Mabo Case Study

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Mabo case
The Mabo case was a legal case held in 1992. It was named after an Aboriginal man called Eddie Mabo, who challenged Australian legal system. He fought for claiming the legal rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait inhabitants. From Mabo’s perspective, Aboriginal people are the traditional owners of their land as they occupied and lived in Australia for thousands of years, much longer and earlier than British people’s arrival in 1788. However, after British people took charge of this continent, Aboriginal people’s life went from bad to worse. They had no legal rights and were treated like animals. Their lives were severely threatened. Moreover, they lost their homes although they were the original owner of the land. After ten years …show more content…

The validity of British’s occupation of Australia has been fundamentally shaken. The decision protected Aboriginal people’s cultures and lifestyles to a certain degree. Moreover, it guaranteed that some of the lands they live will not be developed. There were five key issues of importance to legal precedent in the Mabo decision for the recognition of Indigenous peoples’ rights in Australia (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2017). For example, it helps to promote the idea of non-discrimination. From then on, a series of laws had been introduced to help safeguard their standard legal rights and …show more content…

It is the footstone for the actions that can practically protect legal rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The most important thing is that the aim of it cannot be changed. It was established for the legal rights Aboriginal inhabitants possess. In the future, the government should have some powerful measures to both protect Aboriginal people and resource companies. Contradictions between economy and citizens should be reconciled instead of being intensified. Also, a more regulated process of native title is supposed to be introduced. The Australian Government announced $7.8 million additional funding to support native title groups (Indigenous.gov.au, 2017). More financial compensation should be applied to Aboriginal people.
In conclusion, as a cornerstone of Australia legal system, the Mabo case had profound effects on protecting Aboriginal people. After twenty-five years of development, the situation is getting more and more better. However, the government can still have more powerful and forceful measures to improve those people’s

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