In particular, Roundtable participants lamented the lack of governance skills amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander landholders to successfully engage in business development and to manage their estates. [1] It was brought by Eddie Mabo against the State of Queensland and decided on 3 June 1992. 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. It is clear that we have seen a change in momentum as far as this space is concerned. It is a feeling. Eddie Mabo knew about love too. Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. This activity encourages children to write down their knowledge in a structured report . This case, I said thisman Mabo will change Australia. The "fallacy" that Perkins speaks of is the concept of Terra Nullius, land belonging to no-one. - Behind the News Behind the News 133K subscribers Subscribe 483 106K views 3 years ago Mabo Day on June 3rd, celebrates. Mabo expressed disbelief and shock. 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. Few Australians then knew the name Eddie Mabo. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from "time immemorial", and according to science more than 60,000 years ago. So today it is indeed an honour for both my people and myself to be presenting this year's Edward Koiki Mabo Lecture. Only land such as vacant crown land, national parks and some leased land, can be subject to claims by the Aboriginal owners. The memory of wounds. In acknowledging the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their land, the court also held that native title existed for all Indigenous people. My people are the Gangulu from the Dawson Valley in Central Queensland. Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. Australia owes you a great debt. A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. On 8 December 1988, the High Court ruled this legislation invalid. Eddie Mabo's dream had come true; a meeting of minds to address the issue of Aboriginal land . The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. Uncle Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo. Help your class to explore the life of Eddie Mabo with this engaging and educational biography-writing task. In a snapshot. I also acknowledge the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion who is here today and my colleague Tim Wilson, our Australian Human Rights Commissioner. "If Koiki Mabo were alive today he would be an angry man," says Malezer. "The golden house of is collapses. Hide message. 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. In 1992 the High Court handed down its historic ruling. . Others, mainly white opponents, regarded the judgement as a mistake. The issue of compensation goes to the core of the initial intent of addressing the historical dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from their lands and waters. The Keating government gave effect to the Mabo decision by introducing the Native Title Act 1993, which facilitated the process of recognising native title. 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. And he was right. In New South Wales, the most populous state, Aboriginal people have title over only 0.1% of the land. Eddie's daughter, Gail Mabo remembers that day well. 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. In 1994 the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) was established in response to Read More The conference, 'Land Rights and the Future of Australian Race Relations', was sponsored by the Townsville Treaty Committee and the James Cook University's Student Union. 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. We all know about the legacy of native title left by Meriam and Murray Islanders Edward Koiki Mabo, David Passi and James Rice. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." In particular, this was raised as a way that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities might be able to leverage finances in order to support economic development opportunities and to improve the capacity of our mobs to best manage these prospects in the future. 10. 2006 Presentation by Professor Larissa Behrendt. Eddie Koiki Mabo died of cancer on 21 January 1991, before the case was resolved. I think much of the dialogue on this issue in Australia has revolved around how to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from development as opposed to how to realize our rights to development and the associated benefits that come with it. Together yindyamarra winanghanha means to live with respect in a world worth living in. Even though these rights have been watered down over the years, they have enabled us to reach a point where we now own nearly a third of the entire Australian continent and I am told approximately 54% of places like the Northern Territory. "He became a driven man," says his friend and documentary maker, Trevor Graham. He immediately saw the injustice of it and from then on dedicated his life to reversing it. Rob was at the forefront of the fight for land in Western Australia, particularly at Nookanbah and when the WA Government led the resistance to national land rights legislation. 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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. This led to the subsequent High Court case, Mabo v Queensland (No 2), which was to determine the matter of the plaintiffs' land rights. "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people." Bonita 'Netta' Mabo: Eddie's wife and is a resourceful, supportive and loving woman. The theme of this years conference is Leadership, Legacy and Opportunity. The new conversation that we need to be having around our rights to land and resources has been captured in the thematic areas I have just spoken about. 2009 Presentation by Professor Ross Garnaut, Vice-Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow in Economics, The University of Melbourne, and Distinguished Professor, The Australian University. To make agreements. At: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6 (viewed 9 June 2015). On 3 June 1992, six of the seven High Court judges upheld the claim and ruled that the lands of . Speech to the Native Title Conference celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Mabo High Court decision 6 June 2012. . At 31, this affrontery became his epiphany. To build a world worth living in. The world of becoming ascends. 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. Other forms of recognition have been added. Unfortunately, the right to development is not a concept often thought about in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as members of a developed country. The earliest papers on the Murray Island land claim are a manuscript and typescript of a speech by Mabo at the Land Rights and Future of Australian Race Relations Conference at James Cook University in 1981. On this great day, I, Prime Minister of Australia, speak to you on behalf of the Australian people all those who honour and love this land we live in. 