Watson, Nicole --- "Where To From Here?" [2001] IndigLawB 54; (2001) 5(11) Indigenous Law Bulletin 5

Where To From Here?

by Nicole Watson

Future legal challenges for Indigenous people –
a perspective from a young Indigenous talent

Until very recently, the transplanted English legal system was openly and unashamedly used as an instrument of oppression against Indigenous people. The dispossession and genocide that were cloaked by the lies of terra nullius and the mythology of social darwinism, sat paradoxically with the right to a fair trial, the freedom of speech and other trademarks of democracy.

The watershed decision of Mabo v The State of Queensland (No. 2) [1992] HCA 23; (1992) 175 CLR 1 demonstrated that the glaciers of Australia’s racist past were beginning to thaw and the long journey towards national maturity had begun. The challenge awaiting the next generation of Indigenous lawyers is to facilitate that journey, by ensuring that the legal system does not lag behind the nation’s other institutions.

A truly just legal system will not automatically give preference to the written accounts of ignorant and poorly educated colonial thieves over the oral testimony of holocaust survivors. A truly just legal system will not underplay the riches of our ancient cultures as a bundle of rights to be extinguished by a litany of historical tenures, in a piecemeal fashion. Neither will a just legal system sanction the ethnic cleansing of Australian suburbs through the blind application of mandatory sentencing regimes.

The evolution from a neo-colonial institution to a just and equitable legal system will probably not occur during our lifetimes. However, we must be vigilant in ensuring that powerful legacies are left behind for future generations to build on.

In agitating for change, there must be some unity between the providers of legal services to Aboriginal communities. The ramifications of an adverse decision may have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond the communities of the parties. Consequently, our advocates must be strategic in ensuring that the only battles that end up in court are the ones that we can win.

Lastly, legal developments cannot be viewed in isolation of events in the political arena. Gains in the courts must not be usurped through ineffective political representation in Canberra. Although ATSIC has produced some positive results for communities, it has stunted the growth of the Indigenous political struggle by integrating it into the colonial structure. Over the next twenty years political power should be returned to the rightful repositories - Indigenous communities.

Nicole Watson is a member of the Birri Gubba tribe of central Queensland. She is a lawyer employed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.