What does the Mabo decision mean for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
This meant that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ occupation of and personal relationship with the land was not being recognised. The Mabo Decision was a significant case in Australia that acknowledged the land rights that the people of Meriam had.
How did customary law develop in Australia?
Indigenous Australian customary law varied between language groups, clans, and regions. It developed over time from accepted moral norms within indigenous societies. The laws regulated human behaviour and relationships, mandated sanctions for misdeeds, and connected people with the land and each other through a system of relationships.
What type of law does Australia have?
Australia is a common-law jurisdiction, its court system having originated in the common law system of English law. The country's common law is enforced uniformly across the states (subject to augmentation by statutes).
What is the history of land rights in Australia?
The modern land rights movement dates back to 1963 when, on 13 March, the Australian government took more than 300 square kilometres of land from the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land so mining company Gominco could extract bauxite. As so often was the case, work started without talking to the Yolgnu people about their land.
What did the Mabo decision do?
On 3 June 1992 the High Court of Australia recognised that a group of Torres Strait Islanders, led by Eddie Mabo, held ownership of Mer (Murray Island). In acknowledging the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their land, the court also held that native title existed for all Indigenous people.
Who represented Mabo?
In 1988 Castan and Hocking were again briefed by Greg McIntyre, and they were joined by Bryan Keon-Cohen, to represent Mabo and co in contesting the validity of the Queensland Act in the High Court.
Who started the Stolen Generation?
The Stolen Generations refers to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were removed from their families between 1910 and 1970. This was done by Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions, through a policy of assimilation.
Who made the Mabo decision?
The High CourtThe Mabo decision refers to the decision made as a result of a legal case, Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992). The High Court – the highest court in Australia's judicial system – made the decision on 3 June 1992.
How many judges determined the plaintiff's claim in Mabo?
Legal issues The six judges in the majority rejected the traditional doctrine that Australia was terra nullius ('land belonging to no-one') at the time of European settlement.
Who opposed the Mabo decision?
A number of state governments fiercely opposed the decision; so did the mining and resources industries. Concerned at the loss of previously unfettered access to Indigenous peoples' lands, they warned of economic doom with investment being scared off.
How did the English legal system come to Australia?
State Library of New South Wales. The English legal system was introduced to Australia through colonisation. Upon arrival to Australia, the colonists declared that the laws of England were to immediately apply to all settled lands.
How did Australian customary law develop?
Indigenous Australian customary law varied between language groups, clans, and regions. It developed over time from accepted moral norms within indigenous societies. The laws regulated human behaviour and relationships, mandated sanctions for misdeeds, and connected people with the land and each other through a system of relationships.
What laws did the Terra Nullius land adopt?
Under the conventions of international law at the time, terra nullius lands were recognised as immediately adopt the laws of the relevant colonial power. As such, Indigenous Australian laws and customs were not recognised (including those pertaining to land ownership). The arrival of English Law was later expressly stated in statute by passage of the Australian Courts Act 1828 (IMP). The act stated that all laws and statutes in force in England at the date of enactment should be applied in the courts of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land ( Tasmania) so far as those laws were applicable. Since Queensland and Victoria were originally part of New South Wales, the same date applies in those States for the reception of English law. South Australia adopted a different date for reception, as did Western Australia.
What were the laws of Australia before colonization?
Prior to colonisation, the only systems of law to exist in Australia were the varied systems of customary law belonging to Indigenous Australians. Indigenous systems of law were deliberately ignored by the colonial legal system, and in the post-colonial era have only been recognised as legally important by Australian courts to a limited degree.
What is the legal system of Australia?
It includes a written constitution, unwritten constitutional conventions, statutes, regulations, and the judicially determined common law system. Its legal institutions and traditions are substantially derived from that of the English legal system.
When did Australian republicanism start?
Australian Republicanism emerged as a movement in the 1990s, which aims eventually to change Australia's status as a constitutional monarchy to a republican form of government.
When did Australia gain legislative independence?
Complete legislative independence was finally established by the Australia Act 1986 , passed by the United Kingdom Parliament. It removed the possibility of legislation being enacted at the consent and request of a dominion, and applied to the States as well as the Commonwealth.
Who were the men in the Mabo case?
Eddie Mabo worked alongside four other Meriam men; Celuia Mapoo Salee, Reverend David Passi, James Rice and Sam Passi. The case was taken to the high court which is the highest court that exists in Australia’s Justice System. The Mabo decision challenged the foundation of terrestrial law in Australia by invalidating the policy of terra nullius ...
Why did Eddie Mabo fight for the Aboriginal people?
Mabo was also fighting for all the aborigines, to give them more respect for what is rightfully their land. Taking the land of The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would not only be kicking them out of their own home but it would interrupt their connection they have with their land and the stories and memories that came with it. This was a strong belief of Eddie Mabo and he was not going to hand over this case.
Why was Terra Nullius not applicable to Australia?
The decision that Terra Nullius should not have been applicable to Australia was a major milestone for the acknowledgment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights, because it recognized the special connection that they had with their land.
What was the Mabo decision?
The Mabo decision was a court case that commenced on the 20 th of May in the year 1982. A group of men from Meriam fought against the Queensland government for acknowledgment of the rights of Aboriginals as the traditional owners of their land. The leader of the case was Eddie Mabo hence the notorious name for the case the “Mabo decision”.
What is the significance of the image of Eddie Mabo?