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]. This effectively overturned the doctrine of terra nullius, which held that Australia didn't belong to anybody before European colonisation. (2014 lecture transcript), 2013 Presentation by Dr Bryan Keon-Cohen QC. I honour your Elders that have come before you, those that are here today and I wait in optimistic anticipation for those Elders who are yet to emerge. Some went further, fuelling the hysteria with unsubstantiated claims - Jeff Kennett, then the premier of Victoria, said suburban backyards could be at risk of takeover by Aboriginal people. 2023 BBC. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU. Our News Reynolds writes: One of the people who attended the conference, a lawyer, suggested they should make a case to claim land rights through the court system. JCU websites use cookies to enhance user experience, analyse site usage, and assist with outreach and enrolment. Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? I have heard many stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and Traditional Owners about the many barriers they face in reaching their potential benefits under land rights and native title. Read about our approach to external linking. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. This was our land. In-text: (Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision, 2019) Your Bibliography: Time Out Sydney. When our world is ablaze with conflict. We cross rivers and we are changed like the water itself. Searching for 'Mabo' in RecordSearch brings up many results, including the files below. Older articles are being reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with contemporary values but the original text will remain available for historical context. There were three key components to this: As you will know, the first two of these three components have been implemented, with varying degrees of success and impact on our communities over the years. This issue of transfer, usability and conversion of title threw up many challenges around how to retain underlying customary title but make it usable in the modern sense. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.. Today I want to talk about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be the leaders to grasp new opportunities that will leave a legacy for generations to come. This will always be our land. British law under a British flag. His mother passed away shortly after his birth and he was adopted by his Uncle Benny and Aunty Maigo Mabo in line with Islander custom. Uncle Edward 'Koiki' Mabo was born in 1936, in Las on the island of Mer (Murray Island) in the Torres Strait to 'Robert' Zesou Sambo and 'Annie' Poipe, ne Mabo. Our landsings gently a song of sadness. The man who had engineered the historic change of law, never lived to witness it himself. Birthdays, anniversaries, sports events and special schools days were missed. 2004 Presentation by Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO. 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. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. The golden house of is of culture and connection, of blood and dreaming, of time immemorial how the golden house of is collapses. Importantly, development is also a process through which other human rights can be realized and our wellbeing alongside all other populations is maximised. (2012) This program was published 2 years ago. It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Suggested answer: While working as a grounds keeper at James Cook University in Townsville, Eddie learnt about Australian land ownership laws. Yindyamarra is respect: It is quiet, it is humble. He knew about suffering. His mother passed away shortly after his birth and he was adopted by his maternal Uncle and Aunt, Benny and Maiga Mabo in line with Islander . He told them of his dream of ending his days on Murray Island, on the ancestral land that had been handed down through his family for 15 generations. Legacy of Eddie Mabo. But who was Eddie Mabo, why did he take up what must have seemed like a hopeless cause and what is the legacy of his campaign? To seek justice we had to speak the words of British law. "For two centuries, the British and then white Australians operated under a fallacy, that somehow Aboriginal people did not exist or have land rights before the first settlers arrived in 1788.". 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. When I looked over the lives of these two great Australians I was struck by the similarities of their struggles and the qualities they each share. The Mabo decision was a legal case held in 1992. By continuing to use this site, you are giving us consent to do this. Mabo was a Torres Strait islander from Mer (Murray Island), off Australia's north-east coast. 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. And he was right. 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. Eddie Koiki Mabo was an advocate of the 1967 Referendum, fighting for equal rights including education. Later in 1992, Mabo was posthumously awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal. 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. Indigenous Education and Research Centre When I looked over the lives of these two great Australians I was struck by the similarities of their struggles and the qualities they each . Mabo and his fellow plaintiff's fought for land on Mer - their ancestral gardens and home. A while back I read a business management book by an American, Leon C. Megginson. These adjustments are key if we are to translate our inherent legal rights under native title into sustainable opportunities for our people. But it was a bittersweet moment for the indigenous population. He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. These barriers all prevent us from using our land to enter into the economy from which we can see ourselves and our communities thrive. We need to work alongside government to equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills to turn the economic and commercial aspirations into reality. Can I also acknowledge all you here today who have come together to work out how we can access our land, seas and waters easier and quicker, but who have also come to talk to each other about how we can make better use of our estates to make life a little better for the rest of our mob out there. But he had to find words to speak a deeper truth even as he upheld the myth of terra nullius that Aboriginal people, he said, had a "subtle and elaborate system of law". It is lament. More Information .We are closed in a box. [10] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report, p237. The new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, says there will be a referendum to enshrine a voice an Indigenous representative body in the Australian constitution. (2011 lecture transcript), 2010 Presentation by Professor Chris Sarra. He knew about hope and he knew about justice. The Roundtable was held after there was significant interest on this issue when Commissioner Wilson and I undertook some consultations around the country last year. 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. The Mabo case Records relating to the Mabo case About Eddie Mabo Edward Koiki Mabo was born on 29 June 1936. That permission was denied. Justice John Willis said: "In Australia it is the colonists not the Aborigines are the foreigners.". The legal decision was made by the High Court on 3 June 1992. The truth: This was his land. Reynolds struck up a friendship with Eddie Mabo, who was then a groundsman and gardener at James Cook University. 