eddie mabo speech transcript

Six weeks later his father died. [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? 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. 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. We are currently not sharing in the developmental prosperity for which Australia is known. At 31, this affrontery became his epiphany. Make an Impact. In August 1981 Mabo attended a conference on land rights at James Cook University. Eddie Mabo was a great hero to the Australian people. The theme of this years conference is Leadership, Legacy and Opportunity. And he was right. 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. 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. Mabo Day is an official holiday in the Torres Shire, celebrated on 3 June. He is best known for the two court cases that bear his name, Mabo v. Queensland (numbers 1 and 2). 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. British law under a British flag. It was during a stint as a gardener at the James Cook University at Townsville in Queensland, that his eyes were opened to the greatest injustice his people had ever been subjected to. The Mabo decision was handed down on June 3, 1992 in the High Court's grand courtroom in Canberra. Promoting Indigenous peoples right to development. JCU websites use cookies to enhance user experience, analyse site usage, and assist with outreach and enrolment. You can find it still, somewhere buried in the archives of ABC News. Yindyamarra is respect: It is quiet, it is humble. Mabo, Edward Koiki (Eddie) (1936-1992) . The tools to guide us with a new conversation with Government around the full realization of our rights in relation to land and native title can be found in the UN Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Right to Development. Eddie Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander activist. During this time he enrolled as a student and studied teaching at the College of Advanced Education, which later amalgamated with JCU. 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 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. 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". Sign up for free to create engaging, inspiring, and converting videos with Powtoon. He was right. Eddie Mabo had challenged the very ideological establishment of Australia and the first Australians. 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. Edward Koiki Mabo ( n Sambo; 29 June 1936 - 21 January 1992) was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British In my tribute to Rob, I mentioned how losing that fight for national land rights lit the fires for what was to become the fight for native title led by Eddie, with Rob being part of the leadership that negotiated the Native Title Act through the national parliament to give legislative effect to the High Court decision championed by Eddie. (2012 lecture transcript), 2011 Presentation by Mr Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. He spoke of impermanence: He knew things did not last and yet we do. (No. 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. Watch all your favourite ABC programs on ABC iview. And that is the cost to both men and their families. He was a Meriam man and grew up on Mer, part of the Murray Island Group in the Torres Strait. Eddie's daughter, Gail Mabo remembers that day well. [7] OHCHR Website, Essays in Commemoration of 25 years of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. Transcript. Han is Korean and it is more than a word. When democracy is teetering and autocracy is rising. They claimed that Murray Island (Mer) and surrounding islands and reefs had been continuously inhabited and exclusively possessed by the Meriam people . Participants identified that we need to start considering the role of the financial services industry, as well as agencies such as Indigenous Business Australia and the Indigenous Land Corporation in the context of our economic development. These barriers all prevent us from using our land to enter into the economy from which we can see ourselves and our communities thrive. Mabo expressed. 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. 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. 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. This is our land. Can I be indulgent and add a couple of others. Eddie Koiki Sambo was born on June 29, 1936 on the Torres Strait island of Mer, also known as Murray Island. 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. Words speak across tongues. 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. 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. 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. 2. Financing economic development within the Indigenous estate. . Rejected at each turn. "The golden house of is collapses. Mabo gained an education, became an activist for black rights and worked with his community to make sure Aboriginal children had their own schools. But we know that these scales do not capture the social disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Eddie Mabo and Gerard Brennan overturned the terra nullius policy and changed Australia forever. 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. First, they ask me to pass on their greetings and their thanks for allowing me on your lands. It is sadness beyond the word sadness itself. Together yindyamarra winanghanha means to live with respect in a world worth living in. For 50 years this embassy has stood as a reminder that we are still here. Birthdays, anniversaries, sports events and special schools days were missed. 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 . 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. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging. That word is emblazoned still at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in Canberra. I am sure that these issues will resonate with many of you here today. "Koiki was ambitious for himself and for his people." Few Australians then knew the name Eddie Mabo. Words makaratta. (2013 lecture transcript), 2012 Presentation by Professor Henry Reynolds. At: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-1-human-development-index-and-its-components#a (viewed 9 June 2015). 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. For significant service to the community as a cultural leader and public sector executive in the field of Indigenous affairs.. "The rights he won in the High Court have been eroded away by government, courts and socio-economic pressure.". The Mabo Case Eddie Mabo is widely known for his plight to regain land rights for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 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. 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. I also acknowledge Meriam PBC Chair Mr Doug Passi. 5. More Information .We are closed in a box. There was something of destiny in the air. He petitioned, campaigned, cajoled and questioned Terra Nullius for 18 years. [11]Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), preamble. There was scepticism, even cynicism, but I was able to report the story. 