Terra Nullius Essay

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TERRA NULLIUS OBSTACLE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE NATIVE TITLE:
Terra Nullius which is referred as “land belonging to no one” was an obstacle in order to achieve Native Title which is the right to land by the original inhabitants, as the Indigenous people had to prove that they were traditional owners of the land with an ongoing connection to it in order to claim native title, which was difficult as they had been forced off their land almost 200 years before. In order to achieve the native title, it had to be claimed by people with the ancestors that inhabited and associated with the land before the European settlement.

ROLE OF THE HIGH COURT TO RECOGNISE THE NATIVE TITLE:
The high court played a significant role in recognising the Native Title …show more content…

The decision upheld the claims of five plaintiffs from Murray Island that Australia was occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had their own laws and customs, and whose 'native title' to land survived the Crown's invasion. Therefore, the court recognised the presence of native title as part of Australian common law.
2) In The Wik Peoples v The State of Queensland & Ors; The Thayorre People v The State of Queensland & Ors [1996] HCA 40 ('Wik'), the High Court held that native title rights could coexist on land held by pastoral leaseholders. The High Court decided that:
• A pastoral lease does not necessarily confer rights of exclusive possession on the …show more content…

The conditions which led to the reform to the ‘Terra Nullius’ claim were by the aboriginal activists challenging the Australian Sovereignty on the grounds that terra Nullius was applied improperly. When undertaking the Inquiry, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) sought evidence as to whether the current native title system is meeting its objectives, whether specified options for reform would improve the operation of the system, and the alternative reform options should be

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