Why is mabo important

His mother died during childbirth and he was raised by his mother's brother, Benny Mabo, whose surname he adopted. Mabo settled in the Queensland city of Townsville in with his wife, Bonita. He was an activist for the Torres Strait Islander community and co-founded one of Australia's first black community schools. Mabo gave a speech about Mer's land inheritance system at a Land Rights Conference in , where fellow presenter, Melbourne lawyer Barbara Hocking, argued there should be a test case to claim land rights in court.

On June 3, , the High Court overturned the legal concept of "terra nullius" — that land claimed by white settlers belonged to no-one. Sadly, Mabo did not live to see his victory, having died of cancer five months earlier aged The Mabo decision acknowledged the traditional rights of Indigenous people to their land and waters, and paved the way for native title in Australia. The Australian government passed the Native Title Act in after 51 hours and 49 minutes of debate in the Senate, the longest-ever debate at the time.

The law set out the framework for Indigenous people to claim native title on Crown land. But many see native title as an imperfect system which has brought heartache to many First Nations because the onerous conditions required to prove it can make it difficult to obtain. The Mabo decision was hailed as a momentous victory for Indigenous rights, however the mining and pastoral sectors were concerned about its implications.

Subscribe to our newsletter. Home Reconciliation What is reconciliation? Acknowledgement of Country. Copy link. Copy Copied. Powered by Social Snap. There are currently registered Indigenous Land Use Agreements — a voluntary agreement between a native title group and others about the use of land and waters — in place.

Our Indigenous strategy outlines our commitment to creating higher education and leadership opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and valuing Indigenous culture. University home. Current students. Staff intranet. Type to search. All content. Eddie Koiki Mabo was the first named plaintiff and the case became known as the Mabo Case.

The Mabo Case challenged the existing Australian legal system from two perspectives: On the assumption that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had no concept of land ownership before the arrival of British colonisers in terra nullius. That sovereignty delivered complete ownership of all land in the new Colony to the Crown, abolishing any existing rights that may have existed previously. Brian Keon Cohen recalls: 'I rang Murray Island — that is to say, I rang the phone box located, as readers will recall, outside the general store.

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