The limits of 'elimination' in the politics of population

Has Australian colonisation tended to 'eliminate' the Indigenous presence? The Australian government did not enact the logic of eliminationââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âby ceasing to enumerate people as Indigenous Australiansââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âwhen the referendum in 1967 showed popular support for the 'inclusion' of 'Aborigines'. No longer distinguishing 'Aborigines' in the results of the census, thus ending the 'Aboriginal population', was a possible road to inclusion, but it was not taken. Rather, census policy 1961-1971 effectively enlarged the 'Aboriginal population'. We argue that 'the logic of elimination' was resisted by a combination of Indigenous demand (for recognition), technical considerations (the unreliability of self-reported 'caste'), and social scientists' and bureaucrats' demand for better knowledge of Indigenous Australians.