Aiā a Tagata Muamua i Fanua i Ausetalia

Several thousand marchers celebrate the 50th anniversary Wave Hill Walk-off in Kalkarindji on Friday August 19, 2016. On August 22 1966 Vincent Lingiari led several hundred Gurindji people off Wave Hill Station in a protest to gain fair wages, which morphed into the battle for land rights, which took nine years to eventuate. Credit: AAP Image/Neda Vanovac

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Masalo e masani ona e fa'alogo i le 'alaga, “what do we want? Land rights!” — ae o le a tonu lona uiga? O Fanua ma 'ele'ele o le fatu o le fa'asinomaga ma aganu'u a Tagata Aboriginal ma atumotu Torres Straits. E fa'aigoaina o le “Country,” ma e aofia uma ai fanua, vaitafe ma alavai, le vanimonimo ma meaola uma. I le ripoti lenei a le Australia Explained, o le a fa'amatala atu ai le uiga o aia a tagata muamua i fanua - mea e aofia ai ma auala e fa'aulu ai tagi i mata'upu i fanua mo Tagata Muamua.

Vaega 'Autu

O aia i fanua, e mafai ai ona toina 'ele'ele i lalo o pulega a le malo, e le aofia ai 'ele'ele umia ma'oti, e fa'aaoga e tagata Aboriginal ma Torres Straits mo sauniga fa'aaganu'u ma atina'e o le tamao'aiga.
O aia i fanua, pule i fanua, ma isi fa'auigaina fa'aletulafono o aia tatau a tagata muamua i fanua, e 'ese'ese o latou fa'auigaina, ae 'auga e tasi i le fa'amoemoe e mauaina ai e Tagata Muamua le aia e faia ai tonu i mata'upu e patino ia i latou ma fanua.
Na amata i fa'aaliga e pei o le Wave Hill i le 1966, le Walk-Off na soso'o ai ma ni tulafono taua e pei o le Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, ae o loo fa'aauau pea e o'o mai i aso ai.

O a aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua?
Na fa'apefea ona amata aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua?
O a mea e aofia i aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua?
O le a le 'ese'esega i le aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua, pule i fanua, ma se feagaiga?
Aisea e taua ai le aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua i aso nei?
Se fa'ata'ita'iga: Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council
O a ni lu'itau o i luma mo aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua?
Aisea e taua ai aia tatau a tagata muamua i fanua mo tagata uma i Ausetalia?

O a aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua i Ausetalia?

I le tele o tausaga o so'otaga o tagata Aboriginal ma atumotu Torres Straits i o latou fanua ma 'ele'ele e le'i aloa'iaina. O tulafono o aia tatau i fanua, na fa'avaeina e tu'uina ai le pule i lalo o le tulafono i tagata muamua mo fanua e fa'asino ia te i latou.

Ae le'i taunu'u mai papalagi, e faitau afe tausaga o tausi mea tagata Aboriginal ma atumotu Torres Strait i o latou lava fanua ma 'ele'ele.

O pulega fa'akolone ia na faoa ai fanua e aunoa ma se maliega, na fa'avae i se taitonuga sese e ta'ua o le terra nullius — o lona uiga "o fanua e leai seisi e pule ai."

Gough Whitlam, Wave Hill Walk Off, Vincent Lingiari

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically returning land to the Gurindji people on 16 August 1975, an act famously represented by Whitlam pouring sand into Vincent Lingiari's hand. Source: AAP

Na fa'apefea ona amata aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua?

O aia tatau i fanua e pei ona iloa ai i aso nei, na amata i se tete'e, le Wave Hill Walk-Off i le 1966 — o se savali tete'e a tagata faigaluega Aboriginal Gurindji i se fa'atoaga povi i le Northern Territory. O le tete'e lenei na fa'avae i le tulaga fa'aletonu ma le talafeagai o galuega ae soso'o ai ma le vala'au e toe fa'afo'i mai o latou fanua.

O le palota fa'alaua'itele le referendum o le1967 na tu'uina ai le aia i le Malo Ausetalia e faia ai tulafono mo le manuia o tagata Aboriginal ma atumotu Torres Straits. O i'ina na mafai ai ona pasia le tulafono le Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 — o le tulafono muamua lea ua aloa'ia ai aia tatau a tagata muamua i o latou fanua.

