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. That is the view most widely endorsed by history. We will adapt, we will take advantage of these opportunities and we will leave a great legacy. Mabo and others: products or agents of progress? And he was right. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. But that hasn't stopped indigenous people, like Queensland elder Douglas Bon, taking great satisfaction in the ruling. But 20 years after the judgement, there's still a debate among constitutionalists, lawyers and politicians about the legacy of Mabo. [2] Australian Human Rights Commission, Paper on Indigenous Leaders Roundtable, Property Rights, p4. The great polish poetCzeslawMilosz said perhaps all memory is the memory of wounds. 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. It contains just 10 articles on what the instrument describes as an, inalienable right, by which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realised.[6]. 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. "The High Court, which is not elected by anybody, not accountable to anybody, had presumed to move into the legislative area to make a whole new law," he said. 5. 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. 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. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. First, they ask me to pass on their greetings and their thanks for allowing me on your lands. The case presented by Eddie Mabo and the people of Mer successfully proved that Meriam custom and laws are fundamental to their traditional system of ownership and underpin their traditional rights and obligations in relation to 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. HOST: Today is Mabo Day. 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". 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. Mabo was a Torres Strait islander from Mer (Murray Island), off Australia's north-east coast. Mabo's love for his homeland drove the proud Torres Strait Islander to undertake a 10- year legal battle that rewrote Australia's history. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU. At 31, this affrontery became his epiphany. He immediately saw the injustice of it and from then on dedicated his life to reversing it. Watch all your favourite ABC programs on ABC iview. For significant service to the community as a cultural leader and public sector executive in the field of Indigenous affairs.. 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]. And these were the costs borne by the whole family. 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. It is short for Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992). In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. When voices within democracies silenced and marginalised are demanding to be heard, we are bringing oursand challenging our democracy to examine itself and for our constitution to be seeded in the first footprints, not just the first settlers. Six weeks later his father died. That's why the legal decision is universally known as "Mabo". Concocted by the early settlers, it was used, systematically, cynically and effectively to deprive the indigenous people of their own land. Edward Koiki Mabo was born on 29 June 1936. Resting Place of Eddie Mabo. 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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. 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. A case was made, and took 10 years to reach a decision. The Murray Islands Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (commonly known as the Mabo case or simply Mabo) is a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised the existence of Native Title in Australia. 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. Realising these aspirations, is key to our economic development and prosperity as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples where our land is our ultimate asset. 3. Business development support and succession planning. The words are carefully chosen to sit alongside each other withjust the right length and the right tone, each one setting up the other and chosen for both meaning and music. And in 1981, Eddie was invited by the same university to make a speech about Mer's land inheritance system. In August 1981 Mabo attended a conference on land rights at James Cook University. 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. 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. Our News Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? 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]. Elders saythe wateris now a battleground. 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? 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. Words speak across tongues. 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. Mabo gained an education, became an activist for black rights and worked with his community to make sure Aboriginal children had their own schools. 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. 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. JCU websites use cookies to enhance user experience, analyse site usage, and assist with outreach and enrolment. 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. That word is emblazoned still at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in Canberra. 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. I like how the words create a rhythm. 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. Mabo's credibility as the primary witness for the case was savaged . Words makaratta. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We are still trying to find the words to equal the full measure of Eddie Mabo's devotion. On 21 May 2008, James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. There was scepticism, even cynicism, but I was able to report the story. . Mr Mabo died in 1992 just months before his 10-year legal battle for native title rights proved successful. 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He was right. Without this foundation, there would be no opportunity for us to access these rights through this unique form of land tenure. We need to work alongside government to equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills to turn the economic and commercial aspirations into reality. 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. In the Shire of . Han is Korean and it is more than a word. 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 . At http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/264/hdr_2003_en_complete.pdf (viewed 9 June 2015). How might this case shatter the myth of terra nullius? 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. To sign treaties. More information. SPEECH - THURSDAY, 3 JUNE . Eddie Koiki Mabo died of cancer on 21 January 1991, before the case was resolved. A Yolngu word meaning to come together after a struggle. Today in the midst of winter there is still smoke from a campfire, framing a word spelled out on the lawn: Sovereignty. Mabo expressed. Speech to the Native Title Conference celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Mabo High Court decision 6 June 2012. . The fall of the golden house of is but not the end. 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. The issue of compensation for unfinished business was another key theme of the Roundtable. 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. Twenty three years after the Mabo decision we are going through another adaption as we talk about how we can start to enjoy the benefits that come from land ownership in the same way that is open to all other Australians, without compromising our unique rights as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In-text: (Two generations talk about the impact of the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision, 2019) Your Bibliography: Time Out Sydney. I have heard it at dawn as the earth crackles, the river waters run, and the animals stir as the Sun peers above the hills and the light strikes the trees on my beloved Wiradjuri country. Indigenous Education and Research Centre 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. Eddie Mabo (left) and . Across language itself. "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people." In one, the presiding judge said the mere introduction of British law did not extinguish Aboriginal customary law. 