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When voices within democracies silenced and marginalised are demanding to be heard, we are bringing oursand challenging our democracy to examine itself and for our constitution to be seeded in the first footprints, not just the first settlers. (2012) This program was published 2 years ago. This landmark decision led to the Australian Government introducing native title . At: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/property-rights-will-help-economic-development-of-indigenous-australians/story-e6frg6z6-1227365821530 (viewed 3 June 2015), [4] T Calma, Native Title Report 2005, Australian Human Rights Commission, 2005, p82. Another key challenge that came out of the roundtable was the need to improve the capacity of our mobs to have the necessary advocacy; governance and risk management skills to successful engage in business and manage our estates in order to secure the best possible outcomes for our communities. I had read about the case as it moved through the lower courts. Words speak across tongues. For the love of his family and tradition, he fights for his land on Murray Island. The Mabo verdict was arguably the most significant court ruling in the history of Indigenous Australia, overturning the concept of terra nullius and paving the way for native title. Winanghanha is to return to knowing: to know what we have always known. - Behind the News Behind the News 133K subscribers Subscribe 483 106K views 3 years ago Mabo Day on June 3rd, celebrates. The remarkable life story of Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo; a Torres Strait Islander who left school at the age of 15, yet spearheaded the High Court challenge that overthrew the fiction of terra nullius. The second key theme that was raised at the roundtable was the issue of financing economic development within the Indigenous estate. Six weeks later his father died. He knew about suffering. But the . Leeanne Enoch MP, Minister for Housing and Public Works and Minister for Science and Innovation. With support from legal experts, Mabo, along with fellow plaintiffs and Murray Islanders Reverend David Passi, Celuia Mapoo Salee, Sam Passi and James Rice, brought a case against the Queensland Government in the High Court. The truth: This was his land. He is best known for the two court cases that bear his name, Mabo v. Queensland (numbers 1 and 2). These legal challenges continued into the 20th century rulings maintained the legitimacy of the Crown but could not extinguish completely the Aboriginal claims. The victory was largely down to one indigenous man called Eddie Mabo. As this brave mans voice even as he had passed was heard by another man who is now gone and together they changed us. I hope that youll share with me the need to move this conversation forward, in order to best realise our rights under native title and the benefits that should follow from that. Whilst the case did little to clarify the legal principles around calculating compensation, it is one example of the positive realization after many years, of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to land and waters within the native title system. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. Eddie Koiki Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander, known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights and for the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius ('land belonging to nothing, no one') which characterised Australian law with regards to land and title. British law was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. Those cases resulted in the acknowledgment that Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had the right to claim the land they and their ancestors had lived on for thousands of years. Born in 1936, he grew up in the village of Las on the north bend of Mer Island. JCU websites use cookies to enhance user experience, analyse site usage, and assist with outreach and enrolment. The commitment to a land fund; and importantly, participation in decision-making underpinned by the concept of free, prior and informed consent and good faith. The Mabo decision was handed down on June 3, 1992 in the High Court's grand courtroom in Canberra. Fungibility and native title. The most important revelation arising from Eddie Mabo's claim and the High Court's decision was that an ancient title connected to the traditional occupation of the land by Aboriginal and Islander people had survived the . He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. Topics are usually less than 2 minutes long. The Mabo Case Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Concocted by the early settlers, it was used, systematically, cynically and effectively to deprive the indigenous people of their own land. The memory of wounds. The Roundtable included a diverse range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with nearly 50 people in total from as far and wide as the Torres Straits, the Gulf of Carpentaria, Cape York, Sydney, the Kimberley and Darwin. On 21 May 2008, James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. We all know about the legacy of native title left by Meriam and Murray Islanders Edward Koiki Mabo, David Passi and James Rice. My people are the Gangulu from the Dawson Valley in Central Queensland. More information. Eddie Mabo had challenged the very ideological establishment of Australia and the first Australians. But he was wrong. As Noel Pearson has recently said in relation to this issue: Were moving from a land rights claim phase to a land rights use phase where people are grappling with how we make our land contribute to our development.