Mabo: Ten years on

• Larissa Behrendt

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04 September 2002In this occasional paper Larissa Behrendt, professor of law and indigenous studies, looks at the legacy of Mabo. There is no doubt that the elation about the overturning of the doctrine of terra nullius was deserved in the sense that the case can be seen as an important legal, symbolic and psychological turning point. In that way, the Mabo case remains a solid reminder that historical wrongs can be righted, that courts can remedy legal fictions and those historically excluded can be brought back into the recognition and protection of the legal system.
However, in relation to the substantive benefits delivered by the case, the original excitement of what the case may bring have been sobering and the expectations of what can be delivered by the judgment
have evaporated.