Words speak across tongues. He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. This was apartheid in Australia, not South Africa. PDF 3 June: a significant date - Reconciliation Australia Mabo Day is an official holiday in the Torres Shire, celebrated on 3 June. Words like the Uluru Statement from the Heart: We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. And in 1981, Eddie was invited by the same university to make a speech about Mer's land inheritance system. We will adapt, we will take advantage of these opportunities and we will leave a great legacy. Aboriginal Australians are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark victory over land rights. The former president of Western Australia's Liberal Party, Bill Hassel, said the ruling was greeted with "outrage". It's the anniversary of a court decision that recognized for . Only land such as vacant crown land, national parks and some leased land, can be subject to claims by the Aboriginal owners. Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. This achievement certainly encourages me. But it was a bittersweet moment for the indigenous population. We did not end. To Eddie Koiki Mabo and chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan. SPEECH - THURSDAY, 3 JUNE . [11]Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. This is an edited extract of the 2022 Mabo Lecture, delivered by Stan Grant on June 3, 2022, to commemorate 30 years since the Mabo decision. Mabo died five months earlier from cancer in January 1992, at the age of 55. At the 1981 James Cook University Land Rights Conference Eddie Mabo made a passionate speech about land ownership and ancestral inheritance in the Murray Islands. Our people know han. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the National Archives' website and collection contain the names, images and voices of people who have died. Others, while acknowledging the shortcomings of Mabo's long-term legacy, still regard it as a watershed moment in Australian political, cultural and economic life. Did we miss a chance for a treaty? Charles Passi reflects on the Mabo Strengthening our relationships over lands, territories and resources: the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Climate change from the perspective of the Torres Strait, Beyond Mabo: Native Title and closing the gap, People, identity and place. I have been honoured in the last six weeks by being asked to deliver both the Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture here today and the Rob Riley Memorial Lecture on Friday the 8th of May in Perth. The lack of planning and support for native titleholders to economically develop their land was identified as one of the major failings of the native title system. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Han is Korean and it is more than a word. British law under a British flag. Eddie Koiki Mabo and the Mabo Case | naa.gov.au In 1982, along with four other Meriam people from Murray Island, he initiated legal proceedings in the Queensland Supreme Court claiming customary ownership of their lands on Murray Island. Friendship with Eddie Mabo. First, they ask me to pass on their greetings and their thanks for allowing me on your lands. (2012 lecture transcript), 2011 Presentation by Mr Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. and in 2008 James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. The world of becoming ascends. I want to give two words from my people, Wiradjuri. Eddie Mabo, the man behind Mabo Day | Indigenous.gov.au What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Birthdays, anniversaries, sports events and special schools days were missed. Eddie Mabo | Australian activist | Britannica [9] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report. He had refused to surrender his interests, or those of his people, to the domination of others. Until that day, the legal fiction of terra nullius, the land belonging to no-one, had characterised Australian law and land titles since the voyage of Captain Cook. Finally, the remaining key theme of the meeting was the issue of our right as Indigenous peoples to development. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU. The Mabo decision was a legal case held in 1992. Bibliography - History bibliographies - Cite This For Me A world turning. I stand here proud to bring a message from my Elders. Mabo : ABC iview In May 1982, Eddie Mabo and four other Meriam people of the Murray Islands in the Torres Strait began action in the High Court of Australia seeking confirmation of their traditional land rights. The theme of this years conference is Leadership, Legacy and Opportunity. In conversations with Commissioner Wilson and others, we are in the midst of developing what the next step in this process should look like and we will continue to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples such as yourselves in order to do this. (2013 lecture transcript), 2012 Presentation by Professor Henry Reynolds. Our News Yindyamarra winanghanha. It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. He married Bonita, his teenage sweetheart and with whom he had 10 children in a loving partnership that lasted 30 years. They can raise us to anger then soothe us. In some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. However, it also raised equally relevant issues around the many state and local government land taxes and rates that apply once conversion has taken place. Born in 1936, he grew up in the village of Las on the north bend of Mer Island. Resting Place of Eddie Mabo. To seek justice we had to speak the words of British law. "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people.". Mabo gained an education, became an activist for black rights and worked with his community to make sure Aboriginal children had their own schools. How might this case shatter the myth of terra nullius? - Behind the News Behind the News 133K subscribers Subscribe 483 106K views 3 years ago Mabo Day on June 3rd, celebrates. 2. Financing economic development within the Indigenous estate. The legal decision was made by the High Court on 3 June 1992. I also acknowledge the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion who is here today and my colleague Tim Wilson, our Australian Human Rights Commissioner. From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. The Mabo decision was handed down on June 3, 1992 in the High Court's grand courtroom in Canberra. However the Federal Court found that the South Australian government were liable for an undisclosed amount to the Nguraritja people for parcels of land over which, but for the prior extinguishing acts of government, they would have held native title. Gail Mabo and Prime Minister Tony Abbott during their visit to the grave of Eddie Mabo on Mer Island. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice, Copyright Australian Human Rights Commission, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JlIndigP/2014/33.pdf, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/property-rights-will-help-economic-development-of-indigenous-australians/story-e6frg6z6-1227365821530, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/social_justice_native_title_report_2013.pdf, http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/native-title-report-2008, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/RealizingaVisionforTransformativeDevelopment.aspx, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6, http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components#a, http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/264/hdr_2003_en_complete.pdf. On 8 December 1988, the High Court ruled this legislation invalid. It was suggested that we, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, needed to think outside of the box when it comes to this issue. This push for economic independence has sought to move away from models of government dependency and have been premised largely on the use of our land as the basis to achieve this. Stan Grant is the ABC's international affairs analyst and presents China Tonight on Monday at 9:35pm on ABC TV, and Tuesday at 8pm on the ABC News Channel, anda co-presenter of Q+A on Thursday at 8:30pm. That's why the legal decision is universally known as "Mabo". And that is the cost to both men and their families. Mabo Collection | National Library of Australia Mabo expressed disbelief and shock. Can I be indulgent and add a couple of others. 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. What is this Eddie Mabo Biography Worksheet? Reynolds writes: I have previously spoken at length about the importance of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which contains 46 articles on the rights that Indigenous peoples all around the world hold. He would later describe his time on the island as 'the best time of my life'1. It was on 3 June 1992 that the Australian High Court overturned more than 200 years of white domination of land ownership. Uncle Koiki Mabo launches legal case for his land - Deadly Story Land claim, 1981-1992 In 1981, at a conference on indigenous land rights in Townsville, a decision was made to pursue a native land title claim for the people of the Murray Islands in the High Court of Australia. My predecessor Dr Tom Calma explained the impact of never implementing a social justice package in 2008: this abyss is one of the underlying reasons why the native title system is under the strain it is under today[5]. Today in the midst of winter there is still smoke from a campfire, framing a word spelled out on the lawn: Sovereignty. Eddie Mabo - Wikipedia However, most importantly of all, we are now faced with the challenge of how to make the most of our rights to land and native title once we have them, for our prosperity and sustainability. He was a Meriam man and grew up on Mer, part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. Yet, the first colonialists decided, for commercial reasons, to ignore all that and peddle the view that Aboriginal people were primitive, disorganised, culture-less creatures who deserved no rights over land. Following his speech, he was approached by a lawyer, who asked if he'd be interested in taking the Australian Government to court to finally decide who owned the land. They reflect the period in which they were created and are not the views of the National Archives. There was scepticism, even cynicism, but I was able to report the story. 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 was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. According to accounts of the conversation, the two scholarly figures looked at each other and then, delicately, told Mabo that he didn't own the land and that it was Crown land. Watch all your favourite ABC programs on ABC iview. Transcript of proceedings.in the High Court of Australia between Eddie Mabo, David Passi, James Rice.and the State of Queensland Proceedings for 28-31 May 1991, 3 June 1992, and 8 December 1992. Words. Mabo decision | Australia's Defining Moments Digital Classroom What Exactly Is 'Mabo Day' And Why Is June 3 Such An - ELLE For significant service to the community as a cultural leader and public sector executive in the field of Indigenous affairs.. These legal challenges continued into the 20th century rulings maintained the legitimacy of the Crown but could not extinguish completely the Aboriginal claims. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. Mabo decision | National Museum of Australia I walked into the news meeting at the ABC with words. Truth. Participants identified that we need to start considering the role of the financial services industry, as well as agencies such as Indigenous Business Australia and the Indigenous Land Corporation in the context of our economic development. Mabo said was that it is my fathers & grandfather's, grandmother's land, I am related to it, it is my identity. [10] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report, p237. It remains a collection of canvas and tin, but it has grown in those years since a handful of young Aboriginal activists planted a beach umbrella and wrote the word Embassy on a manila folder, to shake a fist at the power on the hill. Eddie Mabo and Gerard Brennan overturned the terra nullius policy and Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series. On November 16, 1990, after a year of considering the facts of the case, Justice Moynihan delivered his written findings to the High Court of Australia. Love, kindness, forgiveness; always love. Concocted by the early settlers, it was used, systematically, cynically and effectively to deprive the indigenous people of their own land. Mabo rejected the more militant direct action tactics of the land rights movement, seeing the most important goal as being to destroy the legal justification for what he regarded as land theft. During this time he became involved in community and political organisations, such as the union movement and the 1967 Referendum campaign. At 31, this affrontery became his epiphany. Born in 1936, Mabo started life like so many other indigenous people, deprived of a meaningful education, denied access to whites-only buses, cinemas, even toilets. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." The practical effects of Mabo have, indeed, been mixed, judging by figures from the Koori Mail, a national indigenous-owned newspaper. Eddie Mabo Case Study - 1556 Words | 123 Help Me As Kevin Mason divedin the ocean, a compliance officer waswatching on the cliffs above. I had read about the case as it moved through the lower courts. The preamble to the Native Title Act makes it clear that the objectives of the legislation are to: rectify the consequences of past injustices by the special measures contained in the Act to ensure that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders receive the full recognition and status within the Australian nation to which history, their prior rights and interests, and their rich and diverse culture, fully entitle them to aspire.[11].