Elections in the air ...

Aboriginal Rights on the Ground

As I write, Australia is gearing up for another federal election, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders can be fairly certain that, whoever wins government, some initiatives and developments are now irreversible. Any future prime minister will have to honour the implementation of the post-Mabo land arrangements. Otherwise we will all be back in court and the miners will be cheated of the certainty they wanted. Reconciliation and self-determination are key concepts confronting any party in power and any government seeking to be a responsible member of the international community.

On his appointment as Australia's last Governor-General, Sir William Deane, who in the Mabo judgment spoke of the dispossession and devastation of Aborigines as 'a national legacy of unutterable shame', said, 'If I were allowed to, without being involved in any political dispute or partisan activity, I'd very much like to play a small part in the process of reconciliation.' Pat Dodson, who chairs the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, welcomed such a role, saying, 'The influence he might bear on our political leaders is going to be crucial.' Justice Michael Kirby, Deane's replacement on the High Court, is justly proud of his past United Nations activities 'as chairman and rapporteur in several expert groups seeking to give content to that elusive and highly controversial promise of the international law that "peoples" will enjoy a right of self-determination.'

Ten years ago, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade used to warn politicians against using words like 'self-determination' in relation to indigenous people. Now it is generally accepted that government policy and practice should accord self-determination to Aboriginal communities wanting to run their own affairs. At the United Nations, Australia has taken a leadership role urging consideration of a draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples to recognise their right to self-determination. Australia has submitted that self-determination should 'encompass the right of distinct peoples within a State, particularly indigenous peoples and national minorities, to make decisions on their own affairs.'

The UN General Assembly has approved a round of activities for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. In 1996, UN bodies will focus on issues of health and indigenous people, and will publish a manual on the UN system and indigenous people. In November 1996, the UN's Commission on Human Rights will bring together a group that includes not just of representatives of nation states but also representatives from indigenous groups to consider the draft declaration. This level of participation has never been extended to non-government organisations before. Australia, having taken the lead, would be very embarrassed should it attempt to turn back.

On the home front, the Queensland government has started the hard work of examining how Aboriginal customary law can be recognised by the mainstream legal system. Even the Tasmanian government has recognised some Aboriginal land titles. The dust is settling in the wake of Mabo and the Native Title Act. On accepting appointment as Governor General, Sir William Deane made the point that the Mabo judgment 'corresponded with English decisions subsequent to the very old ones, with the decision of the Canadian Supreme Court and within the same territory as the decisions of the United States Supreme Court and New Zealand Court of Appeal.'

Last year, the Australian embassy in Washington co-sponsored, in the American Mid-west, an exhibition of native American and Aboriginal artists. Aboriginal artist Judith Watson came from Australia and explained some of her paintings touching on the Mabo theme. As a white Australian I was proud to be in the audience and to hear an Aboriginal explain to Americans that Mabo meant the end of terra nullius. Some things are now beyond politics. Some Aboriginal gains cannot be brought under threat even at election time. Reconciliation through justice and recognition is indeed well grounded, an immovable part of the Australian political landscape.

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