Thread by @iMusing

Marrawah Johnson: we can not rely on litigation to save us but the significance of Mabo No 2 (1992) - the High Court rejected legal fiction of terra nullius and Wik Peoples bringing the principles of Mabo to the mainland and survival of native title on pastoral leases #RebLawAu

there has been a conscious and intentional uncoupling of Indigenous rights from human rights - Marrawah Johnson #RebLawAu

human rights are not new to Aboriginal law. It is colonial law that stripped First Nations people of their human rights. It has been convenient for settler colonial law to violate the rights that are enshrined in First Nations law - Marrawah Johnson, abridged #RebLawAu

when it comes to climate change, it is necessary to consciously and intentionally re-couple human rights with Indigenous rights, and to do that with power - Marrawah Johnson #RebLawAu

Fleur Ramsay pays tribute to the land rights movement leading up to Mabo. She has some faith that in the law but it constantly disappoints. Climate litigation and addressing climate change is not possible without Indigenous leadership, which is often erased #RebLawAu

an example, Marrawah Johnson says, is from 2014 when the Wangan and Jagalingou people said no to the Adani mine and how that changed the entrenched culture of accepting coal mining in central Queensland, the expectation people would sign away their native title rights. #RebLawAu

Marrawah Johnson describes stepping outside the bounds of native title structures and pursue a public campaign to highlight resistance to Adani. They were then able to hire their own lawyers and briefed counsel #RebLawAu

Q about the role of Native Title corps in climate change? Marrawah Johnson says native title is - now - a travesty. The internal workings and operation of the NTA is at odds with its preamble due to successive amendments, mostly under Howard, also Brandis (2017) #RebLawAu

the 2017 amendment to the Native Title Act passed by the Turnbull government is known as “the Adani amendment” btw.

the monocultural legal profession. Fleur Johnson says when most lawyers come from elite schools there is a limited understanding of what environmental law is. Pacifik Peoples have to be in leadership positions on Pacifik matters #RebLawAu

reform from the inside of mining corporations and government “is not really how it works out”, says Marrawah Johnson. Need to build other career pathways for First Nations People to work for their peoples rights. #RebLawAu

distinct Indigenous rights in the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019! Wow I did not know that.

it is not that cases thought up by lawyers are unhelpful, but the direction of the case requires collaboration with local community, with people who are educated and strong in their own cultural practices - Marrawah Johnson, abridged #RebLawAu

lmao excellent free advice for lawyers here: humility, listen, build trust, co-design of cases with cultural consultants, don’t come in being the big expert, secure funding. #RebLawAu

decolonising environmental law: storytelling, artist in residence as a really powerful way of communicating - Fleur Ramsay #RebLawAu

correction, Fleur Ramsay:

https://twitter.com/imusing/status/1441574564216016901

we need lawyers to step UP, says Fleur Ramsay, to understand how colonisation works, she has to fight racism in the [environmental] movement, people need to have an understanding of history, the history of Australia, of the Pacific. #RebLawAu

the apocalyptic upturning of Indigenous ways of life - colonising. The coloniser says to First Peoples: “we see you but you can not own things” and if we see you with the privileges we award ourselves, we are going to strip them from you - Marrawah Johnson #RebLawAu

it is not an accident that there is not critical thinking anymore - Marrawah Johnson (hard agree) #RebLawAu

the take home message here is STEP UP #RebLawAu

Q about internal disagreement. Marrawah Johnson reflects in what her ancestors would have done. It is fundamental to Aboriginal law to protect your land for future generations. It is no one’s right to sign away land, future generations are not here to consent. #RebLawAu

btw that Adani amendment specifically did away with the consensus decision making model and installed majoritarianism instead.

Marrawah Johnson: the nuances of families’ specific responsibilities to place are not realised by forced agreement making processes imposed under the NTA. #RebLawAu

points to how Turnbull promised Adani he would “fix” native title on a handshake. Indeed he did. #RebLawAu

and it’s a wrap. Remember to step up, law people. This is urgent. #RebLawAu

on art and litigation, this incredible piece at the National Museum in Canberra: