Religion and Belief Systems Post 1945

Aboriginal spirituality is founded on the belief that indigenous people have an inextricable connection to the land. They are part of the land and the land is part them. The cases of Mabo, wik and native title clarified our government’s response to land claims and explored the rights of aboriginal peoples who had maintained continual contact with their traditional land and their heritage.
The Mabo decision of 1992 was the first official recognition of the rights of aboriginal peoples to continue to observe and express their spirituality on their traditional lands. The high court of Australia delivered its ever important decision which rewrote Australian common law and gave aide in the struggle for the recognition of aboriginal land rights. This landmark case recognised that native title did exist in Australia and that aboriginal people still had the right to make claims over their traditional land. The Mabo case overturned the theory that Australia was terra nullius. The Mabo case displays importance of the land rights movement in relation to contemporary aboriginal spiritualities
The Wik decision of 1996 was another landmark in the history of Aboriginal land rights.  After the Mabo case it was believed that pastoral leases destroyed native title.  The Wik decision highlighted that it was possible for native title and some types of pastoral leases to co-exist, in certain cases.   The high court decided that native title and pastoral leases could co exist side by side, but when aboriginal and pastoralists rights were in conflict the rights of the pastoralist would overcome those of the aborigines.
The native title act validated the existence of non indigenous welfare in land such as free hold leases, mining leases and other grants and licences. The government chose to respond to the Mabo case by establishing the Native Title Act. While many saw the Act as a positive move forward, as it presented a way for Indigenous people to make land rights claims without...