Events

"Tues, November 8, 2005:
Discussion on:
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS:TRACING THE HISTORY AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS
At: Suffolk Law School, 4:30, Room TBA

BY DR ANTONIO (TONY) BUTI
SCHOOL OF LAW, MURDOCH UNIVERSITY

In 1967, the Australian people agreed in a referendum to amend the Constitution so as to allow the Commonwealth (Federal) Parliament to make laws for Aboriginal people. Since that time, the Commonwealth and State Governments have had concurrent powers in relation to Aboriginal affairs.This presentation examines and discusses the major legal and political landmarks in relation to Australian Aboriginal affairs since 1967, in particular the issues of land rights and the 'stolen generations'. In relation to the former, the major landmarks are the Mabo decision and the Native Title Act. In relation to the 'stolen generations', the major issues have been the National Childhood Separation Inquiry and the demands for an apology and compensation.

Biography: Dr. Antonio (Tony) Buti is a Senior Lecturer, Associate Dean (Research) and JLV/Louis Johnson Fellow at the School of Law, Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. He is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the High Court of Australia. He has worked in private practice, as a human rights attorney with the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA and as a sports player agent. He has written numerous articles in relation to the removal of Indigenous children from their families in Australia, Canada and the USA. His Oxford University doctorate thesis on guardianship law and Aboriginal childhood separation has been published in book form (titled 'Separated'). He is currently undertaking a JSD at the Yale Law School on the issue of reparations and legal philosophy.

"The American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region of the forests, plains, pueblos, or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the land that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers; he belongs just as the buffalo belongs ..."

— Luther Standing Bear