Terra nullius

being restored through the land rights movement where they are able to foster their lost connection with the fabric of life- their inextricable connection with the land; through which the marks of dispossession are slowly fading. The notion of ‘Terra Nullius’ under the European settlers’ jurisdiction acted as a detriment to the Aboriginals, as it preached their mass genocide- genocide of their being and identity. Judith Wright accentuates that “the all-embracing net of life and spirit which had…

This case finally acknowledged the land rights of the meriam people and further led to the ruling that Australia was not terra nullius, no mans land, and started the reclaiming of land for the aboriginal people. With major parts of Australia being taken from the native aboriginal and being sold to settlers for farm land it caused great displacement of the people and caused many…

“Judges (courts) do not ‘make’ law but merely interpret the law.” The famous quote, “Justice is the tolerable accommodation of the conflicting interests of society, and I don 't believe there is any royal road to attain such accommodation concretely” [Hamburger: http://www.quotegarden.com/justice.html (Downloaded 20th March 2016)] can be considered for interpreting that “Judges (courts) do not ‘make’ the law but merely interpret the law” as practically law is ruling our daily life as “the…

Australian Poetry: Indifference Opposed Through the use of poems, poets show emotions, feelings and or events through the use of language choices to create representations of issues. The poem The new true anthem by Kevin Gilbert is challenging the key values and beliefs through society. This essay is aimed towards interested graduating students and how the cultural ideologies are seen through patriotism and political views that occur throughout the poem. The first known date of The new true…

Australian Legislation is established and administered at three levels, the Commonwealth, the State and the local Government level. Government Institutions or (Parliaments) make laws and all of these institutions, people and laws are all part of the legal system. Common Law or Case Law is referred to as Judge made law, cases are heard, a verdict is reached and then precedence is set. Statute Law is law made by Parliament, written as Acts, Regulations or Rules. Australia is multifaceted in…

Throughout Aboriginal history, there had been phases which implemented policies that affected their basic rights and freedoms. Assimilation first appeared in 1937 and was a policy which encouraged Aboriginal people to drift away from their traditional culture and thus, adopt fitting in and adapting to the Australian way of life. This was era was significant to the Aborigines as they were not considered part of the general population and their traditional life eroded over time. It heavily…

aspects of their identity, but brought up in White households without any semblance of their culture and forbidden to express any of their memories from their former lives. They were not allowed to speak their native language and contact with their families – if any existed - was limited and closely monitored and controlled. The fear of an essential genocide scarred an identity of victimhood within the Indigenous people (Laqueur, 2010). While the Indigenous narrative was grounded in victimhood,…

Close your eyes and imagine you are at home enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. You hear the laughs of your children as they play and the aroma of your wife's cooking. You feel as if you are the luckiest person in the whole world, but suddenly your life is about to be turned upside down. Foreigners land in your country and start to settle, after years passed you notice more and more of them flooding into your nation with weapons; almost like an invasion. They have kidnapped your children. They…

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Eddie Mabo, a Torres Strait Islander, campaigned for Aboriginal and Torres Strait land rights for 10 years and died only months before the land mark decision. The High Court decision overturned the myth of ‘terra nullius’ (a land belonging to no one), and the belief that the continent was empty of people before the arrival of Europeans in…

The US Civil Rights movement has greatly influenced the Aboriginal activism in Australia through many ways that intrigued the world. The US Civil Rights involved many critical events and people that aimed to end racial segregation towards the black community amongst many parts of the US. Various individuals of the black community within the United States and Australia have been oppressed by the lack of rules/laws to protect them from racial discrimination. There are many events in the US that…