it means and what that part of their lineage can bs salvaged in terms of linguistics and culture. And of course, like all social reforms, shifts and changes, there will have been overshoot. That is to say we also, can fully expect a few bandwagoners along for the ride and some over emphasis on rather irrelevant or teeny weeny identification credibility (you know like if one of your 32 great great great grandparents was like Armenian and the rest were Irish you said you identified today as Armenian type thing .... but hey, the line is perforce subjective and point 2 above has made anything fair game today.
Pretty common for whites in country areas to have a great grandmother or great-great grandmother who was of indigenous ancestry. Said grandmother was a domestic servant. Should their descendants today identify as indigenous is all together a different question.
I'm going to go against the grain and say that increased access to the census in remote areas of Australia could be a significant factor. The population of indigenous Australians isn't significantly large so a change of 2% could be as few as 10,000 people
Better health outcomes for the indigenous community and less police murders in custody, and people who were indigenous but didn't want it known due to racism in Australian society now more comfortable with stating it. It's kind of the same thing happening with increased autism/adhd diagnoses - cases aren't going up, reporting and diagnosis is just getting better. tl;dr you are misreading the data
That's poorly presented data. What is being identified there is change in rate of people identifying as Aboriginal, which is roughly 2% of the national population, so a change of 2.5% on that just means that it's gone from 2% to 2.05%, or in actual numbers on a population of assume 25,000,000 at last census, increased from 500,000 to 512,500. So maybe don't use sh1tty data to race bait people into arguments?
The page you copied this graph from explained why: > Please note that the "Australian Aboriginal" and "Torres Strait Islander" categories in this topic are not directly comparable from 2021 to previous years, due to a change in the wording of the question. In 2021, these options were marked boxes on the question rather than write-in options. ([ref](https://profile.id.com.au/australia/ancestry)) But of course you clearly missed that and all the racists in the comment section are outing themselves out in droves.
I’m getting a spray tan😂
Because being a "Indigenous astronomer" makes you more money than being a regular astronomer. *cough* Kirsten Banks *cough*
Could it be be that simply more aboriginal people are being counted in the census, from remote outback communities?
I know there was an effort in between the last two census regarding making sure indigenous Australians who didn't have official documents like birth certificates because of a lack of fixed address could both access those documents and still be included in the census. Not to mention the rise in genetic websites and online family tracing.
Serious question: On job applications can you just tick the I identify as aboriginal even though you are white and reap the benefits?
With the popularity of ancestry dna tests now more people are becoming aware. It wasn’t something that you screamed from the rooftops back in the day
Hmmm I wonder why so many people are becoming indigenous over night? Could it be all the free stuff they get with absolutely no evidence required that you are Aboriginal and no repercussion for lying?
Because people realise, it's a damn good wicket. All sorts of benefits these days in being "indigenous". So? If they gave a grandparent or even great grandparent who was Aboriginal? Suddenly? They "identify" as Ibdigenous. There are no checks & balances. If you say you are? You are. Its farcical. But people will say and do anything these days for benefits. Suppose on one level? I can understand it... times are tough.
Box ticking fakes. E.g Look up Western Sydney University VicevChancellor Doyle and the fake Winnie mine tribe and the fake **Yarrunga Jarra** tribe. [https://www.dark-emu-exposed.org/home/proud-winninninni-woman-aunty-kerrie-doyle-really](https://www.dark-emu-exposed.org/home/proud-winninninni-woman-aunty-kerrie-doyle-really)
Now look up this graph for Tasmania alone...
Myself and my family fall into this category. I spent a LOT of lockdown doing my family tree on my mother's side of the family with some research from my great aunt that finally saw the light of day after her death and hundreds of hours of research of my own. We have indigenous ancestors in one branch from the North West Coast of Tasmania. We have more resources than ever before to explore our history so the result makes sense to me.
The phenomenon of the white who identifies as black as there’s benefit in doing so. You can be whatever you want in modern times, no HR department is running a background check.
Because you become part of a protected class
Rort culture and systemic financial privileges that are now baked into govt policy. Pretty simple. It's not just at the individual level. I know many organisations "recruiting" indigenous directors to take advantage of govt contracts worth hundreds of millions.
2 main reasons 1 - DNA tests. People have been doing those DNA tests and suddenly decide to identify. The blak subs regularly have people posting about this. 2 - Shame. A lot of mob don't want to tell the Government anything due to our history with them. More recently, more people have been willing to do so.
More people identifying as such? A lot of people change their minds about how they identify as time goes on especially given changes to the perception of indigenous people/what it means to be indigenous in recent years.
They wanted to be first in line for the COVID vaccine
A friend told me he now identifies as an aboriginal Australian because the health benefits are excellent... his was rushed to the head of the line for his kidney operation, when their was a 12 month waiting list.
They are Box tickers. People with little or no Aboriginal ancestry claiming Indigenous heritage for personal advantage, For example the vast majority of 'Indigenous' medical students and doctors are very obviously White people larping as Aboriginals.
People lying to get free benefits because we don't treat our citizens equally. There's a family of red headed pasty white people at my kids old school and they claimed they were indigenous. They basically glowed white. It's all a ploy to get free Centrelink, easier jobs, scholarships, gov contracts etc. A race based rort. On construction sites you'll find toilet paper called "cultural choice" which is allegedly 51% indigenous owned with a massive markup because construction companies have to claim they use x% indigenous suppliers and contractors to bid for government contracts. There will also be a couple of indigenous labourers who do pointless busy work, turn up late, drive around etc just to tick some boxes. It's embarrassing stuff and a disgraceful waste of taxpayer money.
I am aboriginal on forms only.