Aborigines remain in poverty, bad health

A group of traditionally dressed Aborigines play didgeridoos and music sticks as they lead a march through Sydney on Saturday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal referendum. Reuters

Australia yesterday marked 40 years since a historic referendum granted Aborigines citizenship, but celebrations were muted by stark reminders the continent's original inhabitants are still poverty stricken and die much younger than the rest of society.

An overwhelming 91 percent of Australians voted in favor of reforms in the 1967 referendum that gave the federal government the power to make laws covering Aborigines and to count them in the official census for the first time.

Before then, Aborigines' legal rights varied from state to state, with some jurisdictions including them in laws covering wildlife and plants.