Aboriginal people are the proud keepers of what is arguably the oldest continuous culture on our planet. Their heritage spans many different communities, each with its own unique mixture of cultures, customs and languages. In May 2020 there were an estimated 745,000 Aboriginal people living in Australia, making up around 3 per cent of the country’s population.

The movement for Aboriginal land and human rights is strong, even while the people are discriminated against, exploited and oppressed to a high degree. The militant struggle of the Aboriginal people against racism and colonialism, against the denial of their rights, is also an ideological struggle against individualism in support of a collective society based on co-operation not competition.

The most important demand – which Aborigines have fought for since colonisation began in 1788 -- is for land rights, their right to own and control their land and resources. This campaign is more than an issue of civil rights. It goes beyond this bourgeois democratic aim because it contains a significant revolutionary aspect, the demand for the return to collective ownership of part of the basic means of production.

In this decade the movement wais centred on demands for a “Voice to Parliament” – establishing a way to give Aboriginal people a say on the policies and laws that impact their lives, a way to deliver constitutional recognition for Aboriginal people, and a way to ensure that government is better informed in its approach to Aboriginal affairs policy and law-making.

A second area of militant campaigning was the Black Lives Matter movement – a movement against the deaths of Aborigines, mostly young men, in police and prison custody. Aboriginal people continue to die in our so-called justice system. In the last 30 years, 474 Aboriginal people have died in custody.

A third major campaign was against fracking with 70 per cent of the north of the continent covered by fracking licences. Traditional owners and their supporters waged a prolonged campaign to prevent fracking in order to protect their land and water.

The CPA made a contribution to these campaigns but was most active in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Gurindji walk off from the Wave Hill Station in the Northern Territory, participating in the Black Lives Matter movement, and campaigning to end racism in sport, as well as participating in the actions to mark Invasion Day (January 26 – usually called Australia Day).

Aboriginal communities and their supporters, including CPA members around the country. have been fighting on many fronts in addition to land rights. Much has been achieved. Much more remains to be done, including in support of vastly improved Aboriginal employment, education, health and housing.