Aboriginal Tent Embassy

They had their own traditional laws and customs and held a very strong and deep-rooted connection to their land. The British policy of the land being terra nullius, or “nobody’s land”, infringed the rights and customs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The concept of terra nullius robbed the Indigenous population of their right to have possession of their traditional and revered land. Mabo firmly believed it was not the white government’s responsibility to deny rights to traditional Indigenous land.

In the 1980’s, national campaigns for land rights laws began and Eddie spoke at a 1981 land rights conference on land rights in the Torres Straits. On hearing his speech, Lawyer, H. C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs, encouraged Eddie and other Meriam people to establish ownership of their lands through the High Court of Australia, and on 20 May 1982, Koiki and four other Meriam Men began their fight for ownership of their lands on Murray and Dauar Islands through the Australian High Court. Koiki was named the first plaintiff, so the case became known as the Mabo Case. Research grants from AIATSIS helped out with the case, but the Queensland Government introduced a sneaky new law in 1985 to crush their chances for native title. Koiki and his colleagues challenged this new law and won, as the High Court found in 1988, this new Queensland law breached Australian racial discrimination laws—Mabo v. Queensland [No. 1].

Throughout this analysis we will take a critical look at the aboriginal identity, the suffering these people go through mentally and physically, and their relationship with the government (Anzovino & Boutilier 2015). The

Formed in 1957, the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders commenced their campaign with a series of petitions displayed in Source 4 that called for a referendum. This had the effect of not only mobilising support for a change to the constitution but also of informing the public of the issues facing Aborigines. Over the course of the campaign, more than 100,000 signatures were collected and presented to the Parliament in 94 separate petitions (NMA, n.d.). This was a key factor in changing politicians’ minds and the government’s stance (Koori Mail, 2007). A key factor of the support of the referendum by non-indigenous Australians was the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders ‘Yes’ campaign.

Whitlam’s ability to achieve such fluctuation is corroborated by the Administrative Services Minister at the time, Fred Daly, who stated in a proud-like tone, “What a change from our predecessors…we had it” (in McDermott, 2011, p.364). It is clear that the diligence Whitlam incorporated in his work led him to grant Australia a promising nation. The

The Whitlam Government was made up of the members of the Australian Labor Party and ran in power from 1972 until its dismissal in 1975. The Whitlam Government was responsible for implementing Healthcare and Social Security and important changes to areas of Australia’s education, women, economy, defence, nationality, democracy and immigration. The Whitlam government only served for three years and was actually dismissed by Sir John Kerr; The Governor-General in 1974 appointed by Whitlam, this raises the questions what really where the successes and failures of the Whitlam Government?

The Tent Embassy was one of the most significant protests that shaped land rights and equality for the Aboriginal people. In this process four men set up a tent outside the parliament house and represented the Aboriginals rights. The embassy was formed on the basis that all people are equal and that no person should be discriminated by their skin color. The tent embassy protest changed the motives of Aboriginals and the government, changed the actions and methods of the Aboriginals involved and as a result this protest impacted Indigenous rights and freedom.

This paper will give an overview of the act and how it impacted the Indigenous community into becoming

Intro Edward Mabo is renowned throughout Australian culture as a leader, a leader who fought against the xenophobic system, for his rights as a person and culture, and won. But his journey to fight for his rights had its difficulties. Opposing issues of discrimination, as well as forces who tried there hardest to silence Mabo. It was these issues and set backs that motivated Mabo to achieve his goal. It was the lack of action and care for his ‘people’ that drove Mabo to fight for his and his people’s freedom from cheap labour exploitation, racism and corrupted ownership of land.

The history of Aboriginal alienation was an important context that assisted Silvey in the making of his novel, and furthermore establishing a successful play. The year 2009 was an influential year for Aboriginal’s rights. After twenty years of negotiation, the United Nations

My fight for Aboriginal rights started in 1956 when I co-founded the Aboriginal Australian Fellowship, a campaigning group founded to draw attention to and to achieve equal pay and citizenship for Aboriginal people. I was greatly influenced by Jessie street, whom I have continuously shared many spectacular memories with. and by 1950 was endorsed as a delegate to the peace council. In 1953 I was married to Hans Bandler, where we raise the beautiful Ida

The colonial era, driven by the interests of the monarchy, brought immense suffering and injustice to our First Nations people. The stolen generations, the dispossession of land, and the suppression of Aboriginal cultures are painful chapters in our nation's history. By becoming a republic, we can distance ourselves from this dark past and symbolize a break from the oppressive systems that perpetuated inequality and discrimination. It is an opportunity for us to reevaluate our values as a nation and reaffirm our commitment to reconciliation, justice, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As a republic, we have the power to redefine our national identity in a way that is inclusive and acknowledges the true custodians of this land.

Native title ’Native title’ refers to the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (ATSI) have rights to their traditional lands. For many years, native title has been an on-going topic across Australia, with many people disliking the concept. However, due to Australia’s changing social values and new concepts of justice, it has now been recently addressed. It is through the legal mechanisms such as the ALRC, the NSWLRC, the parliament and the courts and the non legal mechanism, the media that has been a catalyst for law reform for native title. Such mechanisms, have helped cases like the Mabo v Queensland [1988]

Land and Connection to Country The Tent Embassy, Australia 1972 On the 26th of January 1972, four indigenous men set up a beach umbrella on the lawns opposite Parliament House in Canberra and calling it the Aboriginal Embassy. Michael Anderson, Billy Craigie, Bertie Williams, and Tony Coorey set up the Aboriginal Embassy to protest the McMahon government’s approach to Indigenous land rights (National Museum Australia, 2022) The day before the Aboriginal Embassy was set up, the announcement of the implementation of a new system that rejected granting independent ownership of traditional land to Indigenous peoples. This caused the sit-in protest to begin as Indigenous peoples felt like “aliens in our own land, so like other aliens, we needed

Year after there was a debate whose land was Australia? This sparked protests and fights for land between Indigenous and non-Indigenous across the country. Mer islanders then decided they would challenge a legal principle of terra nullius in the high court and that Eddie Mabo would lead