eddie mabo speech transcript eddie mabo speech transcript

Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander activist. Drama Biopic Inspiring. In his historic speech at Sydney's Redfern Park, then Prime Minister Paul Keaing said: "By doing away with the bizarre conceit that this continent had no owners prior to the settlement of Europeans, Mabo establishes a fundamental truth and lays the basis for justice." Eddie Koiki Mabo died of cancer on 21 January 1991, before the case was resolved. The Mabo Case Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. "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.". 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. "It gave us back our pride. You and I know all too well that we live shorter, poorer lives than our non-Aboriginal counterparts. You may have heard that Tim Wilson, Human Rights Commissioner and I recently co-convened a roundtable on Yawuru country on the issue of Indigenous property rights. He knew about suffering. More information. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen No wonder Mr Abbott was visibly moved as he thanked "Aunty Gail" for . Concocted by the early settlers, it was used, systematically, cynically and effectively to deprive the indigenous people of their own land. (Transcript), 2014 Presentation byMs Shannan Dodson, Digital Campaign Manager, Recognise Australia. 2006 Presentation by Professor Larissa Behrendt. 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. 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. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. 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. In 2008, a library at James Cook University was named after him. He spoke of impermanence: He knew things did not last and yet we do. Of invasion. He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. 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. . 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. 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 are still trying to find the words to equal the full measure of Eddie Mabo's devotion. Mabo expressed disbelief and shock. But 20 years after the judgement, there's still a debate among constitutionalists, lawyers and politicians about the legacy of Mabo. I want to give two words from my people, Wiradjuri. Until that day, the legal fiction of terra nullius, the land belonging to no-one, had characterised Australian law and land titles since the voyage of Captain Cook. 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. 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. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. In acknowledging the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their land, the court also held that native title existed for all Indigenous people. Aboriginal Australians are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark victory over land rights. 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. 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. This effectively overturned the doctrine of terra nullius, which held that Australia didn't belong to anybody before European colonisation. Mabo's credibility as the primary witness for the case was savaged . The great polish poetCzeslawMilosz said perhaps all memory is the memory of wounds. and in 2008 James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. 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 . 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. 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. Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. Another similarity is something that sometimes we do not acknowledge enough. 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. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Words makaratta. 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? 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. 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. The National Archives holds a diverse array of records relating to the Mabo case. Words speak across tongues. 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. I also acknowledge the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion who is here today and my colleague Tim Wilson, our Australian Human Rights Commissioner. They claimed that Murray Island (Mer) and surrounding islands and reefs had been continuously inhabited and exclusively possessed by the Meriam people . 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. Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture Series. Others, mainly white opponents, regarded the judgement as a mistake. It is clear that we have seen a change in momentum as far as this space is concerned. 2004 Presentation by Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO. So today it is indeed an honour for both my people and myself to be presenting this year's Edward Koiki Mabo Lecture. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU. . 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. 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. A world turning. 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. The Mabo decision What is the Mabo decision? Other cases persisted. According to his daughter Gail Mabo, it 'fuelled his determination for recognition and equality in society'. On 3 June 1992, six of the seven High Court judges upheld the claim and ruled that the lands of . 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. 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. Eddie Mabo and Gerard Brennan overturned the terra nullius policy and changed Australia forever. Fungibility and native title. 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. The High Court is the highest court in Australia's judicial system. This landmark decision led to the Australian Government introducing native title . The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their land. So, in many ways, the victory has been more symbolic than practical. To make agreements. 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 . JCU websites use cookies to enhance user experience, analyse site usage, and assist with outreach and enrolment. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. It was on 3 June 1992 that the Australian High Court overturned more than 200 years of white domination of land ownership. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. Our landsings gently a song of sadness. 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]. 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]. The nation remained diminished. The 50-minute recording shows Koiki Mabo talking about the history of the Torres Strait Islander community, both in the Torres Strait and on the Australian mainland, and the long term impact on his culture of the coming of Europeans, from the first missionaries to current government administrators. First, they ask me to pass on their greetings and their thanks for allowing me on your lands. It is short for Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992). Without this foundation, there would be no opportunity for us to access these rights through this unique form of land tenure. 