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The fight for Aboriginal LAnd Rights in Australia
The fight for Aboriginal LAnd Rights in Australia
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To become a part of a society or culture by social characteristics and being part of a group. The Mabo Case was a legal case held in 1992 in the High Court of Australia which determined that Indigenous people should be treated equally using
After 10 long years Torres Strait Islander Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo has lead indigenous Australians to a victory over the Queensland government. This win this case is a historical moment, as of yesterday, the indigenous Australians have been recognised as the owners of Murray Island. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are known to have resided in Australia, 40,000 to 60,000 years before the British arrived in 1788. When the British took over they decided to take all the land for themselves even though the indigenous Australians were here first. This court case recognises indigenous Australians unique connection to the land and acknowledges that they have the rights to the land.
Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander who believed Australian laws and land ownership were wrong and fought to change them. On 20 May 1982, Eddie Mabo, Sam Passi, David Passi, Celuia Mapo Salee and James Rice began their legal claim for ownership of their lands against the Queensland Government. In 1985, while the Mabo case was proceeding, the Queensland Government tried to avoid the issue of whether rights of Indigenous peoples survived colonisation. Due to this the leader of the Queensland Government Joh Bjelke-Petersen decided to introduce the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act 1985. This Act had claimed to extinguish any rights and interests that the Meriam people may have had before its enactment.
The Mabo decision changed the legal, political and social relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. In recognising the traditional rights of Murray Islanders it changed Australia forever. The Mabo decision opened the doors for other indigenous people and groups to be able to claim ownership of land. They were required to prove that they had continuous connection to the land and maintained their traditional associating with it. The 'native title ' is the recognition by law that some aboriginal and torres strait islander people have rights to certain land due to their traditional laws and customs.
The Mabo Decision was a turning point for the recognition of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. From recognising ownership of traditional lands to raising awareness of racial discrimination, it affected the Indigenous Australian society in various ways. Firstly, the Mabo Decision was significant because it acknowledged the ownership of traditional lands by abolishing “terra nullius”, meaning that the land is empty and owned by no one. Previously, the British denied the Indigenous Australians' connection and ownership of the land by declaring that Australia was "terra nullius". However, on the 3rd of June, 1992, the High Court decided that the Merriam people were "entitled as against the whole word to possession, occupation
Charles Perkins, born in Alice Springs 1936, was a controversial leader within the Aboriginal community. Perkins was known both for this willingness to fight for what he believed in, and his determination, although this confidence brought him into conflict with community leaders and the government. Perkins was involved in the ‘Freedom Ride’ travelling through rural New South Wales in the early 60’s. This ride was a significant contribution highlighting the predicament the Aboriginals faced. Being Aboriginal himself, this ride demonstrated that Aboriginal people could stand up for themselves.
The Mabo Decision was the turning point for the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights. Firstly, the Mabo Decision was significant because the decision was the lead up to the recognition of Aboriginal Rights. The Mabo Decision was the movement that made everyone fully recognise the Aboriginal people as humans, and official citizens of the country. The Decision also raised awareness to the discrimination the Aboriginal people were facing before the referendum.
For Ben Hall a young man, the evolving and progressive society of Australia presented an opportunity for the adventurous to have ago and to build a solid foundation for the future without the social judgments that long been a handicap for those of limited means and wherein some sections of Australian society there still retained the structured aristocracy of the old country where title and inherited wealth determined a path of diversity for those that were termed privileged, this, of course, excluded Ben Hall. It was for those in Australia with courage and determination that the land could offer them that same opportunity of position in the new aristocracy of the colony which was being forged out of the criminals of England who had been bound down by iron chains and where the land for those ex-convicts presented a new wealth for men marked long ago and sent to this penal land for crimes that were so petty that in a modern Australia or England would not ever see the courthouse let alone seven to fourteen years incarcerated with severe physical punishment.
We are gathered here today, in loving memory of the greatest prime minister to ever grace Australian soil. Gough Whitlam broke a 23-year-old dry spell for the labour party and although his term in office was a mere three years, in that three years he did more than any other prime minister ever has and truly began to shape the Australia we live in today. From humble beginnings, to fighting for Australia, Whitlam was a man of great courage and will and for that his legacy will transpire long past his time. FIRST BODY PARA: ‘Terra Nullius’ the two words that initiated white superiority in Australia for over 100 years. Gough Whitlam was the first Australian prime minister to accept instead of oppress and put an end to a previously idealistic
Eddie had a strong passion for his hometown that drove the proud Torres Strait Islander to then undertake a 10-year legal battle, which rewrote Australians history for the better. During 1982 Eddie Mabo led the Indigenous people of Mer Island. As a troop, their main argument was to clarify that many generation of the Meriam people had lived on the island, when then was even prior to the arrival of all Europeans. They all believed that they were the first and traditional owners of the land. Terra Nullius was another one of there arguments even though the Europeans had taken charge and claimed it in 1770.
Developing an understanding of the history of colonisation and the traumatic and intergenerational effects this has had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is vital to the work of Social Workers to ensure beneficial, safe and respectful relationships with Indigenous clients. Colonisation had and continues to have devastating effects on these communities, their cultures and their identities heightening the need of Social Work aid, particularly in areas of human rights, advocacy and the prevention of institutional racism. Eddie Mabo has become a well known name throughout Australia. Signifying an important change within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community particularly relating to traditional land rights. Eddie Mabo
Charles Perkins was an activist who spent most of his life fighting for Indigenous people and their rights. He pushed himself out into a world full of racism, to raise awareness of the issues Indigenous people are facing in education, housing, health and their employment. He was a national spokesperson fighting for the rights of Indigenous people throughout Australia. Perkins through his Freedom Rides fought against racial discrimination towards Indigenous Australians and fought for the concept of ‘closing the gap’, pushing the idea of equal opportunities for Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people inside education and within the community. Charles Nelson Perkins was born in Alice Springs in 1936 to an Arrente mother, Hetty and Kalkadoon father, Connelly .
This article discusses the speech given by an Indigenous journalist, Stan Grant who participated in a debate where he spoke for the motion “Racism is destroying the Australian Dream’’. Hence, the main points of this article are mostly evidence given by Grant in his debate to support his idea that the Australian Dream is indeed rooted in racism. One of the main points is that the indigenous Australians are often excluded and disregarded as non-Australians simply due to their race and skin colour. Grant pointed out the incident where AFL player Adam Goodes was publicly jeered and told that he did not belong to his country as he was not an Australian despite the fact that Australia indeed is the land of his ancestors.
Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s non-traditional view of Australia in ‘An Appeal’ shows how stereotypes of Australia are not always correct. The poem shows how camaraderie and mateship are not always expressed in Australian lifestyle. It is evident in the poem that not all Australians help each other to get through tough times and Australia is divided into different groups of people and is not equal. ‘An appeal’ shows how the nation stands up for themselves and fight for what is right against the power of the ‘not really’ authoritative people of Australia. The concept of inequality is a crucial part of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem ‘An Appeal’.
Abstract Being an aborigine in a white dominated society is a complicated identity. Australia, one of the white governed nations, also owns many aboriginal tribes. They lived harmonious lives in the early period. But European colonization has made a profound effect on the lives of Aboriginals in Australia, which led to the total demolition of their native culture, identity and history. As a result the new generation Aboriginals have lost their Aboriginal heritage and have been accepted neither by Aboriginals nor by whites.