Native Title Act Case Study

The lengthy period, undertaken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, shows the resource inefficiency in relation to the Native title law reform. The Mabo V Queensland began in 1985 and concluded in 1992 where the High Court ruled the Australia was not terra nullius, reinstating the original Indigenous Australians with native title over the land. This case lead to the Mabo V Queensland (no 2) which resulted in the legislation Native Title Act 1993. This case took place in the High court of Australia proving very inefficient in the way of time and money, due to the high costs and long trial period. This legislation met

By 2016, Australia assess that mining had raised genuine per capital household extra income by 13%, raised genuine wages by 6% and brought down the unemployment rate by around 1¼ rate focuses. There have additionally been cost. The mining has prompted a huge valuation for the Australian dollar that has weighed on different enterprises presented to exchange, for example, assembling and farming.

The NSW Native Title Act 1994 was introduced to ensure that the laws of NSW are consistent with the Commonwealth legislation on future dealings and validates past

The Native Title Act 1993 is landmark legislation that recognises the rights and interests of Aboriginal people to their land as well as has had a profound impact in Australia and been instrumental in advancing reconciliation (smh).

With the change from Keatings progressive labour government to John Howard's’ conservative Coalition government, came resounding regression to the Native Title act, with the 10 point plan, and the coinciding Wik decision nine months after. The Wik VS Queensland case (1996) established that in cases of conflict between pastoral leases and native title, pastoral leases override and can successfully extinguish native title , which was adopted with the change of legislation and introduction of the Native Title amendment Act (1998). If there is no conflict, they can coexist. Many cases of Native Title extinguishment has occurred, and only approximately 600 areas hold Native Title in all of Australia, with less than 1% in NSW. As a procession from the Native Title declaration, this legislature has digressed justice to the ATSI community , and as further iterated by Sydney Morning Herald has “undone the good of the Mabo decision”. ATSI discrimination following the legislation of the Native title Act (1996) significantly rose in the public discourse with renowneded personalities claiming they could “take their backyards”, and an unspoken deeply-rooted fear for many, dating back to Australia’s colonization; that Australia could be declared completely under Native Title, and the sovereignty of the Crown could be questioned . For ATSI peoples’, the introduction of the 10 point plan, and the Native Title Ammendment Act (1998) marks a significant national regression upon achieving justice for their community as they sought to pour “"bucket-loads of extinguishment" on the native title rights of Indigenous Australians. Law reform, in this case has been dominantly ineffective in achieving justice for the ATSI peoples, and rather revoking

The families that live near the mine also face being diagnosed with dangerous side effects. Since the ground becomes polluted with the chemicals, most homes in the surrounding area don’t have running water because the aquifers are polluted by said chemicals that originate from the mine. And the air becomes toxic also, toxic levels of arsenic, fluorine, mercury, and selenium is emitted by coal fires, entering the air and the food chain of those living nearby. These pollutants affect the water also, making it dangerous to any living life form. It causes deformities and creates birth defects if ingested into the body (Breitenender 2). And to an extent, causes death if the water is drunk regularly. It can go unnoticed also if people don’t check their water. And if a person is unfortunate enough to live near these areas, then he likely has no running water due to the pollution of his local aquifer. People are deprived of a vital source to live and they travel far to get water. And these areas are arid which means water is a necessary

One significant advantage of nuclear energy through the mining of Uranium is its carbon neutral energy production property (3). However, during a meltdown or another catastrophe, Nuclear reactors have the capacity to release significant amounts of toxic radioactive isotopes, such as Strontium 90, Cadmium 113 and Caesium 137, which has the potential to cause significant harm to health (2) and biodiversity (11). Coal on the other hand is a well-documented releaser of greenhouse gasses, with one tonne of coal generating 2.6 tonnes of CO2 alone. Globally, this accounts for 6.4 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, with this value progressively increasing (5). Further, the use of coal in electricity production results in the release of particulates into surrounding areas. Particularly in third world and developing nations where regulation on pollution is lax, this causes major tangible health risks to those who live near the plants- a report by the World Health Organisation estimates that deaths directly related to outdoor pollution from Coal-based electricity generation amounts to approximately 2 million deaths per year

The Indigenous land rights was a significant social justice issue in modern Australian History because indigenous people were treated very unfair because they couldn’t use their own land for what they wanted to such as the Tent Embassy. The Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 1976 was the first attempt by an Australian government to legally recognise the Aboriginal system of land ownership and put into law the concept of inalienable freehold title. “Terra Nullius was how James Cook described Australia and how it was officially viewed up until the last decades of the 20th Century.” When the First Fleet arrived in 1788 the British took over the land without a second thought as to its ownership. They discounted the fact that there were original inhabitants

Aboriginal land claims in Canada are often a topic that while commonly debated, is not often seen at the forefront of politics. This was seen in the recent election, as Justin Trudeau was being sure not to make Aboriginal land claims an election issue, in an attempt to keep the public opinion neutral. Recently, however, more is being said about the land claims. Promises are on the line from our leaders in politics, policies are being reviewed, and the public have a lot to say in regards to how the policies for Aboriginal land claims work currently. Due to the politics, policy, and public opinion stream all having been recently opened up, the window of opportunity to make policy changes on Aboriginal land claims has now opened.

