Preview

David Mercer's On-Going Debate Surrounding Indigenous Australians?

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
273 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
David Mercer's On-Going Debate Surrounding Indigenous Australians?
David Mercer was an Associate Professor with the Department of Geography and Environmental Science.
In this journal article Mercer, discusses the on-going debate surrounding Indigenous Australians land rights claims from the mid-1980s onwards. He then goes on to discuss that the law surrounding land always adhered to the principles of Governor Bourke’s’ Proclamation, until the landmark decision handed down in the Mabo case. However, he concludes that in regard to political climate little else has been done in the advancement of land rights’ legislation in regard to the Indigenous Australian population. He also provides a comparison between how Australia and Canada have responded to Indigenous claims of land, saying that Canada has acted far

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    deem it timely from 1912 on to have aboriginals release the right to which they could lay claim"…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chris McCandless was somewhat troubled, but I didn’t see him having mental health issues. Reading about McCandless’ early life, it looks like the transition between his mother’s first marriage to her second could’ve been what shaped some of his views. If anything, Chris McCandless was enlightened and knew what he wanted when he started his journey in Into the Wild. Being a fan of both Emerson and Thoreau, I believe Chris McCandless was looking to see the Earth as a transcendentalist would. Even when a stranger he came into contact with offered something to his benefit he would rarely accept. Chris McCandless wanted to do things on his own while on his journey.…

    • 118 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, today we are charging Brandon Trinh with the violation of a weapon on school grounds. On April 21st, School Resource Officer of Great Oak High School, Israel Sosa, made a police report upon an allegation of suspect Brandon Trinh carrying a knife on school campus. Upon further investigation, Brandon admitted to carrying a pocket knife with a 3’’ blade for several months for the sole purpose of intimidation against the bullies in his JROTC class and had reportedly stated he “only showed one other student.”. Despite the multiple school counselors on site, Trinh acknowledged his mistake in not informing one. Although his demeanor against the bullies was in a defensive way, the intimidation tactic itself…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the back of the recent landslide referendum on the recognition of Aboriginal people in the national census, the Whitlam government greatly increased the social and political rights of first nation Australians. The government instituted a policy of ‘self-determination’ which decentralised decision making powers to indigenous communities. They allowed Aboriginals to claim land and brought more Indigenous voices into the policy making process. From the outset, Whitlam made Indigenous affairs a top priority for his government and indicated that justice had to be served in order for Australia to move forward as a country. The subsequent Fraser Government committed to continue these reforms. A powerful example Whitlam’s loyalty to this issue was in his remarks to an Aboriginal tribe where he declared Indigenous ownership of a Victorian river. Whitlam in his speech to the Gurindji people stated “these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands this piece of the earth itself as a sign that we restore them to you and your children…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prior to the freedom rides indigenous people were mistreated and weren’t considered to be first class citizens of Australia. However, when people became aware of the mistreatment, they started to protest in many places in New South Wales, this was known as the freedom rides. This movement was led by Charles Perkins, who was one of the first indigenous people to attend university.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay focuses on how Aboriginal lives varied after the 1970s by arguing that the government played a significant role when achieving better qualities of Aboriginal lives nowadays. The government considers indigenous affairs as national priority and implements Indigenous Advancement Strategy which consolidates beneficial programmes targeting Aboriginals. I argue they do this to promote cultural diversity in Australia.…

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This argument analysis examines the article Recognise What? Problems with the campaign for constitutional recognition (Maddison, 2017). Published in the May/June issue of the Indigenous Law Bulletin, Maddison describes the process to recognise Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia in the constitution. The article explains this process through several accounts, resistance to the campaign and the role of the ‘Recognise’ campaign. Throughout the article, Maddison argues that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders should be recognised as the first people of Australia while acknowledging the problems with the campaign. The analysis will identify the main claims, evidence used to support these claims and the assumptions made by the author. Maddison uses several forms of evidence to support her 3 main claims and the underlying assumptions.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Australia’s attitude towards the rights and freedoms of Aboriginals has changed drastically from 1920 to the present. It is evident that Australia has made a greater effort throughout the years, to bridge the gap between the rights and of Aboriginals and the rest of Australia. This has been improved by the implementation of different policies such as the Protection policy, Assimilation, Integration, Self Determination and Reconciliation.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Mabo Decision

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Mabo Decision of 1992 was an historical triumph for the Indigenous Australian people as many protesters fought for equal rights and freedom. They were fighting for their land rights and they wanted to be recognised as people of Australia. This particular event was a huge turning point in Australian history as it was the first time and Indigenous Australian had challenged a decision and had taken the case to court and won. The Mabo Decision was a first and it inspired many people to stand up for their rights. This essay will illustrates the impact the Mabo decision had on Australian history, and the implications on the people of Australia.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Mabo Decision

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Since 1918, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) have achieved a great deal of change in both political and social ways, though it was not without struggle. Many of these achievements are derived from several events, such as the Mabo Decision which was the long battle that lead to the recognition of Aboriginal land rights. Other events also contributed, such as the long process of reconciling the relationships between ATSI peoples and Australians, the Bringing Them Home Report which helped lead to the Apology. All of these events are important in Aboriginal culture as they all inspired change in the Australian community.…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In modern society the question of why the aboriginal population receives benefits often arises. Much of today’s youth does not understand that the Native American people were often stripped of their rights in the past in order to gain these advantages. Two main incidents were established in the Aboriginal history, the first was the treaties that spread across Canada and the second incident was the Indian Act of 1876. The main difference between the Indian Act and treaties were the aboriginal’s role in the decision-making. Treaties allowed for a compromise between the Natives and the government that allowed for benefits on both ends whereas the Indian act was imposed on the Native culture by the Canadian government without any arrangement with the aboriginals.…

    • 2505 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Paul Keating

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A key achievement in Paul Keating’s leadership was the recognition of Indigenous Australian’s rights and acknowledging their position in society. Keating established a Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, working alongside Aboriginal Australians, which sought to implement different strategies to ameliorate the injustices. In June 1992 the High Court recognised Aboriginal land rights by making a decision that native title existed in the Mabo case. Keating supported this notion and delivered the Redfern Speech in December 1992, apologising for the wrongdoings of white society and recognising Aboriginal rights. This was a significant moment and is still recognised today because it was the first time in Australian history that the government attempted to reconcile the relationship with Indigenous Australians. Today, people reflect on this speech and can still find areas that need to be improved upon to ensure an equal society.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The referendum was a massive achievement for Indigenous Australians with 90% of the Australian population voting Yes for these two parts of the Australian Constitution to be over ruled and changed. Although this was a major event in the reconciliation process to bringing non indigenous and indigeonous people together it would be naive to think that this eradicated the racism and discrimination all together. These significant and monumental events in the history of reconciliation in Australia were significant cornerstones in the development of justice, rights and equality however the transition period was often challenging for the indigenous Australians as they had to adjust to a culturally different way of life. This was often not recognised within the Australian community causing confusion and further divide in the way in which the Australian public view and thought reconciliation consisted of. The referendum however provided a platform of hope for the future of reconciliation in Australia as it symbolised a political step towards rights and justice for the indigenous…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many effects of British colonisation on Indigenous Australians. One of the worst impacts was the loss of land. The land is the sole provider of food, medicine and other basic needs to Indigenous Australians. It is also the main part of their spiritual and cultural beliefs.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To maintain the traditions and culture of the Indigenous Australians, they need to be able to have the strong connection to the land that is such an integral part of who they are as a people. The Aboriginal Land Rights legislation is a positive step forwards in this way. Also, socially there needs to be more recognition in the white Australian community of the damage that was done in past generations and there needs to be more respect for the land's original owners. As more responsibility is…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays