May 27th marks the 40 year anniversary of the referendum which gave Aboriginal people the right to be counted in the national census and the Commonwealth to make power for their welfare.
Some of the key figures in the 1967 referendum campaign are expected to attend Canberra this weekend to mark the anniversary.
The 1967 constitutional referendum, one of the few which manage to pass, had the highest yes vote of 90.77% in amending the constitution to allow the Commonwealth Government to make national laws in relation to Aboriginal people.
The daughter of Pastor Doug Nicholls, one of the key indigenous rights campaigners told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that her father was committed to the cause and it was the right time to make a change.
"It was a chance to turn over a new leaf for all our people within this country. It was their right," said Lilian Tamiru the daughter of Pastor Nicholls. "It was the right of our people. It was the right time to change and think differently and for us to go ahead."
Despite the referendum, Ms. Tamiru said that equality had not yet been achieved between Aboriginals and non-Indigenous Australians. This point is emphasis with the release of a new report showing that Indigenous Australians died 17 years younger compared to their peers.
The National Council of Churches in Australia supported the AMA claims that life expectancy for Indigenous Australians were shorter and further added that Aboriginal faced the "sad realities."