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. Barrister Ron Castan, Eddie Mabo and barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen at . In 2008, a library at James Cook University was named after him. Fungibility and native title. British law was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. 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'. 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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? The Mabo Case Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We will adapt, we will take advantage of these opportunities and we will leave a great legacy. The golden house of is collapses and the world of becoming ascended.". But the . 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". Drama Biopic Inspiring. He was a Meriam man and grew up on Mer, part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. I'd also like to thank AIATSIS for the invitation to speak today and in doing that can I congratulate you Russell on receiving your recent Member of the Order of Australia award. 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. [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). First, they ask me to pass on their greetings and their thanks for allowing me on your lands. Finally, the remaining key theme of the meeting was the issue of our right as Indigenous peoples to development. Watch. And that is the cost to both men and their families. 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]. It was on 3 June 1992 that the Australian High Court overturned more than 200 years of white domination of land ownership. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." But he was wrong. A lawyer heard the speech and asked Eddie if he would like to challenge the Australian Government in the court system, to decide who the true owner of the land on Mer was, his . For significant service to the community as a cultural leader and public sector executive in the field of Indigenous affairs.. AAP. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. I like how the words create a rhythm. OM95-26 Mabo Cutting Books 1990-1994 - (2 vols.) 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. The Mabo decision What is the Mabo decision? 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. Mabo, Edward Koiki (Eddie) (1936-1992) . In that book he argued, contrary to theories of Charles Darwin, that it was not the fittest or the strongest nor the smartest that survive but those who can manage change, that is it is the most adaptable who survive. Mabo: Life of an Island Man is a 1997 Australian documentary film on the life of Indigenous Australian land rights campaigner Eddie Koiki Mabo.. The courts had previously found that the Nguraritja had non-exclusive native title over certain parcels of land, but not over those where native title had already been extinguished. These skills will enable us to make better and informed decisions for maximum benefit and I look forward, as I am sure you do, to the release of IBAs investment principles, which they are currently developing in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and organisations across the country. 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. That is, how do we build on the underlying communal title to create options for our economic development? Transcript. Judged by any civilised standard, such a law is unjust ". 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. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen No wonder Mr Abbott was visibly moved as he thanked "Aunty Gail" for . Rejected at each turn. The Mabo decision was named after Eddie Mabo, the Mabo gained an education, became an activist for black rights and worked with his community to make sure Aboriginal children had their own schools. In Torres Strait Islands called the Mabo case, for Eddie Mabo, the first-named plaintiff) brought by several individuals that was won in the High Court of Australia in 1992; subsequent cases were also settled in favour of other groups of islanders. . 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]. Thank you Russell for your kind words of introduction. : he world to possession and I emfphasise Opossessions In 1973 Mabo founded the Black Community School in Townsville, which was created to educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and preserve traditional knowledge and practices. More information. 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 8 th 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. They ruled that the Mabo decision in no way challenges the legality of non-Aboriginal land tenure. B12 of 1982 in the High Court of Australia). Edward Koiki Mabo was born on 29 June 1936. Our people know han. This is yet another reason why a development approach is so urgently needed. 1h 43m. Eddie Koiki Mabo: A Meriam man, husband to Bonita Mabo and father to 10 children. eddie began his Journey on changing the rights by Making a speech at a land rights conference at the James Cook University his speech explained the traditional land owners and the inheritance system that . Words speak across tongues. As the Broome Roundtable highlighted, this remains one of the key unresolved issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their quest for ongoing economic development. Resting Place of Eddie Mabo. During this time he became involved in community and political organisations, such as the union movement and the 1967 Referendum campaign. In my tribute to Rob, I mentioned how losing that fight for national land rights lit the fires for what was to become the fight for native title led by Eddie, with Rob being part of the leadership that negotiated the Native Title Act through the national parliament to give legislative effect to the High Court decision championed by Eddie. Mabo v Queensland (No 1) was heard in 1986and 1988. On 21 May 2008, James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. It's the anniversary of a court decision that recognized for . That was Eddie Mabos gift. On 3 June 1992, six of seven Australian High Court judges ruled: The Meriam people are entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of the lands of the Murray Islands [in Torres Strait]. It clearly did not, for instance, lead to vast numbers of white Australians being forced from their homes, businesses, mines or farms. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. Make an Impact. He was right. At: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/social_justice_native_title_report_2013.pdf (viewed 5 June 2015), [5] T Calma, Native Title Report 2008, Australian Human Rights Commission (2009), p 46. Typical of such awards, the citations are generally understated and this is particularly so in your case. 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. Well, Australia now stands at a moment of history. Some records include terms and views that are not appropriate today.

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