The man who had engineered the historic change of law, never lived to witness it himself. [7] OHCHR Website, Essays in Commemoration of 25 years of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. At: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6 (viewed 9 June 2015). This landmark decision led to the Australian Government introducing native title . Other forms of recognition have been added. Mabo Day occurs annually in Australia on 3rd June. "He became a driven man," says his friend and documentary maker, Trevor Graham. A case was made, and took 10 years to reach a decision. In some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. : he world to possession and I emfphasise Opossessions Eddie's daughter, Gail Mabo remembers that day well. The nation remained diminished. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Uncle Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo. Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this resource and resource page may contain the image, name or voice of deceased persons. Transcript notes - MABO, Eddie, RICE, James v State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia, ITM1641344 Transcript ID: 3849. This Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted by the General Assembly in 1986. This achievement certainly encourages me. SPEECH - THURSDAY, 3 JUNE . 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. In 1982, Eddie Mabo and four others began action seeking a legal declaratcion of their traditional land rights in the Murray islands of the Torres Strait, Tvn years later onL 3 June 1992, the High Court decided that his people were entitled as against the whole of ! Another similarity is something that sometimes we do not acknowledge enough. 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. 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. Of law. A clear theme from the Broome Roundtable revealed a common frustration among many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Born on 29 June 1936 in his village of Las on the island of Mer in the Torres Strait, Eddie Koiki Mabo was the fourth child of Robert Zesou Sambo and Poipe (Sambo) Mabo. As much as Australias law tried to tell him he was wrong, he knew his law and he knew that even the law of Britain that had stolen this land had to admit finally admit what we all knew, what Eddie Mabo knew. Watch. We will adapt, we will take advantage of these opportunities and we will leave a great legacy. It was on 3 June 1992 that the Australian High Court overturned more than 200 years of white domination of land ownership. 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. The golden house of is collapses and the world of becoming ascended.". 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 . You Murray Islanders have won that court case. 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. Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. 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.". 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. When the decision overturning Terra Nullius eventually came, the judges referred to the policy as "the darkest aspect of (our) national history" and one that left "a legacy of unutterable shame". Mabo tells the story of one of Australia's national heroes - Eddie Koiki Mabo, the Torres Strait Islander man who left school at age 15, yet spearheaded the High Court challenge that overthrew the fiction of terra nullius. Help your class to explore the life of Eddie Mabo with this engaging and educational biography-writing task. From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. A Yolngu word meaning to come together after a struggle. That nearly a third of our land mass is Indigenous owned is testament to this. You can find it still, somewhere buried in the archives of ABC News. 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. active, free and meaningful participation in development; self-determination and full sovereignty over natural wealth and resources. 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. It is this issue of development that I will explore later in greater detail. And in 1981, Eddie was invited by the same university to make a speech about Mer's land inheritance system. That is, after 20 years of operation, we finally saw the first time compensation had been awarded for the extinguishment of native title rights and interests under the Native Title Act. And it was this; hardly any compensation has come our way despite all of the fear mongering over the years about the rivers of compensation that would flow from the realization of our rights under land rights and native title. Their hard fought battle against the Queensland government finally consigned the lie of terra nullius to the historical dustbin and recognised the unique rights that we hold as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to our traditional land and waters. 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. "If ever a system could be called a government of laws," he said, "it is shown in the evidence before me.". 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. Volume 1 (227pp), Volume 2 (58pp). The world of becoming ascends. Friends we are the First Peoples of this country and we are the oldest living culture in the world because of our ability to adapt to ever changing environments and circumstances. The judge's four hundred page report presented Mabo and his barristers with a bombshell which threatened to sink their case. Eddie Koiki Mabo at Las, Murray Island, 1989 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). 23 Nov 1990 - 21 Oct 1994 Library at the University College of Townsville, Queensland. Mabo v Queensland (No 1) was heard in 1986and 1988. [2] Australian Human Rights Commission, Paper on Indigenous Leaders Roundtable, Property Rights, p4. JCU websites use cookies to enhance user experience, analyse site usage, and assist with outreach and enrolment. In 2014, Australia ranked second after Norway, in the United Nations Human Development Index,[9] a position that would seem to indicate that we all enjoy a quality of life superior to most others in the world. Keating begins by discussing the moral and legal implications of the decision. While he believed the Murray Island belonged to the Torres Strait Islander people, Australian law stated that the Government owned the land. We are still trying to find the words to equal the full measure of Eddie Mabo's devotion. 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. Bonita 'Netta' Mabo: Eddie's wife and is a resourceful, supportive and loving woman. This was apartheid in Australia, not South Africa. This often presents internal issues for traditional owner groups about how decisions are made and how benefits will be shared and responsibilities exercised. 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 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. Edward 'Koiki' Mabo (1936-1992), Torres Strait Islander community leader and land rights campaigner, was born on 29 June 1936 at Las, on Mer, in the Murray group of islands, Queensland, the fourth surviving child of Murray Islands-born parents 'Robert' Zesou Sambo, seaman, and his wife 'Annie' Poipe, ne Mabo. There was something of destiny in the air. The National Archives holds a diverse array of records relating to the Mabo case. the belief that Australia and its islands belonged to no-one when claimed by the British in 1770) in a landmark court . 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. He is hardworking and determined, but at the cost of his family life. Words makaratta. That is the view most widely endorsed by history. 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. [6] UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Article 1, para 1. 2008 Presentation by The Hon. Eddie Mabo (left) and . 5. Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. We did not end. 