eddie mabo speech transcript

Speech to the Native Title Conference celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Mabo High Court decision 6 June 2012. . You Murray Islanders have won that court case. 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. 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. 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. Judged by any civilised standard, such a law is unjust ". Words like the Uluru Statement from the Heart: We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. 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. 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. This was not empty land. To Eddie Koiki Mabo and chief justice Sir Gerard Brennan. [11]Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. Six weeks later his father died. While he believed the Murray Island belonged to the Torres Strait Islander people, Australian law stated that the Government owned the land. 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. 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. The Court also recognised that all Indigenous people in Australia have rights to their 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). Short for Mabo and others v Queensland (No 2) (1992), the Mabo case, led by Eddie Koiki Mabo, an activist for the 1967 Referendum, fought the legal concept that Australia and the Torres Strait Islands were not owned by Indigenous peoples because they did not 'use' the land in ways Europeans believed constituted some kind of legal possession. This case, I said thisman Mabo will change Australia. Reynolds writes: 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. 3. Business development support and succession planning. Text 1936 As Kevin Mason divedin the ocean, a compliance officer waswatching on the cliffs above. "The golden house of is collapses. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. At 31, this affrontery became his epiphany. 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. For 50 years this embassy has stood as a reminder that we are still here. 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. What is this Eddie Mabo Biography Worksheet? Eddie Koiki Sambo was born on June 29, 1936 on the Torres Strait island of Mer, also known as Murray Island. On 3 June 1992, six of the seven High Court judges upheld the claim and ruled that the lands of . 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. These often hamper the development and economic aspirations of the communities involved right from the start. 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. Justice Blackburn ruled Australia was indeed a "settled colony", that this was"desert and uncultivated". Transcript notes - MABO, Eddie, RICE, James v State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia, ITM1641344 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 . This often presents internal issues for traditional owner groups about how decisions are made and how benefits will be shared and responsibilities exercised. 10. 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. The truth: This was his land. This is our land. It clearly did not, for instance, lead to vast numbers of white Australians being forced from their homes, businesses, mines or farms. In 1959, he moved to mainland Queensland, working on pearling vessels and as a labourer. 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. Words makaratta. British law under a British flag. To make agreements. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.. He is best known for the two court cases that bear his name, Mabo v. Queensland (numbers 1 and 2). Volume 3 (146pp). My people are the Gangulu from the Dawson Valley in Central Queensland. On 21 May 2008, James Cook University named its Townsville campus library the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library. 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. 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. 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. Legacy of Eddie Mabo. Winanghanha is to return to knowing: to know what we have always known. Eternal. He was a Meriam man and grew up on Mer, part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging. He knew about hope and he knew about justice. 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. In the Shire of . He was another victim of Terra Nullius, like so many of his fellow indigenous people had been before him. Mabo 20 years on: did it change the nation? Mabo expressed. [7] OHCHR Website, Essays in Commemoration of 25 years of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. Some key principles underpinning this right are: This Declaration centralizes the role of both the individual and government in the development process, arguing for the State to create national policies to properly ensure the development of all individuals. For significant service to the community as a cultural leader and public sector executive in the field of Indigenous affairs.. 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). Mabo v Queensland (No 1) was heard in 1986and 1988. He knew about suffering. And he knew truth. 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. (2014 lecture transcript), 2013 Presentation by Dr Bryan Keon-Cohen QC. We know sadness. 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. 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. 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. Our landsings gently a song of sadness. One of the people who attended the conference, a lawyer, suggested they should make a case to claim land rights through the court system. In 2008, a library at James Cook University was named after him. I want to give two words from my people, Wiradjuri. 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. 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. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. "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.". 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. What did Eddie Mabo say in his speech? 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. Barrister Ron Castan, Eddie Mabo and barrister Bryan Keon-Cohen at . 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". 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. 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. A fair go in an age of terror: countering the terrorist threat to human rights and the Australian identity, Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Bachelor of Engineering / Science (Honours), Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Bachelor of Nursing Science [Pre-Registration], Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (Honours), Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours), Master of Public Health - Global Development, Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying), Master of Teaching and Learning (Primary), Master of Teaching and Learning (Secondary), Master of Conflict Management & Resolution, Graduate Certificate of Conflict Management & Resolution, Master of International Tourism & Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Business & Environmental Science, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Business Studies, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Engineering and Applied Science, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in General Studies, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Health, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Information Technology, Diploma of Higher Education Majoring in Science, Diploma of Higher Education, Majoring in Society and Culture, Bachelor of Business & Psychological Science, Bachelor of Sport & Exercise Science - Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) & Information Technology, Get Into University Courses with a Low ATAR. 