O nisi o setete ma teritori e iai a latou lava tulafono e fa'atatau i mata'upu i aia tatau i fanua, ae le o iai se tulafono i fanua e ta-aofa'i uma ai Ausetalia.

The history and legacy of the Wave Hill walk-off

O a mea e aofia i aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua?

O aia tatau i fanua e na o 'ele'ele e pulea e malo e mafai ona aofia ai - e fa'aigoaina o Crown Land - e le aofia ai fanua pulea ma'oti. O fanua e toe fa'fo'i i tagata muamua e le mafai ona latou fa'atauina atu pe lisi i se mokesi i nisi tagata. O fanua e avea ma esetete tausi mo Tagata Muamua e tausimea iai ma faia iai fa'ai'uga i auala e fa'aaogaina ai.

O pulega 'land councils' na fa'avaeina e avea ma sui o tagata Aboriginal ma atumotu Torres Straits e gafa ma le pulea o fanua ua toe fa'afo'i i tagata muamua. O pulega nei e fesoasoani i nu'u ma alaalafaga o tagata muamua i le fa'aaogasauniga ma fa'amoemoe fa'ale-aganu'u, si'osi'omaga ma atina'e.

Explainer: The '67 Referendum

O le a le 'ese'esega o aia tatau i fanua o tagata Aboriginal, native title ma se feagaiga?

E ui ina tai tutusa, peita'i e 'ese'ese o latou uiga:

Aia tatau i fanua: Tulafono e faia e malo e toe fa'afo'i ai nisi o vaega 'ele'ele o fanua Crown land i tagata Aboriginal ma atumotu Torres Strait, e tele ina pulea e land councils.
Pule fa'a-aganu'u: Amana'iaina e le tulafono o aia tatau a nisi Tagata Muamua i fanua ma vaitafe i lalo o a latou tu ma aga'ifanua.
Feagaiga: Maliega aloa'ia i le va o le malo ma Tagata Muamua. O atunu'u e pei o Aotearoa Niu Sila ma Kanata ua iai feagaiga - e le'i iai se feagaiga i Ausetalia nei.

The Wave Hill walk-off, led by Vincent Lingiari, was a pivotal moment in Australian Aboriginal land rights history. In 1966, Gurindji stockmen, domestic workers, and their families walked off Wave Hill Station in protest against poor working conditions and a lack of land rights. Credit: National Museum Australia

Aisea e taua ai aia tatau a tagata Aboriginal i fanua i aso nei?

O le toe fa'afo'i o fanua ma 'elele'ele, e toe fausia ai so'otaga o tagata muamua i le gagana, aganu'u ma le Country. E fesoasoani ai i mata'upu e pei o a'oga, soifua maloloina ma le tuto'atasi i le atina'e o le tamao'aiga.

E pei ona fa'amatalaina e Dr Virginia Marshall, o se fafine Wiradjuri Nyemba:

“The water speaks to us or the trees speak to us, but we don't need to take on a Western environmental ideology… Our law and our creation stories guide our understanding.”

The law of the land standing firm for this year's Garma

Se fa'ata'ita'iga: Darkinjung Land Council

O le Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council, na fa'avaeina i lalo o le New South Wales Aboriginal Land Rights Act.

E manatua e Uncle Barry Duncan, o se tamaloa Gomeroi lona amataga i le 1983:

“It brought this community together. It was a way of getting land invested back into Aboriginal ownership.”

“Now people know… we were very wise and smart with the land holdings.”

Vincent Lingiari beside a plaque marking the handing over of the lease in Wattie Creek, 1975. Credit: National Museum Australia

Understanding Indigenous knowledge of weather and seasons

The impacts of First Nations tourism

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Do you have any questions or topic ideas? Send us an email to australiaexplained@sbs.com.au 

Transcript

Presenter 1

SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways across Australia.

Presenter 2

You're listening to Australia Explained, an SBS audio podcast helping you navigate life in Australia.

Nakayh Hutchings

Yama, I'm Nakayh Hutchings, a Wanneroo Rongai woman from central west New South Wales, and joining you today from Cammraygal country in Sydney. Welcome to this special episode of Australia Explained, where we explore indigenous land rights. You may hear the protest chants, what do we want, land rights. But what does it really mean? Land is at the heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, culture, and well-being. Known as country, it includes land, waterways, skies, and all living things. In this episode of Australia Explained, we explore indigenous land rights, what they involve, which land is covered, who can make claims, and the impact on First Nations communities. For many years, the connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to their land wasn't recognised. Land rights laws were created to give them legal control over their traditional lands. Before colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples cared for the land for tens of thousands of years. But colonisation took that land without any agreement based on the false idea of terra nullius, meaning land belonging to no one. The land rights movement gained attention in 1966 with the Wave Hill walk off. Then in 1967, a national referendum allowed the government to make laws for First Nations people. In 1976, the Aboriginal Land Rights Northern Territory Act was passed, the first law to recognise traditional land claims. While some states have their own land rights, Australia doesn't have a national law yet. This also led to the establishment of land councils to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and help manage land that's being returned to them. Land rights only apply to government owned crown land, not private property, and it can't be sold or mortgaged. It's held in trust so First Nations people can care for their country and make decisions about it. In discussing First Nations decision making, Dr. Virginia Marshall, a Wiradjuri Nyemba woman and water rights expert, explains the deep significance of the connections that First Nations people have with the land and water.

Dr. Virginia Marshall

The water speaks to us, or the, or the trees speak to us, but we don't need to take on a Western environmental, um, ideology and dialogue that isn't. Based in our understanding and our law and our understanding of our creation stories.

Nakayh Hutchings

So, let's breakdown something that can be a bit confusing. Land rights, native title, and treaty. They're often talked about together, but they each mean different things. Land rights are laws made by the government that return certain areas of land to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These lands are usually managed through land councils which represent and support the communities. Then there's native title. That's a legal recognition that some First Nations people still have rights to their land and waters based off their traditional laws and customs, customs that have been maintained for thousands of years. And finally, treaty. A treaty is a formal agreement between governments and First Nations peoples. It's something countries like New Zealand and Canada already have, but here in Australia, we're still working toward one. There's no national treaty, at least not yet. Together, these approaches aim to deliver justice, recognition and real change. Restoring land allows communities to reconnect with language, culture, and country. And it also supports things like housing, health, and economic independence. Dr Marshall explains the significance.

Dr. Virginia Marshall

We need to be self-determining whether it's leading a committee, leading research, leading new ideas, forging new opportunities and partnerships in technology, um, you know, and also health.

Nakayh Hutchings

The real life impact of land rights has been profound. The The Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council, founded under the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Rights Act, has become a powerful example of what land rights can achieve. Uncle Barry Duncan, a a Gomeroi man, was one of the original founders of Darkinjung, which was incorporated in his parents' backyard in 1983.

Uncle Barry Duncan

What it means for me is that brought this community together. It was a way of getting land invested back into Aboriginal ownership.

Nakayh Hutchings

over his lifetime, Uncle Barry has seen how land. Rights have enabled economic empowerment and self-determination for his community on the central coast of New South Wales. Uncle Barry explains.

Uncle Barry Duncan

I think that the future now, is that when the original land rights got handed down, there was a lot of talk from non-Aboriginal people about how we are going to take their backyards, and claim really stuff that was said about us that was a lot of detriment, but now people know, I think in this generation, that we were very wise and smart with the land holdings.

Nakayh Hutchings

It's important to understand that giving indigenous people land rights doesn't mean taking away people's homes or backyards. Land rights apply to specific areas of crown land, government owned land, not private property.

Nakayh Hutchings

It's about returning land to First Nations communities where there is a recognised connection, often through historical occupation or cultural significance. Despite progress, challenges remain. The process can be slow and complex, and only limited land is available. Land rights are closely tied to broader efforts for justice, reconciliation and recognition of First Nation sovereignty. For those new to Australia, understanding land rights is a powerful step toward connecting with the country's deeper story. It's not about losing land, it's about recognising and restoring a connection that has existed for over 60,000 years between First Nations people and the land. Thank you for listening to this episode of Australia Explained, written and hosted by me, Nakayh Hutchings, and Australia Explained managing editor, Rosa Germian.

Presenter 2

This was an SBS audio podcast. For more Australia explained stories, visit sbs.com.au/australiaexplained.

Maram Ismail

Subscribe or follow the Australia Explained podcast for more valuable information and tips about settling into your new life in Australia. Do you have any questions or topic ideas, send us an email to australiaexplained@sbs.com.au.

END OF TRANSCRIPT