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. The Mabo decision was a legal case held in 1992. No transcript available, 2016 Lecture Presentation by Professor N M Nakata, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Indigenous Education and Strategy, James Cook University (Transcript), 2016 Lecture Presentation by Professor N M Nakata, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Indigenous Education and Strategy, James Cook University (2016 Lecture Transcript), 2015 Presentation by The Hon. When our world is ablaze with conflict. The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. In New South Wales, the most populous state, Aboriginal people have title over only 0.1% of the land. The justices spoke of a legacy of "unutterable shame"and that the dispossession of Indigenous people was the darkest aspect of Australia's history. British law under a British flag. Mabo's love for his homeland drove the proud Torres Strait Islander to undertake a 10- year legal battle that rewrote Australia's history. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this site may contain names, images or voices of people who have passed away. To sign treaties. How might this case shatter the myth of terra nullius? Words. (2013 lecture transcript), 2012 Presentation by Professor Henry Reynolds. This will always be our land. However, the social justice package, which was meant to address compensation for the dispossession of land and the dispersal of the Indigenous population remains unfulfilled.[4]. Mabo said was that it is my fathers & grandfather's, grandmother's land, I am related to it, it is my identity. He knew about suffering. 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. Here we are 30 years later, still on that journey. 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. He was, if you like, an Australian Nelson Mandela, someone who led his people in a struggle against incalculable odds, to what was rightfully theirs. 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. This will always be our land. I want to give two words from my people, Wiradjuri. 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 . In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. The theme of this years conference is Leadership, Legacy and Opportunity. [11]Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. This led to the subsequent High Court case, Mabo v Queensland (No 2), which was to determine the matter of the plaintiffs' land rights. 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. A world turning. His mother died during childbirth and he was raised by his mother's brother, Benny Mabo . In the Shire of . 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. As this brave mans voice even as he had passed was heard by another man who is now gone and together they changed us. People gathered this week in Townsville, Queensland, to remember a seminal moment in the nation's history, and the efforts of one man to bring it about. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. In a snapshot. Born in 1936, he grew up in the village of Las on the north bend of Mer Island. Eddie Mabo and Gerard Brennan overturned the terra nullius policy and changed Australia forever. He knew about hope and he knew about justice. [9] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report. For many at JCU, the landmark legal decision has been rendered personal, as well as political and historic, because of Eddie's important association with JCU staff and students, and with our surrounding communities. Yindyamarra is respect: It is quiet, it is humble. 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It is lament. He spoke of impermanence: He knew things did not last and yet we do. On 3 June 1992 the High Court of Australia ruled that a group of Torres Strait Islander people, led by Eddie Mabo, owned the island of Mer (Murray Island). The Mabo decision was named after Eddie Mabo, the 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. 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. This is our land. 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. This independence could be realized through greater roles for Indigenous landholders through business, land management and other opportunities. Six weeks later his father died. It was through his association with JCU humanities and education staff, Professor Henry Reynolds and Associate Professor Noel Loos, that Eddie became interested in who owned the land on which his people lived, and in Native Title. OM95-26 Mabo Cutting Books 1990-1994 - (2 vols.) 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. During this time he became involved in community and political organisations, such as the union movement and the 1967 Referendum campaign. He is best known for the two court cases that bear his name, Mabo v. Queensland (numbers 1 and 2). Aboriginal Australians are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark victory over land rights. Yindyamarra winanghanha. Winanghanha is to return to knowing: to know what we have always known. The decision. [3] N Pearson in The Australian, Property rights will help economical development of Indigenous Australians, 22 May 2015. Ten years before, Eddie Koiki Mabo and his comrades started the legal battle for the recognition of the Meriam people and the ownership of Mer Island. This is yet another reason why a development approach is so urgently needed. These adjustments are key if we are to translate our inherent legal rights under native title into sustainable opportunities for our people. "Quite simply, Eddie Mabo brought an end to a two-centuries-old lie," says Rachel Perkins, director and inspiration behind the new movie, Mabo, released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the historic High Court case. (No. Eddie Mabo wanted to change the law of Terra Nullius and claim the Aboriginal people as the original owners of the land this would change social and political views of the aboriginal people. 2019. These often hamper the development and economic aspirations of the communities involved right from the start. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." But he was wrong. Bryan Keon-Cohen was one of Eddie Mabo's barristers, and he gave a speech at Mabo's funderal in Townsville in Feb 1992 - he said: 'I confine myself here . The issue of compensation for unfinished business was another key theme of the Roundtable. The truth: This was his land. 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. For Indigenous peoples around the world, the Declaration has been a means by which they can free themselves from the shackles of colonialism and share equitably in the benefits of development.[8]. He would later describe his time on the island as 'the best time of my life'1. Concocted by the early settlers, it was used, systematically, cynically and effectively to deprive the indigenous people of their own land. In August 1981 Mabo attended a conference on land rights at James Cook University. 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]. 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. Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. 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. The Declaration incorporates four fundamental human rights principles that can be categorised as: However, the UN Declaration on the Right to Development has been a lesser-known cousin to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Overwhelmingly, what participants told us at the Roundtable was that whilst there had been an expansion of the Indigenous estate since the commencement of the Native Title Act that it largely has not delivered sustainable outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We go on, he said, ever, ever, ever on. We cross rivers and we are changed like the water itself. Others, mainly white opponents, regarded the judgement as a mistake. 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. 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. [10] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report, p237. B12 of 1982 in the High Court of Australia). At: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/RealizingaVisionforTransformativeDevelopment.aspx (viewed 9 June 2015), [8] N Collings, Native title, economic development and the environment, Australian Law Reform Commission Journal 15, 2009. The Mabo decision was handed down on June 3, 1992 in the High Court's grand courtroom in Canberra.