Indigenous Rights In Australia

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Rights & Freedom in the Advancement of Indigenous Rights in Australia.

Indigenous people have had a long hard struggled to gain equal rights - the rights to citizenship, land and equality. Whilst some issues of inequality are still current today the last century was a particularly significant period for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights . Significant driving forces bringing about change for indigenous rights in Australia included the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA), the Freedom Rides and Eddie Mabo. These influences were instrumental in advancing the rights of indigenous people in Australia.

The AAPA played an important part in the advancement of Aboriginal rights in Australia. The AAPA became the first …show more content…

This meant the indigenous people who had traditionally occupied the land did not have claim to land. Mabo educated himself on Australian land ownership rights and became a spokesperson for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advancement League. Mabo contested the legitimacy of this law with other members from his community. In 1982 a challenge in the High Court of Australia for the right to own their traditional lands was undertaken. The case, known as Mabo No.1, was successful and the Meriam people, traditional owners of the land, were handed back ownership of their land. This case was influential in forcing the Commonwealth to sanctioned the Native title Act of 1993, thus giving all Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders traditional ownership rights to native land . This was a fundamental milestone in Australian law and the Mabo name is legendary in fighting for the rights of indigenous and Torres Strait …show more content…

No Way’, revised 2013, Edward Koiki Mabo 1936 – 1992, viewed 23 August 2015
http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/factsheets/54.html

Reconciliation Australia, n.d, Let’s Talk… Mabo, viewed 22 August 2015
http://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Lets-Talk-Mabo.pdf

‘Sydney Morning Herald’, revised February 2005, Freedom Ride Inspires a New Generation, viewed 21 August 2015
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Freedom-Ride-inspires-a-new-generation/2005/02/04/1107476802617.html

‘The Stolen Generations’, nd., Founding the NSW Aborigines Protection Board, viewed 21 August

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