The image illustrates a large protest supporting Eddie Mabo’s case for acknowledgment of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres strait people as the traditional owners of their land. One limitation with images not so much back in 1992 but defiantly today is that they are not always reliable they can be manipulated and changed.
What was the first thing that challenged the existing legal system?
The first being that there was a belief that Torres Strait Islander peoples and Aboriginals could not comprehend the idea of land ownership previous to the arrival of British colonizers in 1788.
When did Eddie Mabo's case take place?
This was a strong belief of Eddie Mabo and he was not going to hand over this case. From 1982 to 1992 when the legal case regarding the acknowledgment of the rights of Aboriginals as the traditional owners of their land, was taking place many native people and even the British public protested for their land rights.
What was the only structure of law in Australia before establishment?
Before establishment, the only structures of law to exist in Australia were the diverse structures of common law owned by Indigenous or Aboriginal Australians.
Where did Australia's common law start?
Australia’s common law structure started in the structure of common law in the UK. Although comparison or similarities remain, and the impact of United Kingdom common law decisions remain powerful on Australian courts; there exists a considerable separation between each structure.
What is the Australian Constitution?
The Australian Constitution sets out a combined or combined or federal structure of government. There exists a national parliament, with the power to authorize laws of most important force on several term or express topics.
What is the median theme of the law?
The median theme is the incomplete fit between the conceptual formal resemblance of legal authority and workable or practical, day-to-day legal work in high size lower courts. In these courts, it is the legal executive who must balance the commitment of official or formal law and procedure and the daily interactive request of the courtroom.
What are the powers of the combined or federal parliament?
The law-making powers of the combined or federal Parliament are limited to those set out under a listed list of subject affairs or problems in the Constitution. These powers incorporate a power to legislate on affairs or problems “subsidiary” to the other powers.
How is Australian constitutional law affected?
In addition to the instrument or document text, Australian constitutional law is affected by the structure of the instrument or documents. The division of the three agencies of government into sections is appreciated to enacted a Separation of Powers belief in Australia.
How did the law of the land develop?
It developed over time from accepted moral concepts within aboriginal or indigenous societies. The laws regulated human behavior and connection or relationship, commanded sanctions for crime, and related people with the land and each other through a structure of relationships.
Who promised national land rights?
Under Bob Hawke, Labor promised national land rights, but backflipped on that policy. It was Labor who ran the Northern Territory intervention for four and a half of its five years, and it was Labor who extended it for a further 10 years last year under the Stronger Futures legislation.
Who was the leader of the Coalition against Aboriginal people?
The Coalition are building on attacks that Labor governments under Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd carried out against Aboriginal people. Rudd apologised to the stolen generation in 2008, but denied them compensation. Under Bob Hawke, Labor promised national land rights, but backflipped on that policy.
What did Abbott do to help Aboriginal people?
When Abbott announced the cuts to Aboriginal legal services, he announced a $2 million fund to help mining companies, pastoralists, commercial fishers and councils respond to Native Title claims. Abbott has also withdrawn funding for the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and appointed a new hand-picked National Indigenous Council.
How much money has Tony Abbott cut to Aboriginal people?
Abbott launches attacks on Aboriginal people. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced $13.4 million in cuts to Aboriginal legal services over the next four years. Aboriginal adults are 14 times more likely to be jailed than other Australians. For Aboriginal minors the rate is 31 times.
How to stop Abbott's current plan of attack?
To stop Abbott’s current plan of attack we need a strong campaign that involves Aboriginal people and their supporters from broad sections of the community. The historic 1966 Gurindji struggle that ended slave-like conditions in Wave Hill showed that union support for Aboriginal rights is important.
Why is Australia the richest country in the world?
Australia is one of the richest nations on earth because white Australia has stolen the land and the resources of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people who were the first people. This must be acknowledged and compensated for if we are to lift Aboriginal communities out of poverty and deliver justice to this country's first peoples.
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What was the force that dispersed and dispossessed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from and?
European invasion and colonisation of this continent was the force that dispersed and dispossessed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from and of their land.
What was the intent of Justice Woodward and the subsequent ALRA?
The intent of the recommendations of Justice Woodward and the subsequent ALRA was to have a national model for national land rights to provide uniformity and equity , however, opposition from State Governments and the mining industry defeated that objective.
What was the purpose of Justice Woodward's report?
In the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission Report 1974, Justice Woodward recommended legislation to restore traditional land to the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory . Justice Woodward’s report was the basis of the Aboriginal Land (NT) Bill, which was introduced into the Commonwealth Parliament in October 1975. However, with the dissolution of Parliament in November 1975, the Bill lapsed.
What was the first land rights settlement?
In spite of the previous initiatives taken by state governments, the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 ( ALRA) is the first real land rights settlement because of the rights associated with it and the amount of land transferred.
What is land rights?
Land Rights refers to the struggle for legal and moral recognition of the ownership of the land and waterways that were home to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this country prior to the colonisation that occurred from 1788 .
When did Lingiari get his land back?
After years of struggle and lobbying, Lingiari was famously given back his land back by Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam in 1972. Following the failure of the Gove Lands Rights case, the Whitlam Labor Government instigated an inquiry into Aboriginal land rights (known as the Woodward Commission), which eventually led to the Fraser Liberal government passing the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1972 which did have good intentions of returning land to the Indigenous people of the Territory and a large portion of the land has been returned.
When did Justice Woodward start his land rights case?
Justice Woodward was considered an apt appointment as he had argued his first land rights case in 1968 and was well versed in the struggle for land rights of Aboriginal people.