RULING AIDS ACCORD WITH ABORIGINES, SAYS PM
by Amanda Meade and Suzanne Mostyn
Canberra: The High Court decision in the Torres Straight (sic)
Islands land claim brought by the late Mr Eddie Mabo should be
welcomed by all Australians because it represented the removal of
the "greatest barrier" to the process of reconciliation with
Aborigines, the Prime Minister told Parliament yesterday.
Mr Keating said the landmark decision "does finally quash the
outrageous notion of terra nullius."
The judgement recognised that international law had ousted the
idea the inhabited land may be classified as terra nullius or
uninhabited.
"With the Mabo decision the Australian law has finally taken a
major step away from this injustice and has finally entered the
mainstream of world opinion," Mr Keating said. "As a nation we are
now far better prepared psychologically to proceed with the
process of reconciliation.
"With this decision one more barrier - historically perhaps the
greatest barrier - has been effectively removed and the
foundations of discrimination and prejudice been kicked away."
He sought to allay people's fears about property by saying there
was no threat to private property as a result of the decicion.
But Mr Keating said the case was complex and would require careful
study before he could detail its full implications.
A professor of law from the University of New South Wales,
Professor Garth Nettheim, said a national forum should be set up
to consider the implications of the decision.
The forum, following one set up in Canada after a similar "native
title" case several years ago, would consist of ministerial
representatives from all State governments.
He said it was an ideal means to avoid a myriad of separate,
costly and time-consuming legal battles as Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander groups individually took legal action to obtain
rulings on the rights under the decision.
A spokesman for the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Mr Denis maher,
said Mr Keating should not expect praise for a decision which was
not his own.
"There may be something in what he is saying but I don't think
it's up to him to take any praise in the matter because it's the
High Court decision," he said.
Mr Maher said the High Court had "paved the way for future land
rights battles and possible compensation claims for injustices and
land claims for Aboriginal people."
He said it had set a precedent even though land rights legislation
was complicated and differed greatly between States.
"The whole notion of terra nullius has been thrown out and we are
very thrilled at that," he said. "It's a big, big move and its
going to make things a lot easier in terms of land rights fro
Aborigines across the country."
The decision caught many Aboriginal people by surprise, he said,
and it was deeply saddening that Mr Eddie Mabo, who mounted the
casse, had died before the outcome.
"The people in Queensland were probably hoping for it but they've
been fighting for most of their lives," he said. "Mr Mabo died
fighting for his land."
The emeritius Professor of Constitutional Law at sydeny
University, Professor Pat Lane, said the decision was made by High
Court justices looking at the issue "through the eyes of someone
in 1992 and not someone in 1788."
However he said the decision was a "cautious" one restricted to
the Murray Islands which was "careful not to open the Pandora's
box into land rights."
"They did walk circumspectly: they didn't give much comfort for
those who looked for a wider decision on so-called land rights,"
he said. "But it certainly gives them some hope."
Ends.