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. 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. Governance has always been at the core of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and our community life. [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? Uncle Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo. 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. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. A lawyer heard the speech and asked . Eddie Koiki Mabo died of cancer on 21 January 1991, before the case was resolved. The legal decision was made by the High Court on 3 June 1992. 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. 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. The fall of the golden house of is but not the end. The issue of compensation for unfinished business was another key theme of the Roundtable. Australia owes you a great debt. In 1974, he became involved in a discussion with two academics. The former president of Western Australia's Liberal Party, Bill Hassel, said the ruling was greeted with "outrage". Jenny Macklin MP, Minister for Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. . Only land such as vacant crown land, national parks and some leased land, can be subject to claims by the Aboriginal owners. Fungibility and native title. 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. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? In 1979 Wiradjuri man and law student Paul Coewalked the path that Eddie Mabo would follow all the way to the High Court of Australia. It is this issue of development that I will explore later in greater detail. 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]. But he was wrong. SPEECH - THURSDAY, 3 JUNE . Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, Why the disgraced lawyer was spared death penalty, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. A decade later, I was a young reporter still in my early 20s, finding my way into the foreign world of journalism when I saw a listing for a case at the High Court. 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. From 1973-1983 he established and became director of the Black Community School in Townsville. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU. He spoke of impermanence: He knew things did not last and yet we do. Few Australians then knew the name Eddie Mabo. We need to work alongside government to equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills to turn the economic and commercial aspirations into reality. The High Court is the highest court in Australia's judicial system. I also acknowledge Meriam PBC Chair Mr Doug Passi. 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. But alongside . In a snapshot. In 1992 the High Court handed down its historic ruling. (2012) This program was published 2 years ago. Truth. Mabo, Edward Koiki (Eddie) (1936-1992) . He married Bonita, his teenage sweetheart and with whom he had 10 children in a loving partnership that lasted 30 years. I like how the words create a rhythm. (No. Watch. Reynolds struck up a friendship with Eddie Mabo, who was then a groundsman and gardener at James Cook University. 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. A clear theme from the Broome Roundtable revealed a common frustration among many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Well, Australia now stands at a moment of history. That nearly a third of our land mass is Indigenous owned is testament to this. 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. Mabo and his fellow plaintiff's fought for land on Mer - their ancestral gardens and home. 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. 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. 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. As a nation, this is an improvement from fourth position just over ten years ago in 2003.[10]. 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. 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. 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. To build a world worth living in. 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. Eddie's daughter, Gail Mabo remembers that day well. Some records include terms and views that are not appropriate today. It's the anniversary of a court decision that recognized for . 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. 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. These legal challenges continued into the 20th century rulings maintained the legitimacy of the Crown but could not extinguish completely the Aboriginal claims. : he world to possession and I emfphasise Opossessions 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 . The Mabo Case Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both 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. The Mabo decision What is the Mabo 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. Love, kindness, forgiveness; always love. It is a feeling. Australian law for two centuries hid the truth behind words. We will adapt, we will take advantage of these opportunities and we will leave a great legacy. Bonita 'Netta' Mabo: Eddie's wife and is a resourceful, supportive and loving woman. His mother died during childbirth and he was raised by his mother's brother, Benny Mabo . Mabo's credibility as the primary witness for the case was savaged . By continuing to use this site, you are giving us consent to do this. The new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, says there will be a referendum to enshrine a voice an Indigenous representative body in the Australian constitution. Love, suffering, hope, justice and truth Eddie Mabo knew about love too. Milosz wrote into the horror of the 20th century as he saw war all around him. Mabo died five months earlier from cancer in January 1992, at the age of 55. Today in the midst of winter there is still smoke from a campfire, framing a word spelled out on the lawn: Sovereignty. Eddie Mabo would not live to see his final victory, but in that judgement he became immortal. Meriam history and culture were crucial to the success of the Mabo case. Suggested answer: While working as a grounds keeper at James Cook University in Townsville, Eddie learnt about Australian land ownership laws. 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. 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. We go on, he said, ever, ever, ever on. 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. The Mabo decision was handed down on June 3, 1992 in the High Court's grand courtroom in Canberra. I am sure that these issues will resonate with many of you here today. Yindyamarra winanghanha. The assumptions were quite erroneous, of course, but Terra Nullius was set in unshakeable motion and stayed rooted in place for two hundred years, even though Aborigines had been in Australia for at least 40,000 years. [12] Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. 1h 43m. . 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. British law was the law of the colony and usurped and superseded Aboriginal law. 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. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours."

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