Remembering Mabo: making a difference

On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia ruled that the Meriam people of the Murray Islands in the Torres Strait had title to their traditional lands. Known as the Mabo decision, the ruling led to the passage of the Native Title Act the following year, changing the course of Australian history and transforming the ways in which Indigenous ownership of land may be recognised by Australian law.

Each year the anniversary of the historic ruling – now known as Mabo Day – provides an opportunity for Indigenous leaders, traditional landowners, judges, policymakers and others to reflect on the Mabo legacy and look at the path ahead. 

This year, as part of the Ormond College Indigenous Program, former Chief Justice of the Federal Court Michael Black and Professor Kerry Arabena, Chair of Indigenous Health at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, led debate and discussion with the College’s students and senior academic residents about the significance of the 1992 Mabo decision and its relevance to Indigenous health, land rights and other critical issues affecting Indigenous Australians. They also discussed its sequel in 2001, where the Court declared native title over the two islands which had been excluded from the Mabo decision, Dauar and Waier. 

Ormond College Resident Jane Freemantle (who is also Principal Research Fellow at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health) believes the program, established in 2008, will encourage and enable students to have a greater understanding of the antecedents to the current inequities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia, and hopes that such knowledge will empower the students to determine ways to redress these inequalities. 

“The program generates a genuine commitment to greater understanding of Indigenous issues within the College community, and it’s inspiring to see the students further develop these interests into activities and initiatives,” Professor Freemantle says.

Also the link between Indigenous health and native title was discussed during the program.

Describing the original Mabo case as a “tectonic shift in Australian jurisprudence,” Chief Justice Black explained how the Federal Court had developed procedures for hearing native title cases on country in remote locations, including the Western Desert and the Torres Strait, and for taking evidence from Indigenous people about their traditional laws and customs through dance and song and from groups.

 “From hearing the words and experiences of Professor Arabena, a Meriam woman, and Chief Justice Black, students learned about the importance of native title to communities, and the relationship between living and working on country, to Indigenous peoples’ wellbeing,” Professor Freemantle says.

“The idea of one or two people making a difference to the health and wellbeing of others on a large scale really came through in this discussion. The commitment and actions of Eddie Mabo continue to make an enormous difference to the rights of Indigenous people in Australia.”

Professor Freemantle – who has been awarded an Australian Research Fellowship and Australian Research Council grant – is a paediatric epidemiologist whose work focuses on Aboriginal children and communities. Her current work builds on past and continuing efforts by State and Commonwealth governments to further reform the quality and integrity of data in information systems about Aboriginal health, and enable accurate reporting on progress towards closing the gap in disadvantage between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Victorians. 

Today, 10 Indigenous students from the University of Melbourne live at Ormond College. Professor Freemantle says the Ormond College Indigenous program will continue to provide opportunities for all students to participate in learning about Indigenous issues and to create a safe and respectful place for Indigenous students living at the College. 

“My mantra is that, through knowledge and initiatives, no student will leave this College and be able to say, ‘I never knew!’” Professor Freemantle says. 

“Our students here at the University are intelligent and socially aware young people, and if given the right information, I believe they can determine how to use that information to effect change.”

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