Aboriginal Rights In Australia Research Paper

When the British arrived in Australia in 1788 and proclaimed the land as their own under the terra nullius doctrine (literally meaning ‘nobody’s land), the immediate impact of it on the locals was an abolishment of their rights and citizenship. Immigration laws were introduced that preferred the white race, and many other laws discriminated against the indigenous and other ethnicities. These even barred the Asian migrants from entering the country as part of the white Australia policy by putting them through ‘language dictation tests’ under which candidates were tested under any European language. Permit policies restricted the work opportunities and mobility for the Aborigines. The indigenous Australians even bore the ordeal in the early 1900s when their children were taken away from them and placed under state care.