The High Court’s historic decision on the landmark Mabo case on the 3 June 1992 overturned the principle of terra nullius, setting in motion legislative change and fierce public debate over land rights.
CSU experts reflect on what’s changed in the past 20 years.
Legal Perspective:
Charles Sturt University (CSU) senior lecturer in Law with CSU’s School of Accounting and Finance, Dr Bede Harris can explain the significance of the High Court’s decision in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) for land law in Australia.
“The decision in Mabo marked a critical point in relations between Indigenous people and the legal system, removing for the former a significant injustice that had occurred at the time of colonisation,” Dr Harris said. Read more here.
Indigenous perspective:
Charles Sturt University (CSU) Koori academic and Wiradjuri elder, Yalmambirra believes that 20 years on from the High Court’s Mabo decision, nothing has changed for his people.
A lecturer in Indigenous studies with CSU’s School of Environmental Sciences, Yalmambirra argues that in order to be successful in a claim for Native Title, Wiradjuri must satisfy unrealistic criteria set down by non-Indigenous people in positions of judicial power.
“I believe that native title takes away our authenticity as Wiradjuri people. Our identity is always under question and our traditional lands grow smaller every day,” he said. Read more here.
Political perspective:
The Mabo decision raised the political profile of Indigenous affairs, helping to put reconciliation on the national political agenda, according to senior lecturer in politics with CSU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr Dominic O’Sullivan.
But Dr O’Sullivan believes public policy still falls short in giving Indigenous people genuinely equal citizenship rights in Australian society. Read more here.
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