Native Title Analysis
Government policies of ATSI peoples include:
• White Australian Policy – 1901 – tried to ban all Caucasian people from entering the country
• Western Australia Aborigines Act – 1905 - this made the Chief prosecutor the legal guardian of half-caste children under the age of 16
• NSW Aborigines Protection Act – 1909 – introduced to public schools
• Stolen generations – 1910-1970 – children were forcibly removed from their families
• Assimilation Policy – 1937 – Aboriginal people are assimilated into the white society
• Aboriginal Integration Policy – 1965 – introduced to give Aboriginal people more control of their lives and society
• Citizenship – 1967 – ATSI peoples gain citizenship
• Aboriginal Land Rights – 1976 – Aboriginal people gained …show more content…
This process has displayed the development of innovative ways, theories and principles, as well as the termination of the doctrine of ‘terra nullius’, creating justice for ATSI peoples past, present, and future. Native title is a legal right on ATSI communities to use land and live on the land which they have an ongoing connection with. Native title was a problem as it was extremely difficult to determine whether Australia was ‘land belonging to no one’. The Indigenous had to prove they had traditional connections with the land. Law reform was brought about to the ‘terra nullius’ claim by Aboriginal advocates who challenged Australian sovereignty on the terms that ‘terra nullius’ was incorrectly applied. The Native Title Act 1993 and the Native Title Amendment 1998 are the mechanisms that have been put into action. The Native Title Act 1993 came about due to the Mabo cases, and the Native Title Amendment 1998 by the Wik case. When Australia was stated as ‘terra nullius’ ATSI peoples were impacted significantly, they lost all rights they had to their land. It was unjust considering they were the traditional owners of the land. The doctrine of ‘terra nullius’ suggested that Indigenous Australians did not exist as citizens. Law reform began to take place in the Gove Land Right case. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was founded by the Australian Labour Party in 1972 after the unsuccessful case of the Gove Land Rights. Later a royal commission into land rights was founded and successfully made the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. This is effective law reform as it was the first legislation in Australia to found a land claim process in which traditional owners could claim their land. Within the Mabo cases, the Queensland government enacted the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985.
• White Australian Policy – 1901 – tried to ban all Caucasian people from entering the country
• Western Australia Aborigines Act – 1905 - this made the Chief prosecutor the legal guardian of half-caste children under the age of 16
• NSW Aborigines Protection Act – 1909 – introduced to public schools
• Stolen generations – 1910-1970 – children were forcibly removed from their families
• Assimilation Policy – 1937 – Aboriginal people are assimilated into the white society
• Aboriginal Integration Policy – 1965 – introduced to give Aboriginal people more control of their lives and society
• Citizenship – 1967 – ATSI peoples gain citizenship
• Aboriginal Land Rights – 1976 – Aboriginal people gained …show more content…
This process has displayed the development of innovative ways, theories and principles, as well as the termination of the doctrine of ‘terra nullius’, creating justice for ATSI peoples past, present, and future. Native title is a legal right on ATSI communities to use land and live on the land which they have an ongoing connection with. Native title was a problem as it was extremely difficult to determine whether Australia was ‘land belonging to no one’. The Indigenous had to prove they had traditional connections with the land. Law reform was brought about to the ‘terra nullius’ claim by Aboriginal advocates who challenged Australian sovereignty on the terms that ‘terra nullius’ was incorrectly applied. The Native Title Act 1993 and the Native Title Amendment 1998 are the mechanisms that have been put into action. The Native Title Act 1993 came about due to the Mabo cases, and the Native Title Amendment 1998 by the Wik case. When Australia was stated as ‘terra nullius’ ATSI peoples were impacted significantly, they lost all rights they had to their land. It was unjust considering they were the traditional owners of the land. The doctrine of ‘terra nullius’ suggested that Indigenous Australians did not exist as citizens. Law reform began to take place in the Gove Land Right case. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was founded by the Australian Labour Party in 1972 after the unsuccessful case of the Gove Land Rights. Later a royal commission into land rights was founded and successfully made the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. This is effective law reform as it was the first legislation in Australia to found a land claim process in which traditional owners could claim their land. Within the Mabo cases, the Queensland government enacted the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985.