INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS

STATISTICS2.4% of the total Australian population in 2001 (458,000)

69% live outside urban centers

NSW has 29% of the Indigenous population

Median age; 20.5 compared to 36.1

People >15 = 60% of indigenous populationCompared to 80% of non-indigenous

Smokers > 50%

22% total prison population

Life expectancy – 56 men, 77 non- indigenous, 63 woman, 82 non-indigenous

38% indigenous students finish year 12, 76% non-indigenous

Unemployment rate 20% compared to 7.6 percent

Status Under the Law

• Doctrine of Terra Nullius- Negative effects

• Assimilation policy- What it implied (Stolen Generation)

• Integration Policy (Referendum)

- Aims and outcomes of this policy

Status Under the Law• Native Title

- Mabo (1) & (2) VS. Queensland 1992- Wik peoples vs. Queensland

• International Law- Two fundamental laws- ICCPR, CEAFRD- Theory or Practice

Case Law• Wik Peoples vs. People of

Queensland (1996)

• Argument: Wik and Thayorre people native title rights had not been extinguished virtue of the grant of a pastoral lease.

• Decision: High Court when a government grants a pastoral lease didn’t extinguish native title rights.

• Howards 10 point plan

Responsiveness of Legal System

• Negatives

• Has rights for individuals increased?

• Positives

Indigenous Leaders Have Been Left in the Cold Too Long

Since the abolition of ATSIC(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission) Indigenous

Australians no longer have a national voice. The Indigenous nation has grouped together

and want an independent elected body to engage with governments.

“Their lack of power to control their own destiny lies at the heart of their frustration.”

Editorial, 26th August 2009