Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples

The paper begins by noting the low level of reference to Indigenous Australians in the Commonwealth Constitution at the start of Federation, and goes on to discuss the limits to what was achieved by the 1967 amendments. The situation represents a marked contrast with the USA and Canada in terms of treaties and constitutional recognition. In Australia, particularly during the period of the ‘Reconciliation’ process in the 1990s, important steps were taken by Indigenous Australians to identify items of ‘unfinished business’ in a ‘Statement of Indigenous Rights’. But there has been limited progress to meet these aspirations. And Australian law still lacks a tradition of recognition of human rights generally, let alone Indigenous rights. International law, too, largely lacked recognition of human rights, generally prior to the adoption in 1945 of the Charter of the United Nations. The brief references in the Charter were subsequently developed in a range of declarations and of treaties. These applied to people generally, with scant reference to Indigenous peoples. But, since the 1970s, there has been growing international recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples under existing declarations and treaties. Since the 1990s, in particular, the UN system has established specific mechanisms for addressing such issues. On 13 September 2007, the General Assembly finally adopted a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Summary jurisdiction on Pitjantjatjara lands. by Garth Nettheim

A perceptive account of the problems of administering the summary court system in Pitjantjatjara lands, in the northwest of South Australia, was written some years ago by Andrew Ligertwood

"...As against the whole world" by Garth Nettheim

The decision in Eddie Mabo and others v the State of Queensland on 3 June 1992 represents one of the most fundamental cases that the High Court of Australia has ever had to consider... Provided by MICAH, Canberra

Sovereignty and Aboriginal peoples

tag=1 data=Sovereignty and Aboriginal peoples tag=2 data=Nettheim, Garth tag=3 data=Aboriginal Law Bulletin Vol 2 No 53 tag=6 data=^d ^mDec ^y1991 tag=8 data=ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS%MABO tag=9 data=SELF DETERMINATION%TREATIES%INDIGENOUS PEOPLES tag=15 data=JO

The High Court Judgement : The uncertain dimensions of native title. by Garth Nettheim

tag=1 data=The High Court Judgement : The uncertain dimensions of native title. by Garth Nettheim tag=2 data=Nettheim, Garth tag=3 data=Australian Quarterly, tag=4 data=65 tag=5 data=4 tag=6 data=Summer 1993 tag=7 data=55-65. tag=8 data=ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS%MABO%COMPENSATION%RACISM tag=9 data=LAND TENURE%NATIVE TITLE%LEASEHOLD%LEGISLATION tag=13 data=IN

September showdown : validity of native title legislation. by Garth Nettheim

Three separate actions are listed for hearing together in September. Two of the actions are challenges to the validity of the Land [Titles and Traditional Usage] Act 1993 [WA]. The third is a challenge by the government of WA to the application and validity of the Native Title Act 1993 [Cth]

Judicial revolution or cautious correction? Mabo v Queensland. by Garth Nettheim

The purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which the decision does, indeed, represent a judicial revolution and to suggest, instead, that it represents a cautious correction to Australian law. Provided by MICAH, Canberra