Things like mining too far into a wall that connects to an older mine, thus increasing the danger of a collapse, is common. Other practices include shoddy dams that contain the slurry, a mixture of water and fine particles of coal, which do not always meet structural regulations that can and have broken and flood nearby communities (Light and Light, 2006). There are other environmental issues that are associated with coal mining. Acid mine drainage is the result of sulfide minerals being exposed to oxygen. This produces sulfuric acid and can dissolve heavy metals from the waste rock, making it bioavailable. Without proper treatment, this will poison the water systems near that mine and will seep into the streams, creeks, and even ground and well water. The water turns orange and is impossible for anything to live off of the water or in it (Kirsch, 2014). Another issue of coal mining is airborne coal dust, which can result in Black Lung disease. This is caused by inhaling too much coal dust and is common in miners, but with surface mining becoming more prevalent, more coal dust is being released into the air and drifting down to the communities. More children and elderly people are having respiratory problems that many believe are because of

The integration of Aboriginal customary law into the Australian legal system is not a problem as far as the Australian constitution is concerned. Acts that currently exist include the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act (Cth) 1976 which allows indigenous claims to Crown land in the NT to be made on the basis of traditional concepts of ownership, also in existence is the Aboriginal Communities Act (WA) 1979, allowing aboriginal communities to make their own (customary law) by-laws. The Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Protection Act (Cth) 1984 is the corner stone of more than 20 Commonwealth, State and Territory enactments that protect Aboriginal heritage sites and other property.

This decision left pastoralists unsure of their right to land, however the National Indigenous Working Group (NIWG) accepted that existing rights of pastoralists to operate and develop their leases without any need to negotiate with native title holders. This provides pastoralists with the ‘certainty’ that they had before the Wik decision. Recently, Indigenous land owners on May 23, 2011 had the Federal Court of Australia rule that over 26,000 square kilometres in Western Australia’s north Kimberley region was an indigenous protected area. This decision has allowed indigenous members of the community to progress forward and create benefits for themselves and their community. In making the decisions of such acts, many societal viewpoints would have been considered.

The Native Title Act 1993, which establishes the recognition of the indigenous connections and rights to land and water. Eddie Mabo was the motivator for this legislation in favour towards Aboriginals inextricably linking to the land. Eddie Mabo of the Murray Islands sought confirmation of their traditional land rights, began action in May of 1982. The claim was made by four other Meriam people, who lived in permanent communities with their own social and political organisation. The surrounding reefs and islands had been continuously inhabited and exclusively possess by the Meriam people. The High Court upheld the claim and ruled that the lands of the continent were not terra nullius, my majority of six to one on the 3 of June, 1992. The Meriam people were entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of most of the lands of the Murray Islands. This concluded the doctrine of terra nullius Australia, land belonging to no one, motivating all European colony’s be investigated proving the terra nullius myth. In summary, the Mabo case was denied endless times although that did not cause Eddie Mabo to give up. His judgement towards the rejection of the courts proceedings surprised and motivated many to continue. Mabo had three options to go after the judge denial and chose the voracious opportunity, the one with most significance. Australia barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen, junior counsel for the plaintiff in Mabo v Queensland quotes “We advised him on a certain course and he took that advice on the chin and proceeded. That is to say "forget these adverse findings of fact in respect of you. There's a bigger and more important issue. We do have findings to go into the High Court. Proceed into the High Court and seek a finding in respect of the other plaintiffs". He did

In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.

The mining industry has seen an explosive growth from the past few decades. It has played an important role in economic growth, infrastructure development and a raise in the living standard of the whole world. According to the Australian National Accounting System, the mining sector has made contributions of 9.8% GDP growth to the Australian economy between 2008 to 2009 (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2012). However, the mining industry has caused many environmental issues such as adverse effect to air, land and water quality and continues to affect global environment as a whole. According to the World Health Organization, it evaluated that 25% of worldwide death are directly associated with environmental pollution (Blacksmith Institute, n.d). This essay will outline the environmental issue raised by the mining industry with pinpoint focus on the effects to air, water and land. It will also provide strategies for mining companies to improve the environmental conditions.