eddie mabo speech transcript

and in 2008 James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. 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. "He became a driven man," says his friend and documentary maker, Trevor Graham. He also co-operated with members of the Communist Party, the only white political party to support Aboriginal campaigns at the time. Another similarity is something that sometimes we do not acknowledge enough. 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. 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. 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. Some records include terms and views that are not appropriate today. By continuing to use this site, you are giving us consent to do this. This led to the subsequent High Court case, Mabo v Queensland (No 2), which was to determine the matter of the plaintiffs' land rights. At http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/native-title-report-2008 (viewed 5 June 2015). But we know that these scales do not capture the social disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Winanghanha is to return to knowing: to know what we have always known. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. 2017 presentation by Professor Megan Davis, Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous, University of New South Wales. The fall of the golden house of is but not the end. 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. I had read about the case as it moved through the lower courts. Reynolds struck up a friendship with Eddie Mabo, who was then a groundsman and gardener at James Cook University. It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 1h 43m. We need to work alongside government to equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills to turn the economic and commercial aspirations into reality. Overwhelmingly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have indicated that it is time for a new process of engagement to occur with the government on the topic of our rights after native title. Rejected at each turn. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this resource and resource page may contain the image, name or voice of deceased persons. It is sadness beyond the word sadness itself. Mabo's love for his homeland drove the proud Torres Strait Islander to undertake a 10- year legal battle that rewrote Australia's history. The decision. That word is emblazoned still at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in Canberra. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. In 2008, a library at James Cook University was named after him. Help your class to explore the life of Eddie Mabo with this engaging and educational biography-writing task. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen No wonder Mr Abbott was visibly moved as he thanked "Aunty Gail" for . Here we are 30 years later, still on that journey. 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. We acknowledge Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islander People as the first inhabitants of the nation, and acknowledge Traditional Custodians of the Australian lands where our staff and students live, learn and work. Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision . 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. 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]. [1] Cast [ edit] Jimi Bani as Eddie Mabo Gedor Zaro as Young Eddie Deborah Mailman as Bonita Mabo (ne Neehow) This independence could be realized through greater roles for Indigenous landholders through business, land management and other opportunities. The judge's four hundred page report presented Mabo and his barristers with a bombshell which threatened to sink their case. Participants in Broome identified there was a real need to have a new conversation with Government around Indigenous land and property rights and how this might translate into sustainable economic development. [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? This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or "mother nature", and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. As a nation, this is an improvement from fourth position just over ten years ago in 2003.[10]. 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. Two words showed something was wrong with the system, After centuries of Murdaugh rule in the Deep South, the family's power ends with a life sentence for murder, Flooding in southern Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes, When Daniel picked up a dropped box on a busy road, he had no idea it would lead to the 'best present ever', Plans to redevelop 'eyesore' on prime riverside land fall apart as billionaires exit, Labor's pledge for mega koala park in south-west Sydney welcomed by conservation groups, Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan actor, dies aged 61. [1] It was brought by Eddie Mabo against the State of Queensland and decided on 3 June 1992. 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. One of the people who attended the conference, a lawyer, suggested they should make a case to claim land rights through the court system. A while back I read a business management book by an American, Leon C. Megginson. In the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Governments have committed themselves to the economic development of our communities. 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. In one, the presiding judge said the mere introduction of British law did not extinguish Aboriginal customary law. Eddie Mabo had challenged the very ideological establishment of Australia and the first Australians. So, in many ways, the victory has been more symbolic than practical. But without warriors such as Eddie, David and James, Rob and countless others, we would not be in the position regarding Indigenous land tenure that we are in today. I want to give two words from my people, Wiradjuri. The nation remained diminished. In the Shire of . the belief that Australia and its islands belonged to no-one when claimed by the British in 1770) in a landmark court . At: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ALRCRefJl/2009/15.html#FootnoteB6 (viewed 9 June 2015). 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. 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. [6] UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Article 1, para 1. He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. In New South Wales, the most populous state, Aboriginal people have title over only 0.1% of the land. 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. I stand here proud to bring a message from my Elders. 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. Our landsings gently a song of sadness. It was on 3 June 1992 that the Australian High Court overturned more than 200 years of white domination of land ownership. Later in 1992, Mabo was posthumously awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal. The National Archives holds a diverse array of records relating to the Mabo case. Mabo's credibility as the primary witness for the case was savaged . "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people." 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. 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. Resting Place of Eddie Mabo. Eddie Mabo was heartbroken and never forgave government authorities. The Mabo decision was a legal case held in 1992. 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. Then, in June 1992, the years of sacrifice and persuasion came to fruition. You Murray Islanders have won that court case. 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 ! 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. I walked into the news meeting at the ABC with words. Mabo ended up on the mainland working a number of jobs, including labouring on the railways. They can raise us to anger then soothe us. At: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components#a (viewed 9 June 2015). Mabo and his fellow plaintiff's fought for land on Mer - their ancestral gardens and home. Justice John Willis said: "In Australia it is the colonists not the Aborigines are the foreigners.". This effectively overturned the doctrine of terra nullius, which held that Australia didn't belong to anybody before European colonisation. 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. This often presents internal issues for traditional owner groups about how decisions are made and how benefits will be shared and responsibilities exercised. So today it is indeed an honour for both my people and myself to be presenting this year's Edward Koiki Mabo Lecture. A lawyer heard the speech and asked . 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. You can find it still, somewhere buried in the archives of ABC News. 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. Yindyamarra winanghanha. "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. The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. The man who had engineered the historic change of law, never lived to witness it himself. 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]. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging. Yindyamarra is respect: It is quiet, it is humble. These adjustments are key if we are to translate our inherent legal rights under native title into sustainable opportunities for our people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this site may contain names, images or voices of people who have passed away. 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. Mr Mabo died in 1992 just months before his 10-year legal battle for native title rights proved successful. It is this issue of development that I will explore later in greater detail. Thank you Russell for your kind words of introduction. 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. Until Mabo, we had been a forgotten people, even though we knew that we were in the right.". Mabo: Life of an Island Man is a 1997 Australian documentary film on the life of Indigenous Australian land rights campaigner Eddie Koiki Mabo.. A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. Eddie Mabo's dream had come true; a meeting of minds to address the issue of Aboriginal land . Court cases in the mid-19th century challenged the idea of British settlement at the time the rulings were in favour of the Crown. Typical of such awards, the citations are generally understated and this is particularly so in your case. 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. Mabo said was that it is my fathers & grandfather's, grandmother's land, I am related to it, it is my identity. (2012) This program was published 2 years ago. 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. 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. 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. 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. British law was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. This is our land. 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. 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. Our people know han. "The rights he won in the High Court have been eroded away by government, courts and socio-economic pressure.". This could also be translated as greater Indigenous control over our lands and resources more generally, and a decrease in the burden placed on Indigenous landholders as I have mentioned earlier today by government and other industries. Topics are usually less than 2 minutes long. 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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. He knew about hope and he knew about justice. 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].

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