Contemporary Aboriginal Issues Essay -- essays research papers

Contemporary Aboriginal Issues Assignment 3- Essay Topic 3: Discuss the political struggle for recognition of indigenous rights to land. In your answer, consider the benefits and limitations of the Native Title Act and recent United Nations criticisms of the current Act. For years we have witnessed the Indigenous population’s political struggle for recognition of rights to Australian land. At times the effort appears to be endless and achieving recognition almost seems impossible. Native Title and Land claims have become a step closer in achieving this recognition; however, for land rights to exist in an absolute form, they cannot exist as a mere Act of Parliament but must form a fundamental part of the Australian Constitution. This seemingly gigantic task is part of the incessant political struggle that the Indigenous population will continue to face. The United Nation’s is an integral part of the political struggle between the Australian government and the Indigenous people and have on many occasions fought to raise the issue of human rights violation within the Australian constitution. When Captain Cook arrived in 1788 and the colonisation of Australia began, the Indigenous people of Australia struggled and fought to protect their country from infringement, theft and violation. The Indigenous people were faced with a dominant military force and an extremely different view of the world. Over one hundred years ago, the colonists understood this land to be open for the taking and the rightful first owners were treated as intruders on their own land. In 1901 the commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed and a supposedly new era was to occur for this â€Å"lucky country† and its inhabitants. http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2001/433/433pl6.htm However, for Indigenous Australians, this year marked a 113 years of resistance, removal, withdrawal and dispossession. Over one hundred years later, the Native Title act is passed and Indigenous Australian’s continue their political struggle for land rights Land rights are defined as the entitlement to inhabit and use the land. Indigenous Australian communities seek to gain land rights or â€Å"Native Title† over certain parts of Australian land. This allows the Indigenous Australians the right to hunt, fish and inhabit the land and also gives them the right to contribute to decisions over construction, fishing or mining of... .../land_rights/australia/land_rights_in_australia.htm Accessed on 1st June, 3rd June 2005 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Native Title Corporations: A Legal and Anthropological Analysis http://www.federationpress.com.au/Books/MantziarisMartin.htm Accessed on 2nd June 2005 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Social Justice Commissioner Native Title Report 2001, Summary of Native Title Report 2001 http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/ntreport_01/summary.html Accessed on 1st June 2005 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Native Title Act case: Indigenous Australia vs. Commonwealth http://www.ags.gov.au/publications/agspubs/legalpubs/legalbriefings/br20.htm Accessed on 2nd June, 3rd June 2005 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amnesty International: Australia- governments dismissal of UN criticism undermines hard earned credibility in human rights diplomacy. http://www.faira.org.au/pressreleases/1999/03/amnesty-international.html Accessed on 1st June 2005 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Australia silent on UN racism committee condemnation http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Australia_silent_on_UN-racism_committee_condemtation Accessed on 7th June 2005