The Significance of Land to Aboriginals Mabo Wik

The Significance of Land to Aboriginals Mabo Wik © Karen Devine 2008

The Significance of Land n n n Land is sacred. It is to be preserved. It is to be passed on through the generations. Land is involved in a timeless cycle of mutual dependence. There is group responsibility over land. Rituals belong to the land.

The Significance of Land n n n A person within a tribe and kinship group has rights and responsibilities involving the land. It contains food and water and the essential elements of life. The land contains sacred sites. Ancestral beings dwell within these spiritual areas. Ancestors wait to be summoned to ensure the food supply for the next year.

The Mabo Case 1. Mabo and the Merriam people wanted private ownership rights over the Murray Islands. ie: They made a land rights claim. 2. Only claims over crown land had been successful in the past. The Murray Islands were not crown land. 3. In the High Court, it was proven that if historical links to the land could be established, a Native Land Title could exist. This had never happened before, because: a) Aborigines have no written history to establish those links b) Few court cases have challenged the government’s power.

The Mabo Case 4) The Mabo case successfully gave some title to land, but all future land claims had to: a) be given by Acts of Parliament b) be launched in court c) establish proof about historical links to the land.

The Wik Case n The Wik People and the Thayorre People v The State of Queensland. n The Wik people launched a case against Qld claiming that their traditional lands were now subject to pastoral leases.

The Wik Case n When the matter was appealed to the High Court, the court decided that pastoral leases and native title could coexist.

The Wik Case n Coexistence is possible when a pastoralist uses their own lands for their own purposes and the indigenous peoples access the lands for traditional ceremonies.

The Wik Case The Wik Decision caused much concern from the pastoralists about the security of their leases. n It created a significant increase in rights for ATSI’s. n

The Wik Case However, the Howard Government passed the Native Title Amendment Act in 1998 which restricted the advancements that had been made regarding Native Title. For instance: a) Native Title does not prevent a pastoralist from carrying out the land uses they choose b) There are now tougher tests for determining if Native Title exists. At least one person must PROVE a continuous link to the land for which Native Title is being claimed. (This can include someone who was part of the stolen generation. ) n

Question Time n Why were the Mabo and Wik cases so significant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders?