NEWS RELEASE
18 October 2001
Terra
Nullius replaced by Terra Nullified
says Clark in Unaipon Lecture
Nearly 10
years on from the landmark Mabo decision, the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Commission’s (ATSIC) first elected
national Chairman, Geoff
Clark, believes there is still a hole in the constitutional heart of
Australia.
Mr Clark,
from the Tjapwuurong group of western Victoria, will deliver UniSA’s
annual David Unaipon Lecture on Friday October 19 at 6 pm at the
University’s City West Campus, North Terrace, Level 2 Barbara Hanrahan
Building, lecture theatre 9.
Appropriately
in the year celebrating a centenary of Federation, he will be looking at
the impact of terra nullius, something he sees as a continuing
stain on the development of Australian culture and the empowerment of
Indigenous people.
The
lecture Treaty, Terra Nullius, Terra Nullified will deal the
pronouncement of terra nullius as a crucial betrayal of Indigenous
Australians and one which is yet to dealt with be effectively.
Mr Clark
argues that since Mabo there has been a systematic erosion of the High
Court’s recognition of Indigenous rights to land at common law, despite
the fact that public opinion polls suggest there is widespread support for
progress in this area.
Mr
Clark’s address will look at the history of Indigenous claim to the
Land, how the issue has come in and out of political focus and favour and
the potential for the development of a treaty.
He will
argue that it is vital for the healing and progress of the Australian
nation that Indigenous people in Australia are recognised and given
acknowledged status as First Peoples much as has been achieved for the
Maori in New Zealand, the Inuit in Greenland and the Indian Nations in
Canada.
Since he
was elected in 1996 for his first term as the ATSIC Commissioner for
Victoria and as Chairman since 1991, Mr Clarke has travelled widely
throughout Australia and overseas researching native title and land rights
responsibilities and drawing international attention to the issues facing
Indigenous Australians. Active on a state, national and international
level, he identified treaty, land and economic independence for Indigenous
communities as a three focus in 1999 and continues to work towards
positive change.
Media
contacts: Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302 0966 or 041 8823673
Eric Roberts (08) 8237 2128 or 041
7818482
