The Mabo Case: Its Significance for Australia and the World

A judicial revolution occurred in 1992 when the High Court discarded the doctrine of terra nullius in the Mabo case. The ruling had repercussions for Indigenous peoples within Australia and around the world, especially in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. In this lecture presented by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Professor Peter Russell considers the background and consequences of the Mabo case, contextualising it within the international struggle of Indigenous peoples to overcome their colonized status. He weaves together a historical narrative of Eddie Mabo’s life with an account of the legal and ideological premises of European imperialism, outlining the implications of the Mabo ruling for judicial, constitutional and Indigenous politics.