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. Barrister Ron Castan, Eddie Mabo and barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen at . Text 1936 This will always be our land. This is our land. Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. 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. In 1974, he became involved in a discussion with two academics. B12 of 1982 in the High Court of Australia). Despite the fact that the challenge of gaining native title is still a fight that many of us share, there has been a shift in focus now and we have started to see a gradual change in terms of ownership. 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. [6] UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Article 1, para 1. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.. 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 . Can I be indulgent and add a couple of others. A world turning. Some records include terms and views that are not appropriate today. You and I know all too well that we live shorter, poorer lives than our non-Aboriginal counterparts. That was Eddie Mabos gift. Later in 1992, Mabo was posthumously awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal. 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. 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 ! [12] Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. Eddie Koiki Mabo: Land Rights in the Torres Strait I would like to first of all express my sincere thanks to the organizers of this conference: in particular the James Cook University Student Union and the Aboriginal Treaty Committee in Townsville for allowing me to speak at this very important conference. [11]Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. There was something of destiny in the air. Finally, the remaining key theme of the meeting was the issue of our right as Indigenous peoples to development. Of law. To Eddie Koiki Mabo and chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan. Then, in June 1992, the years of sacrifice and persuasion came to fruition. 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. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? On 8 December 1988, the High Court ruled this legislation invalid. Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander activist. The remarkable life story of Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo; a Torres Strait Islander who left school at the age of 15, yet spearheaded the High Court challenge that overthrew the fiction of terra nullius. 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. 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. (2012 lecture transcript), 2011 Presentation by Mr Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. It commemoratesEdward (Eddie) Koiki Mabo (1936-1992), a Torres Strait Islander whose campaign for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights led to a landmark decision in the High Court of Australia on 3rd June 1992 that overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius, which had characterised Australian law with respect to land and title since the voyage of Captain James Cook in 1770. A panel of judges at the High Court ruled that Aboriginal people were the rightful custodians of the land. The debate about Mabo's legacy still goes on today, Many indigenous Australians still live in poverty, Bakhmut attacks still being repelled, says Ukraine, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause. 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. Born in 1936, he grew up in the village of Las on the north bend of Mer Island. "He became a driven man," says his friend and documentary maker, Trevor Graham. "I think that like many others, I was trying to deal with something that was new, that was undefined," Kennett told The Age newspaper. 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 . From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." But he was wrong. But we know that these scales do not capture the social disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 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. The Mabo Case Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Governance has always been at the core of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and our community life. [1] It was brought by Eddie Mabo against the State of Queensland and decided on 3 June 1992. It is clear that the current system has not delivered what had initially been intended to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In some ways our systems of governance is a defining feature of the oldest living culture on this planet. They can raise us to anger then soothe us. Husband, father, grandfather, mate, advocate, achiever, Principal and mentor. He knew about hope and he knew about justice. To seek justice we had to speak the words of British law. 23 Nov 1990 - 21 Oct 1994 Library at the University College of Townsville, Queensland. Australian law for two centuries hid the truth behind words. However, contemporary Indigenous governance needs recognises that we must now adjust our customary ways of governing to meet the expectations and regulations of non-indigenous laws and institutions. 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. At: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components#a (viewed 9 June 2015). The nation remained diminished. The Mabo decision was named after Eddie Mabo, the The Mabo decision was a legal case held in 1992. We cross rivers and we are changed like the water itself. 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. 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. For 50 years this embassy has stood as a reminder that we are still here. Another similarity is something that sometimes we do not acknowledge enough. But alongside . Eddie's daughter, Gail Mabo remembers that day well. Mabo and his fellow plaintiff's fought for land on Mer - their ancestral gardens and home. 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". He had refused to surrender his interests, or those of his people, to the domination of others. Aboriginal Australians are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark victory over land rights. I want to give two words from my people, Wiradjuri. They claimed that Murray Island (Mer) and surrounding islands and reefs had been continuously inhabited and exclusively possessed by the Meriam people . 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. In his book Why Weren't We Told?, Reynolds describes the talks they had regarding Mabo's people's rights to their lands, on Murray Island, in the Torres Strait. Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series. 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Well, Australia now stands at a moment of history. There will be many words between now and then. A discussion of Mabo Day (June 3), which commemorates Torres Strait Islander activist Eddie Koiki Mabo and the historic Mabo decision, in which the High Court of Australia acknowledged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' land rights. The Mabo case Records relating to the Mabo case About Eddie Mabo Edward Koiki Mabo was born on 29 June 1936. 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. A documentary, Mabo: Life of an Island Man, directed by Trevor Graham, was released in 1997 and received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Documentary. He petitioned, campaigned, cajoled and questioned Terra Nullius for 18 years. 2006 Presentation by Professor Larissa Behrendt. De Rose Hill is a landmark case because it represents a significant moment in time in the native title space. The High Court is the highest court in Australia's judicial system. . Eddie Mabo knew about love too. 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]. Here we are 30 years later, still on that journey. I had read about the case as it moved through the lower courts. 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. 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 . The second key theme that was raised at the roundtable was the issue of financing economic development within the Indigenous estate. But that's just 11% of Australia's land mass. 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. What did Eddie Mabo say in his speech? It is lament. He knew about suffering. Uncle Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo. 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.