“[Indigenous people] had been counted in every federal census since 1901”
What RMIT ABC Fact Check found
Yes, Indigenous people were enumerated in federal censuses prior to 1967, but there is more to the story than Professor Blainey's claim suggests. The numbers of so-called "full-bloods", as they were referred to in early censuses, were not included in the final population figures. Basic counts of the "full-blood" Aboriginal population were instead published separately, often with no further analysis of that population's characteristics. (People deemed to be less than "half" Aboriginal were inc...
Their words, from the summary they publish with the rating.
In short
Geoffrey Blainey (Historian) made this claim around 1 July 2023. RMIT ABC Fact Check (Australia) looked into it and published its finding on 28 September 2023, 89 days later. Its rating was “Yes, but more to it”.
Where the claim appeared
- theaustralian.com.auhttps://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/before-we-vote-on-indigenous-voice-to-parliamen…
Links recorded by RMIT ABC Fact Check. Some posts may have been deleted since.
This check was done by RMIT ABC Fact Check, not by DoesItStand. We list it so you can find it. Their full evidence and reasoning are in their article.