Chronology of legislation

	Legislation with regard to Aboriginal land right
1770	James Cook lands at the cost of Australia where today there is Sydney. He takes possession of the land because he has the idea of „terra nullius" (= land that doesn't belong to anyone). As they see "not one inch of cultivated ground" they occupy the land in the name of this concept.
1967	An addition to the constitution transforms the right to pass laws concerning the Aborigines from the individual states to the Federal government. The Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders get the Australian citizenship.
1975	The Racial Discrimination Act is enacted. It determines the equality of the Aborigines before the law and in daily life.
1976	The federal government passes the first land right law: The Aboriginal Land Right Act. It concerns the Nothern Territories and allows the Aborigines to claim land where a traditionally relationship can be established.
1983	The New South Wales Land Right Act recognizes that land in this state was traditionally owned by Aborigines, and allows them to claim vacant, unused Crown Land.
1980`s	The government policy changes from integration to self-determination. The resistance from the governments of the individual states increases. In prisons young black people die and proof is found of racial behaviour.
Oct. 1985	Uluru (better known by its European name ‘Ayers Rock’) is officially transferred to the Mutijulu Aboriginal community, on condition that continued access to the monolith is guaranteed.
June 1992	The so-called "Mabo" decision from the High Court recognizes the existence of land title before the first European settlement. It says that Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders should be able to claim native title if they could show a "close and continuing" relationship with the land in question.That law overturnes the concept of "terra nullius". The Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders are acknowledged as the original owners of the continent. The "Mabo" decision tries not to disturb lawful non-Aboriginal land title.
1993	The government enacts the Native Title Act, which states in a preamble that pastoral leases extuinguish Aboriginal land rights. A federal tribunal is founded to validate existing land titles and to decide on compensation if Aboriginal claims are extinct. Most states take over this legislation, except Western Australia, where mining interests are particularly strong and where about 40 per cent of the state could fall subject to native title claims. The government of Western Australia legislates to extinguish all native titles and offers only some "rights to traditional usage" of land.
March 1995	The High Court rules that the Native Title Act is valid, and declares Western Australia`s rival legislation to be unconstitutional. About 33% of the Northern Territory was granted to Aboriginal people on 30th September, 1989. Only in South Australia the Aborigines own larger parts of the land because white people are uninterested in this parts. The Northern Territories are located 1000km from all coasts, they haven`t changed except in the last ten years because of the rising number of tourists. Still the implementation of land rights legislation differs from state to state. Australia still has to go a long way towards solving the problem.
Dec. 1996	The High Court of Australia overturns the longheld assumption that Aborigines have no claim to government-owned land leased out for farming and mining activity (so-called pastoral leases). About 40 percent of Australia is leased land. The 4-to3 decision started heavy discussions between all groups.