Indigenous Land Rights: The Mabo Case

The court case consisted of the Queensland government passing an act and trying to pass a law which prevented Aboriginal people, from claiming native title. Native title in Australia being the government recognising the traditional connection that the Indigenous people have with the land and waters. Mabo eventually won this case, the result not being that they could claim native title but that the possibility was

In 1992, the doctrine of terra nullius was overruled by the High Court in the case Mabo v Queensland (No.2) [1992] HCA 23. After recognising that the Meriam people of Murray Island in the Torres Straits were native title landholders of their traditional land, the court also held that native title existed for all

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.

The Eddie Mabo v the State of Queensland [No. 2] (Mabo) case has had a deep impact on the legal, social and political reality of Indigenous-non-Indigenous relations in Australia. It’s established a long term consequences may require considerable litigation, or maybe a Federal Legislation. The Mabo case is the means of which the sovereign rights of Indigenous Nations to their ancestral lands. The result in the case was a recognition by the Australian legal system that the Meriam people hold rights to their land under their own system of law, and that those rights should enjoy the protection of the Australian Law.

It creates a land acquisition fund to meet the needs of dispossessed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who would not be able to claim native title. Wik Case 1996 After the Mabo Case resolved the land rights dilemma of Aboriginals, there were unresolved conflicts on the issue of pastoral leases,

Indigenous Australians have been fighting for their civil rights since European colonisation in 1788, in particular, for their rights to land ownership. Prior to the Mabo land rights case, there was very little success when it came to indigenous Australians making claims. The Mabo case took land rights to the highest court in Australia. It succeeded in achieving land rights and overturning Terra Nullius. The Mabo case helped to continue to chip away at the barriers of civil rights. The Mabo Case was a step towards Indigenous equality.

The case of Mabo decision with Queensland government was one of the most significant legal case in Australia, which recognised the land rights and the original ownership of Murray islanders in the Torres Strait. It was acting by Murray islanders and the High Court upheld. Based on the successful legal case, there are some key issues in the process for Indigenous’ land rights, which were changed in Australia law and affect future rulings in Australia, such as the Native Title ruling of the Aboriginal people’s land rights after the High Court passed the Act in 1993; in addition, due to this alteration of Australian laws, it not only had a big impact of Murray islanders but also on some other groups of Aboriginal people’s land rights reform.

In the late 1970s, the Queensland Government attempted to dispossess some of the local people in their own land. In 1982, Five members on the island of Mer decided to take the matters to court, one of these people was Eddie Mabo.

In 1967, a landmark event occurred for the Indigenous Community of Australia. They were no longer declared Flora and Fauna This means that Aboriginal people would be considered a part of the landscape and not humans in their own right.. In 1967, a Referendum was held by all members of Australian society voting on the issue of allowing Indigenous Australian to be a part of the census and thereby able to vote and be counted as part of Australia’s population. This achieved not only citizenship for Aboriginal people, but put the issue of Indigenous Rights on both the political and social platforms. This essay will look at the lead up to the Referendum, how Aborigines and their supporters communicated their belief in their rights to the

The land rights movement is of critical importance for Aboriginal spirituality, as the Dreaming is inextricably linked to the land. With many Aboriginal people having lost their spiritual links with the land as a result of European settlement, the land rights movement has been necessary to help Aboriginal people re-establish their sacred connection with the land.

Terra Nullius was once apparent in Australian society, but has now been nullified with the turn of the century. With the political changes in our society, and the apology to Indigenous Australians, society is now witnessing an increase in aboriginals gaining a voice in today’s society. Described by Pat Dodson (2006) as a seminal moment in Australia’s history, Rudd’s apology was expressed in the true spirit of reconciliation opening a new chapter in the history of Australia. Considerable debate has arisen within society as to whether aboriginals have a right to land that is of cultural significance and whether current land owners will be able to keep their land.

Eddie Mabo has had such an impact on today’s society for indigenous people and the Meriam people were facing racial discriminations in their community. Some of Eddie Mabo’s many achievements include “campaigning for better access for Indigenous peoples to legal and medical services, housing, social services and education and establishing the Townsville Black Community School.” (Stephenson, 1989-1999). Mabo believed that it was along for the Australians along with Terra Nullius, a legal document which held that Australia as unoccupied at the time of colonization. “I was sitting in a car breastfeeding my six month old son, who was born the day before I buried my dad, when I heard on the radio we had won the case. I started crying and thinking that if my father was alive he would be dancing. I then heard the sound of thunder and said to my son ‘hear that, he is dancing.” (Australian Government, 2014). Eddie Mabo has contributed to the Australian History a lot with his beliefs. Firstly, he has

The individual who had their rights infringed was Eddie Mabo, and the group who had their rights infringed were the native Murray island inhabitants who were the original custodians of the land. Eddie Koiki (his islander name) Mabo was born on Murray island, in the Torres Strait on June 29, 1936. A member of the Meriam people, who know the island as Mer, Mabo was adopted and raised by his uncle, Benny Mabo from whom he took his name after his mother’s death. Mabo was expelled from the island for breaking customary laws when he was 16, he moved around nearby communities and eventually settled down in Townsville where he married Bonita and started his family. Mabo first started questioning rights of land ownership in 1969, and started talking about ‘his’ land. The Murray islander’s ancestors were one of the strongest and largest aboriginal tribes centuries

This is when I believe he was inspired to become a civil rights activist and fight for his people’s rights. From 1981 to 1984 he studied for a Diploma of Teaching at Townsville College of Advanced Education. In 1981 a land rights conference was held at the James Cook University. Mabo was invited to make a speech about the land inheritance system used on his homeland (Murray Island). Mabo was persuaded by an audience member who was a lawyer to lead a test case to claim Indigenous land rights through the court system. After taking on board the lawyer’s advice, then began the ten year fight, Mabo and other civil rights activists presented the case to the Supreme Court of Queensland but the court later found that Mabo was not adopted by traditional Island custom and therefore his Indigenous rights were

There have been many significant cases that have dealt with the issue of jurisdiction. Among these cases was the Sparrow case of 1990. The Court determined that “Aboriginal Rights were constitutionally protected, and that those rights can only be extinguished with First Nations consent.” Moreover, the Court ruled that “Aboriginal rights could only be limited with justifiable reasons and that Aboriginal rights have to be interpreted in a generous and liberal manner.”