Indigenous And Non-Indigenous Australians

In 1976 the Fraser government passed the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. Several state governments passed their own Land Rights Acts, which recognised aboriginal and Torres Strait islander claims to land and guaranteed them royalty payments from mining companies working there. Some laws enforced by the government became challenging for most indigenous people to abide by. Through the analysis of this information we understand the impacts the government and its laws had towards the indigenous society of

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.

However, was this outrageous act nothing more than an honest mistake? Upon finding such promising land, did the European colonies believe they were impartial to possessing and commanding it as they please? Only for the fact that the current Indigenous owners were using it for means they could not understand? Did they believe that the only significance the land had to the Indigenous people was a spiritual and emotional connection, and the land could be therefore put to better use? Historical facts support all of these statements, and therefore are proving one of the largest acts of injustice Australia has ever

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am here to discuss the effects that Neville Bonner had on the land rights and freedoms of aboriginal Australians. Australia has a history of discrimination. This is proven by the amount of effort it took to change the rights of indigenous Australians. One of the most effective aboriginal Australian’s was Neville Bonner, who I will speak about today. Neville Bonner had a significant impact on the rights and freedoms of indigenous peoples due to his involvement in parliament and his determination to live freely as an aboriginal. We will discuss throughout the speech Neville’s background and childhood, the changes he made to the rights of aboriginal peoples and who they impacted, as well as why he decided to make a difference to the lives of aborigines.

The Mabo decision of 1992 was hailed as a landmark case in the history of indigenous-white relations in Australia. Overturning centuries of injustice, as well as the myth of right by ‘terra nullius’, the case prompted the passing of the Native Title Act of 1993, which affirmed native title and asserted that native Australians possessed their land under common law, and in doing so ushered in a new era of equality in Australian society. However, though correctly lauded as a milestone in recognition of aboriginals as valid legal entities, the act was not without its problems, and in truth has had little impact on Australian society as a whole. As we shall see, the trend of positive reform existent in the act was not supported in practice, and aboriginal Australians remain at the mercy of Western courts when it comes to their land. Though the Mabo decision and the subsequent Native Title Act went some way to correcting past injustices, its actual impact on Australian society has been negligible.

Annotated Bibliography: INDG 1160 Colbung, K., ‘On being Aboriginal: a personal statement’, in Berndt, C. and Berndt, R. (eds.), Aborigines of the West: Their Past and Present, Perth, University of Western Australia Press, 1980, pp. 100-105. In this concise, yet powerful proclamation of self, Ken Colburg a Noongyar man and chair of the Aboriginal Land trust describes growing up in a time of extreme oppression of his people. He depicts the prolific way the Australian government has defined the Aborigines through a series of legislation instead of letting his culture have the freedom to self-identify. This statement was written in 1980 during a controversial time where mining bills superseding the previous land grant legislation.

The term ‘Native Title’ refers to the right of Indigenous people to their traditional land. In Australia it has a legal significance of the right to an area of land, claimed by people whose ancestors were the original inhabitants of the land before European settlement. Also who can prove that they have had a continuous connection with the land. Native Title is the term given by the High Court to Indigenous land rights by the Court in Mabo and others v State of Queensland (No.2) [1992] HCA 23. The case required

A landmark event for Aboriginal People’s struggle for rights is February 13, 2008, when in Federal Parliament the then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stood up to apologise to the Aboriginal People, for Australia’s past mistreatment on laws, policies and practices that effected the people of the stolen generation (Welch, 2008 and National Sorry Day Committee, 2014). Aboriginal People have struggled for rights since the British came to Australia but it was especially highlighted when the Aborigines Act 1905 came out. There were multiple things that lead to this landmark event, though the Bringing them Home Report in 1997 was a huge step in helping the apology to come about (National Sorry Day Committee, 2014). This essay will discuss in more depth what led to this event, what the goals of the apology were, what the outcomes were and the ongoing impact has resulted.

the land they claim, it simply gives them the right to a say in the

The native title act inspired by the mambo case enabled and encouraged the aboriginal people in the past, present and future to stand up for their culture, community and land. The mambo case allows me to understand the fight the aboriginal people fought for. In recognising that Indigenous peoples in Australia had prior rights to land, the Court held that these rights, where they exist today, will have the protection of the Australian law until those rights are legally extinguished (HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA,2017).

When European colonists settled in Australia they treated the Aboriginal people extremely different to that of their fellow white men. The Aboriginals were not seen as first class citizens through the European eye and as a result were victims of extreme oppressions and had nearly no rights or freedoms. Since then Aboriginal people have fought to be treated equally to the white men through various different ways. I will discuss the previous struggles faced by the Aboriginals, the Australian strife for equality and finally the level of success and degree of rights and freedoms given to Aboriginals in modern Australia.

The rights and freedoms of Aboriginals have improved drastically since 1945 with many changes to government policy, cultural views and legal rules to bring about a change from oppression to equality. Unfortunately on the other hand, some rights and freedoms have not improved at all or have even worsened.

Since the time of federation the Aboriginal people have been fighting for their rights through protests, strikes and the notorious ‘day of mourning’. However, over the last century the Australian federal government has generated policies which manage and restrained that of the Aboriginal people’s rights, citizenships and general protection. The Australian government policy that has had the most significant impact on indigenous Australians is the assimilation policy. The reasons behind this include the influences that the stolen generation has had on the indigenous Australians, their relegated rights and their entitlement to vote and the impact that the policy has had on the indigenous people of Australia.

The Australian Indigenous community hold extremely significant corrections to the land of Australia, of which they refer to as ‘Country.’ Indigenous people acquire deep meaning from the land, sea and the countless resources derived from them. This special relationship has formed for many centuries. To them ‘Country’ is paramount for overall wellbeing; the strong, significant, spiritual bonds embody their entire existence. Knowledge is continually passed down to create an unbroken connection of past,

Social justice is the idea that the distribution of benefits and burdens within a society will be distributed equally among all populations. If social justice is met all members of a society would be entitled to the same rights and have access to the same quality services. However, if we think back on the history of the United States and on the world in general, we can easily understand that social justice has not been fulfilled in many societies. Take the Indigenous Australian population and the African-American population residing in the United States for example. There were both historical and present-day injustices against these populations that have resulted in health disparities. While the historical trauma that led to their respective health disparities may be different, there are similarities in the challenges both groups face today regarding their health in comparison to majority populations.