[3]. Eddie Mabo's legal pursuit of these issues resulted in one of the most significant legal cases in Australian history, in that it completely overturned the idea of terra nullius (land belonging to no-one) and challenged traditionally held beliefs about how Australia came into being, and about ownership of land. We cross rivers and we are changed like the water itself. Eddie Mabo knew about love too. It would most likely still be in place had it not been for Eddie Koiki Mabo. Mabo said was that it is my fathers & grandfather's, grandmother's land, I am related to it, it is my identity. The next generation of native title issues are due to hit us shortly through processes such as litigation regarding ILUAs, variations to determinations and compensation proceedings.[2]. In going down this track we have to understand and have to get these institutions to understand that there is a fair dinkum business case for doing this because we have had enough of welfare and charity. The judge's four hundred page report presented Mabo and his barristers with a bombshell which threatened to sink their case. [1] And that shift is the move to the next emerging challenge; how do we maximise these rights to their full potential, now that we have our native title recognized? On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia ruled in favour of limited native title. Together yindyamarra winanghanha means to live with respect in a world worth living in. I must say though, that beyond economic development, effective governance is critical to ensuring that our organisations are transparent and accountable to our communities and this is one challenge to which we must rise. Audio file Transcript About this record This is the soundtrack of an address to the nation on 15 November 1993 by the then Prime Minister Paul Keating, explaining the Australian Government's response to the High Court's Mabo decision. A decade later, I was a young reporter still in my early 20s, finding my way into the foreign world of journalism when I saw a listing for a case at the High Court. To sign treaties. Eddie Mabo was heartbroken and never forgave government authorities. However, in the lead-up to these hearings, the Parliament of Queensland passed the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985, which asserted that, upon being annexed by the Queensland Government in 1879, 'the islands were vested in the Crown freed from all other rights, interests and claims'. Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people." The Mabo decision What is the Mabo decision? And in some cases native title had become a millstone, almost drowning people in a sea of regulation, red tape and process without any semblance of necessary support. Mabo was a Torres Strait islander from Mer (Murray Island), off Australia's north-east coast. [9] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report. It was also a flagrant disregard of Britain's own existing laws, which stated that the Aboriginal people did have title rights over their own land. Eddie Koiki Mabo presents a guest lecture about the Torres Strait Islander community 2,837 views Nov 18, 2020 51 Dislike Share Save JCU Library 451 subscribers This short video is an excerpt. When our world is ablaze with conflict. They then said to tell you they are aware of your continued fight for your culture and your country and salute you for your ongoing struggle. It felt in this case that the time had come. I like words. Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series. This activity encourages children to write down their knowledge in a structured report . Gail, to your Mum Bonita, to Eddie Junior, Wannee, Bethal, Celuia, Ezra, Mario, Malita, Malcolm, Jessie and to you Gail, can I pay special tribute to for the generosity of you all in giving your husband and Dad to us. In 1981, Eddie Mabo made a speech at James Cook University in Queensland, where he explained his people's beliefs about the ownership and inheritance of land on Mer. Eddie Koiki Mabo (c. 29 June 1936 - 21 January 1992 [1]) was an Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights and for his role in a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia which overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius ("land belonging to nobody") which characterised Despite the fact that the challenge of gaining native title is still a fight that many of us share, there has been a shift in focus now and we have started to see a gradual change in terms of ownership. These things range from various legal and administrative barriers that are placed on us once a native title determination has been made and includes various tax and regulatory standards placed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the post determination phase, conflicts between individual and communal property interests and issues arising from the conversion of title. This effectively overturned the doctrine of terra nullius, which held that Australia didn't belong to anybody before European colonisation. the Aborigines did not give up their lands peacefully; they were killed or removed forcibly from the lands by United Kingdom forces or the European colonists in what amounted to attempted (and in Tasmania almost complete) genocide.". This is our land. It is a feeling. Some records include terms and views that are not appropriate today. Love, kindness, forgiveness; always love. The assumptions were quite erroneous, of course, but Terra Nullius was set in unshakeable motion and stayed rooted in place for two hundred years, even though Aborigines had been in Australia for at least 40,000 years. While he believed the Murray Island belonged to the Torres Strait Islander people, Australian law stated that the Government owned the land. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? A discussion of Mabo Day (June 3), which commemorates Torres Strait Islander activist Eddie Koiki Mabo and the historic Mabo decision, in which the High Court of Australia acknowledged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' land rights. Friendship with Eddie Mabo. On 8 December 1988, the High Court ruled this legislation invalid. I want to begin by honouring and quoting the words of the now late chief justice of the High Court of Australia, Sir Gerard Brennan,the words he wrote in his lead judgement in the Mabo case: The common law itself took from Indigenous inhabitants any right to occupy their traditional land, exposed them to deprivation of the religious, cultural and economic sustenance which the land provides, vested the land effectively in the control of the imperial authorities without any right to compensation and made the Indigenous inhabitants intruders in their own homes and mendicants for a place to live. They can raise us to anger then soothe us. While working as a gardener at James Cook University, he found out through two historians that, by law, he and his family did not own their land on Mer. How might this case shatter the myth of terra nullius? It goes on to mention the yet unfulfilled nature of redress through a social justice package that I alluded to earlier: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been progressively dispossessed of their lands. (Transcript), 2014 Presentation byMs Shannan Dodson, Digital Campaign Manager, Recognise Australia. A culture and a people facing devastation. Words makaratta. Vincent Lingiari and men and women of the Gurindji people. Edward Koiki Mabo ( n Sambo; 29 June 1936 - 21 January 1992) was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty., "This is the torment of our powerlessness.". In the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Governments have committed themselves to the economic development of our communities. It is clear that we have seen a change in momentum as far as this space is concerned. What did Eddie Mabo say in his speech? Mabo - as in Eddie Mabo, who famously fought a winning fight against the legal doctrine of terra nullius to enshrine Aboriginal land rights in law - is referenced on two occasions. Han is Korean and it is more than a word. Rachel Perkins, director of the new film, says Mabo's is "an iconic story in the tradition of great Australian tales, how a man, his wife and his mates profoundly changed the nation". British law under a British flag. In August 1981 Mabo attended a conference on land rights at James Cook University. Barrister Ron Castan, Eddie Mabo and barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen at . He knew about hope and he knew about justice. Mabo v Queensland (No 1) was heard in 1986and 1988. The Mabo decision was a legal case held in 1992. Mabo Day is an official holiday in the Torres Shire, celebrated on 3 June. However, whilst the right to development is about improvements in economic and material outcomes, it is also about our rights as Indigenous peoples to self-determination and our rights to control our natural wealth and resources. A lawyer heard the speech and asked . Eddie Mabo of Mer island in the Torres Strait spent a decade seeking official recognition of his people's ownership of Mer and on 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia agreed, rejecting the doctrine that Australia was terra nullius (land belonging to no-one) at the time of European settlement. Up to April 2010, 84 native title cases had been dealt with by the courts, and 854,000 sq km (330,000 sq miles) is now covered by native title determinations. In-text: (Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision, 2019) Your Bibliography: Time Out Sydney. [1] J Altman., (2014) Scullion Peddles pipedream reforms, Journal of Indigenous Policy, At: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JlIndigP/2014/33.pdf (viewed 5 June 2015). JCU celebrates the history-making Mabo decision with the long establishedEddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series, an annual public commemorative presentation by a prominent person who has made a significant contribution to contemporary Australian society. Yindyamarra winanghanha. Les Malezer, chairman of the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, is critical of the native title system for its failure to deliver for indigenous people. To seek justice we had to speak the words of British law. I believe that it is this framework that has the power to elevate the aspirations that we have as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in relation to land. These often hamper the development and economic aspirations of the communities involved right from the start. I also acknowledge the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion who is here today and my colleague Tim Wilson, our Australian Human Rights Commissioner. Reynolds struck up a friendship with Eddie Mabo, who was then a groundsman and gardener at James Cook University. It was awarded Best Documentary at the Australian Film Institute Awards and the Sydney Film Festival.It also received the Script Writing Award at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. Mabo and others: products or agents of progress? The legal decision was made by the High Court on 3 June 1992. In New South Wales, the most populous state, Aboriginal people have title over only 0.1% of the land. They reflect the period in which they were created and are not the views of the National Archives. In fact, the court went to considerable lengths to establish that the impact of its judgment will be minimal on non-Aboriginal Australians. Short for Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992), the Mabo case, led by Eddie Koiki Mabo, an activist for the 1967 Referendum, fought the legal concept that Australia and the Torres Strait Islands were not owned by Indigenous peoples because they did not 'use' the land in ways Europeans believed constituted some kind of legal possession.