Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Case Study

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia face an ongoing series of struggles and fight for equality and their rights. From the day of Captain James Cook's settlement into Australia's shores to the nights of when Australia heals from war time efforts, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people faced harsh limitations for their rights and freedom. It was a drastic juxtaposition towards the non-Aboriginal Australian citizens which led to Indigenous Australians trying to get their voices heard in a political setting. There were key significant moments in Australia’s history of which emphasised the effort for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to gain the right attention, such as the 1967 referendum, the Tent Embassy …show more content…
In 1770 Lieutenant James Cook claimed part of Australia on behalf of Great Britain under the concept of Terra Nullius or a land of nobody. It was assumed by Great Britain that Aboriginal people did not have any sort of ruling or political standards with no leaders to therefore formally claim land. It was further on till 1982 when a group of Meriam from the Eastern Torres Strait who included David Passi, Sam Passi, Liviu Mapo Salee, and James Rice presented a case about legal rights of land towards the High Courts of Australia. This case took over a period of 10 years with 33 Meriam people handing over 4,000 pages of transcripts including evidence. Evidence given towards the High Court included proof of eight clans of the Mer (Murray Islands) having lived in highlighted territories on the island over the centuries. The High Court of Australia took it upon themselves to hand the case over the Supreme Court of Queensland to make the final verdict. It was not until the 3rd of June 1992 that six of the seven judges present in the Supreme Court of Queenlands accepted that the Meriam people held ownership of the traditional lands of Mer. It was this crucial decision that led to another one being the Native Title Act in 1993 which provided all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to make claims of the native title. It was the discernment by the High Courts of Australia in the Mabo case that guided the implementation of the principle native title into the Australian Legal System that recognises the traditional land rights towards Meriam and all Aboriginal Australians. With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders recognised by their efforts for land rights, the court held that the title further on