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. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. He's recorded as saying: "No way, it's not theirs, it's ours." But he was wrong. These organisations could assist in under-writing costs, insurance and risk as well as helping explore options for Indigenous specific loan products. 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. 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 memory of wounds. A clear theme from the Broome Roundtable revealed a common frustration among many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 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. Eddie Mabo was a staff member at JCU, working as a groundsman from 1967 to 1971. Mabo and others: products or agents of progress? [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). The new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, says there will be a referendum to enshrine a voice an Indigenous representative body in the Australian constitution. Following his speech, he was approached by a lawyer, who asked if he'd be interested in taking the Australian Government to court to finally decide who owned the land. My predecessor Dr Tom Calma explained the impact of never implementing a social justice package in 2008: this abyss is one of the underlying reasons why the native title system is under the strain it is under today[5]. 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. 1h 43m. Uncle Edward 'Koiki' Mabo was born in 1936, in Las on the island of Mer (Murray Island) in the Torres Strait to 'Robert' Zesou Sambo and 'Annie' Poipe, ne Mabo. Another similarity is something that sometimes we do not acknowledge enough. Mabo tells the story of one of Australia's national heroes - Eddie Koiki Mabo, the Torres Strait Islander man who left school at age 15, yet spearheaded the High Court challenge that overthrew the fiction of terra nullius. Then, in June 1992, the years of sacrifice and persuasion came to fruition. You Murray Islanders have won that court case. The justices spoke of a legacy of "unutterable shame"and that the dispossession of Indigenous people was the darkest aspect of Australia's history. 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. Watch. Eddie Koiki Mabo died of cancer on 21 January 1991, before the case was resolved. Eddie Mabo of Mer island in the Torres Strait spent a decade seeking official recognition of his people's ownership of Mer and on 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia agreed, rejecting the doctrine that Australia was terra nullius (land belonging to no-one) at the time of European settlement. 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. Aboriginal Australians are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark victory over land rights. Searching for 'Mabo' in RecordSearch brings up many results, including the files below. We go on, he said, ever, ever, ever on. 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. 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. 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 . A case was made, and took 10 years to reach a decision. Mabo ended up on the mainland working a number of jobs, including labouring on the railways. 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. 23 Nov 1990 - 21 Oct 1994 Library at the University College of Townsville, Queensland. "I think that like many others, I was trying to deal with something that was new, that was undefined," Kennett told The Age newspaper. - Behind the News Behind the News 133K subscribers Subscribe 483 106K views 3 years ago Mabo Day on June 3rd, celebrates. Finally, the remaining key theme of the meeting was the issue of our right as Indigenous peoples to development. As Kevin Mason divedin the ocean, a compliance officer waswatching on the cliffs above. 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. The "fallacy" that Perkins speaks of is the concept of Terra Nullius, land belonging to no-one. 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. Indigenous Education and Research Centre In fact, the court went to considerable lengths to establish that the impact of its judgment will be minimal on non-Aboriginal Australians. Later in 1992, Mabo was posthumously awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal. So, in many ways, the victory has been more symbolic than practical. Eddie Mabo at James Cook University, early 1980s Series 8. (2010 lecture transcript). On 8 December 1988, the High Court ruled this legislation invalid. AAP. Transcript notes - MABO, Eddie, RICE, James v State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia, ITM1641344 As much as Australias law tried to tell him he was wrong, he knew his law and he knew that even the law of Britain that had stolen this land had to admit finally admit what we all knew, what Eddie Mabo knew. He is hardworking and determined, but at the cost of his family life. 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. 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. active, free and meaningful participation in development; self-determination and full sovereignty over natural wealth and resources. 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). 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. 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]. 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. 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. A while back I read a business management book by an American, Leon C. Megginson. 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. And he knew truth. Vincent Lingiari and men and women of the Gurindji people. Several cabinet papers from the time of the Mabo decision reflect on its likely ramifications, including: The National Archives of Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. Eddie Koiki Mabo (c. 29 June 1936 - 21 January 1992 [1]) was an Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights and for his role in a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia which overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius ("land belonging to nobody") which characterised We cannot cross the same stream twice. Across language itself. In one, the presiding judge said the mere introduction of British law did not extinguish Aboriginal customary law. 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". Keating begins by discussing the moral and legal implications of the decision. 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. 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. (2012) This program was published 2 years ago. 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. These adjustments are key if we are to translate our inherent legal rights under native title into sustainable opportunities for our people. He knew about suffering. This independence could be realized through greater roles for Indigenous landholders through business, land management and other opportunities.

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