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Torres Strait
Torres Strait Islander Eddie Koiki Mabo, who is at the time working as a gardener at James Cook University in Townsville, finds out he does not own the land back on Murray Island where he grew up. -
land rights conference
A land rights conference is held at James Cook University where Mr Mabo makes a speech outlining the land ownership and inheritance system on Murray Island. A lawyer at the conference suggests there should be a test case on claiming land rights through the court system. Central to the case is challenging the concept of terra nullius - that land claimed by Europeans on white settlement was uninhabited. -
egal claim for ownership
1982
Mr Mabo, Sam Passi, David Pass, Celuia Mapo Salee and James Rice make a legal claim for ownership of their lands on Murray Island. -
The Queensland Government passes the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act in an attempt to negate any claims Torres Strait Islanders have to the land.
1985
The Queensland Government passes the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act in an attempt to negate any claims Torres Strait Islanders have to the land. The Act declares that when the Torres Strait Islands were annexed by the Queensland Government under the Coast Island Act in 1879, title to the islands was transferred to the state of Queensland and not subject to other claims. -
The High Court finds the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act contravenes section 10 of the Federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and is therefore invalid.
1988
The High Court finds the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act contravenes section 10 of the Federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and is therefore invalid. Under the Constitution, federal acts of parliament take precedence over state acts of parliament. The decision hinges on the ruling that if native title rights did exist they should be viewed as part of the human right to own and inherit property; therefore the Coast Islands Act unfairly compromised the property rights of people -
The High Court rejects
1992
The High Court rejects the notion of terra nullius and recognises the Meriam people as the native title holders of traditional lands on Murray Island. The ruling finds that native title exists separate from Crown claims to the land, as long as a connection to the land for people claiming native title remains. It is hailed as a momentous victory by the Indigenous rights movement, but within the mining and pastoral sectors unease grows over the implications of the ruling. -
Then prime minister Paul Keating
1992
Then prime minister Paul Keating makes an address to a 2,000-strong crowd in Redfern, where he says the blame for the plight of Indigenous Australia lies with non-Aboriginal Australians. The speech, known afterwards as the Redfern Address, is hailed as one of the most important speeches by an Australian prime minister, and signals Mr Keating's decision to move to enshrine the ruling of Mabo case into parliamentary law. -
The Keating government wins the March election and begins
1993
The Keating government wins the March election and begins negotiations with Aboriginal leaders, the states and mining and pastoral interests on how to legislate the Mabo ruling. A series of land claims around the country, including several targeting capital cities, raises tensions over the issue, with the Federal Government under fire from the states, who are calling for the Mabo ruling to be overturned. -
ative Title Act is tabled in Federal Parliament in response to the Mabo ruling.
1993
On November 16, the Native Title Act is tabled in Federal Parliament in response to the Mabo ruling. After 111 hours of debate, the longest in 92 years of Senate history, the bill passes. It recognises native title in situations where Indigenous people have maintained a connection with land and waters. However it is extinguished if the connection to the land is lost, or private interests in the land have been granted. -
The High Court decision
1996
The High Court decision on a case brought by the Wik Peoples on Cape York Peninsula finds that statutory leases, such as pastoral leases do not completely extinguish native title rights. However the court ruled that when pastoral leases and native title conflict, pastoral leases take precedence. -
ohn Howard implements a "10 point plan" through the Native Title Amendment Bill.
1998
In response to the Wik decision, then prime minister John Howard implements a "10 point plan" through the Native Title Amendment Bill. The bill strengthened the rights of pastoral lease holders and made it harder to claim native title.