The term Mabo refers to all issues relating to the Australian High Court judgement in the Mabo v. Queensland case. On the 3rd of June, 1992, after a decade long lawsuit, the High Court ruled that the land title of the Indigenous Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders is recognised at common law. This Indigenous Peoples land title comes from the continuation within common law of their rights over land which pre dates the European colonisation of Australia. In the absence of an effective extinguishment by the crown, this title presents through heritage the original occupants right to possession of their traditional lands in accordance with their customs. The judgement has, at long last, rejected the "Terra Nullius” bringing Australia in line with remaining common law countries. Eddie Mabo had died of cancer in February 1992 so he was not alive to see the final ruling that would become so historic because it completely overruled the idea of Terra Nullius. Nobody could have predicted the changes it made on Australian land law.…
The most useful source for my 5 sub-questions is sources 6, 1 and 3. Source 6 demonstrates what occurred after the Mabo decision took place which relates to the question: “How were the people affected and what were the implications?” After the Mabo decision, the Native Title Act was made 1 year later and it was created to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have rights to certain land because of their traditional laws and customs. To answer sub-questions 1 and 3, source 1 is most useful for demonstrating Eddie Mabo’s land claims and background information. However, the source’s perspective is pro-Mabo because it’s a reconciliation charity.…
In this journal article Mercer, discusses the on-going debate surrounding Indigenous Australians land rights claims from the mid-1980s onwards. He then goes on to discuss that the law surrounding land always adhered to the principles of Governor Bourke’s’ Proclamation, until the landmark decision handed down in the Mabo case. However, he concludes that in regard to political climate little else has been done in the advancement of land rights’ legislation in regard to the Indigenous Australian population. He also provides a comparison between how Australia and Canada have responded to Indigenous claims of land, saying that Canada has acted far…
The 1992 Landmarks High Court case abolishing the doctrine of ‘Terra Nullius’; the foundation of Australia’s settlement paved way for the ‘Native Title Act 1993’. Following the 20 year commemoration of the Mabo decision, the 2012 telemovie ‘Mabo’ directed by Rachel Perkins was released. It depicts the life of Murray Islander man and activist Eddie Koiki Mabo and his family in his grueling fight for land rights. Pride comes before the fall – the ego of one stems destruction. Pride is a sense of satisfaction derived from one’s achievements. It is also a feeling of self-worth and dignity. Eddie is of Murray Island decent and this background stems a lot of pride. The Indigenous race have suffered from racist values of society and it is Eddie’s pride in his race that stems his battle for justice and equality.…
The long challenge of indigenous people has been overcome by not only their feeling of dispossession of their land but also that dispossession of being emotionally hurt through that of indigenous culture and family. Passage one Red Indian Heritage is my reading of a plea by Chief Seattle to keep his peoples land and this their way of life; it informs my reading of Garry Foley’s article White Myths Damage Our Souls which was writing over one hundred years after Seattle’s. Both texts explore similar ideas of dispossession within indigenous people. Foley’s article informs the reader of that forced assimilation of Koori people in Australia has cost them their Aboriginality which is also something Chief Seattle mentioned in his speech as to what…
Indigenous protests over how reserve land was managed and how it was being taken away became more and more frequent, until in the 1960s it erupted into a country wide movement for land rights. Not only did the Indigenous population of Australia want to preserve the land they already had, but they wanted to be recognised as the legal owners of their traditional lands so that no one, not even the government could take them away in the future.…
Throughout Australian history, there have been men and women who fought for the entitlements of the indigenous people. The most respected and recognised of these is Eddie Mabo, a Torres Strait Islander. Mabo stood up for the rights of his people from a very young age all the way to his death, in order to generate changes in the policies and laws of the government. Mabo battled for his right to own the land which he had inherited from his adoptive father, a fight which was resolved only after his demise. Despite this, Eddie Mabo became one of the key influential figures in the Aboriginal rights movement, as his strong will, determination, and intelligence allowed him to bring about change.…
Eddie Mabo brought forth a new yet logical approach to land ownership within Australia through utilising the courts of Australia and it is with this that he and others brought forth a case to the high court of Australia. This case did not only affect Mabo’s land as it would affect all of the indigenous people’s right to land as with the passing of the case it would remove the once placed terra nullius on Australia and allow for aboriginals to once more take ownership of their land. This is evident in a news article from the time titled “Court's ruling destroyed idea of terra nullius” where it states, “The High Court found in favour of the Murray Islanders and overturned the doctrine accepted until then that Australia had been terra nullius”. Henceforth, the methods of Eddie Mabo challenged previously set out laws and regulations and compelled the high courts of Australia to modify it so that the aboriginals would have their rightful ownership of their…
Throughout Australian and international history, indigenous people have had their future chosen for them. This dates back millennia, when the Romans would sell the indigenous off as slaves, or when the Aboriginals of Australia were stolen from their families. Until only recently, indigenous people were living at a lower standard than other people, and no-one fought for their rights. However, there have been significant advancements in the Aboriginal fight for self-determination, such as the Mabo act, and Rudd’s apology to the stolen generation. Self Determination is the ability for a group of individuals to make their own decisions, thus improving the quality of life for those individuals.…
Since 1918, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) have achieved a great deal of change in both political and social ways, though it was not without struggle. Many of these achievements are derived from several events, such as the Mabo Decision which was the long battle that lead to the recognition of Aboriginal land rights. Other events also contributed, such as the long process of reconciling the relationships between ATSI peoples and Australians, the Bringing Them Home Report which helped lead to the Apology. All of these events are important in Aboriginal culture as they all inspired change in the Australian community.…
A key achievement in Paul Keating’s leadership was the recognition of Indigenous Australian’s rights and acknowledging their position in society. Keating established a Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, working alongside Aboriginal Australians, which sought to implement different strategies to ameliorate the injustices. In June 1992 the High Court recognised Aboriginal land rights by making a decision that native title existed in the Mabo case. Keating supported this notion and delivered the Redfern Speech in December 1992, apologising for the wrongdoings of white society and recognising Aboriginal rights. This was a significant moment and is still recognised today because it was the first time in Australian history that the government attempted to reconcile the relationship with Indigenous Australians. Today, people reflect on this speech and can still find areas that need to be improved upon to ensure an equal society.…
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.…
The statement, ‘Aboriginal spirituality is as diverse and complex as the people themselves’, relates Aboriginal people to their culture and beliefs.…
Aboriginals have always had a strong link between them and the land with the belief of the Dreamtime and the art, symbols, rituals and totems that came with it. After the white settlement, the way in which aboriginals lived their everyday life took a dramatic turn. It had affected their culture for many generations with a disconnection with the land to them.…
Aboriginal rights is a result of the peaceful negotiation and an agreement between the Crown and the First Nations. Rights that was inherent that had been continually practiced for a long period of time up to these days. These rights that are constitutionally protected by the Constitution Act of 1982 and by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 can not be extinguished but can be infringed upon by the federal government but only for substantial objective with respect…