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. It does not create any new rights, but rather reaffirms the rights that exist in many other international treaties and conventions. One of the people who attended the conference, a lawyer, suggested they should make a case to claim land rights through the court system. Vincent Lingiari and men and women of the Gurindji people. I walked into the news meeting at the ABC with words. 2017 presentation by Professor Megan Davis, Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous, University of New South Wales. [10] UN Development Programme, Human Development Index, UN Human Development Report, p237. Transcript notes - MABO, Eddie, RICE, James v State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia, ITM1641344 For the love of his family and tradition, he fights for his land on Murray Island. In 1994 the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) was established in response to Read More At http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/264/hdr_2003_en_complete.pdf (viewed 9 June 2015). 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. But we know that these scales do not capture the social disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The golden house of is collapses and the world of becoming ascended.". 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. Eddie Mabo was a man of courage and principle who fought for the inherent rights of the Meriam people, and ultimately for the rights of all Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal peoples. This is yet another reason why a development approach is so urgently needed. Eddie Mabo was heartbroken and never forgave government authorities. The commitment to a land fund; and importantly, participation in decision-making underpinned by the concept of free, prior and informed consent and good faith. 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. Watch. Choose from the list of topics on the left and then choose 'Click to Play'. Judged by any civilised standard, such a law is unjust ". Other forms of recognition have been added. I also acknowledge Meriam PBC Chair Mr Doug Passi. - Behind the News Behind the News 133K subscribers Subscribe 483 106K views 3 years ago Mabo Day on June 3rd, celebrates. This needs to change. 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. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." But he was wrong. 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. This Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted by the General Assembly in 1986. 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]. The practical effects of Mabo have, indeed, been mixed, judging by figures from the Koori Mail, a national indigenous-owned newspaper. Mabo and others: products or agents of progress? He petitioned, campaigned, cajoled and questioned Terra Nullius for 18 years. At: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components#a (viewed 9 June 2015). "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people.". 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. HOST: Today is Mabo Day. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? About 800 kilometers north of Cairns sits the small remote community of Mer (Murray) Island in the crystal blue waters of the Torres Strait. 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. 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. 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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? This was not empty land. 23 Nov 1990 - 21 Oct 1994 Library at the University College of Townsville, Queensland. (No. What did Eddie Mabo say in his speech? Others, while acknowledging the shortcomings of Mabo's long-term legacy, still regard it as a watershed moment in Australian political, cultural and economic life. Eddie Koiki Mabo was an advocate of the 1967 Referendum, fighting for equal rights including education. The Mabo decision was named after Eddie Mabo, the 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. We cross rivers and we are changed like the water itself. 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. SPEECH - THURSDAY, 3 JUNE . 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. Six weeks later his father died. 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. . 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. And that is the cost to both men and their families. The man who had engineered the historic change of law, never lived to witness it himself. 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. He married Bonita, his teenage sweetheart and with whom he had 10 children in a loving partnership that lasted 30 years. Justice Blackburn ruled Australia was indeed a "settled colony", that this was"desert and uncultivated". Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. Elders saythe wateris now a battleground. Keating begins by discussing the moral and legal implications of the decision. [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? Importantly, development is also a process through which other human rights can be realized and our wellbeing alongside all other populations is maximised. Han is Korean and it is more than a word. Australian law for two centuries hid the truth behind words. This often presents internal issues for traditional owner groups about how decisions are made and how benefits will be shared and responsibilities exercised. 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). This dispossession occurred largely without compensation, and successive governments have failed to reach a lasting and equitable agreement with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders concerning the use of their lands.[12]. I like words. It's the anniversary of a court decision that recognized for . Mabo ended up on the mainland working a number of jobs, including labouring on the railways. "If ever a system could be called a government of laws," he said, "it is shown in the evidence before me.". 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. 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. Eddie Mabo was a great hero to the Australian people. [12] Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. 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. The decision. Another key challenge that came out of the roundtable was the need to improve the capacity of our mobs to have the necessary advocacy; governance and risk management skills to successful engage in business and manage our estates in order to secure the best possible outcomes for our communities. More Information .We are closed in a box. Three bound volumes regarding the determination of a reference from the High Court of Australia of the factual issues raised in the action by Eddie Mabo and others - prepared by Justice Moynihan.