Michael Mansell
Encyclopedia
Michael Mansell is an Aboriginal
lawyer
and activist, who has dedicated his life to social, political and legal reform to improve the lives and social standing of Tasmanian Aborigines
.
Mansell identifies himself as a Palawa
descended from the Trawlwoolway on his mother's side and Pinterrairer on his father's side, both of which are indigenous groups from north-eastern Tasmania.
As a result, Mansell undertook a degree in law at the University of Tasmania
. Upon graduating, he began a career as a lawyer
, attempting to defend the rights of Aboriginals, whilst pursuing an agenda of reform. Since then he has become a qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Tasmania
, and the High Court of Australia
.
He has also been both Chairman and Legal Manager of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which he helped set up in 1972, and he is the secretary of the Aboriginal Provisional Government
.
In 1987 Mansell was named 'Aboriginal of the Year', and played a crucial role in the drafting of legislation for the Native Title Act 1993
that arose out of the Mabo v Queensland
case.
In the wider Australian community, Michael Mansell has often been seen as controversial, having resorted to confrontational tactics in order to push issues of Indigenous rights and past mistreatment onto the public agenda in Tasmania. Mansell has often been involved in public confrontation with politicians and the media. One area where he is most in conflict with the Australian and Tasmanian governments is over the issue of sovereignty
.
In April, 1987, at a conference in Libya called 'A Conference on Peace and Revolution in the Pacific', Mansell spoke to a large international audience, claiming that in Australia, Aboriginal people were forbidden to enter hotels, and that in Australia it was a common pastime for white Australians to bury Indigenous people in the earth and kick their heads off. Mansell's allegations were widely reported in the Australian press at the time.
To gain international recognition for the cause of Indigenous Tasmanians, he established an alternative Aboriginal passport
. In 1988 he secured official recognition for the passport from Gaddafi who declared it valid for travel to Libya
. Mansell said he had Gaddafi's support for the establishment of a separate Aboriginal nation.
In 2001 Mansell stated that "there were more phoney than real Aborigines in Tasmania and more than half the voters in the 1996 ATSIC election were not Aboriginal". Mansell's Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre brought court challenges against the claims of Aboriginality of a number of candidates to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
.
In February 2008 Mansell said on Australian radio that although he was happy that the new Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
would offer a formal public apology on behalf of all Australians for the treatment of the "Stolen Generations", he referred to it as a 'half-measure' if it was without compensation. On the first anniversary of the apology, Mansell said that the apology had not improved the situation of aborigines, nor had the government stopped welfare policies based on race.
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and activist, who has dedicated his life to social, political and legal reform to improve the lives and social standing of Tasmanian Aborigines
Tasmanian Aborigines
The Tasmanian Aborigines were the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Before British colonisation in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Parlevar. A number of historians point to introduced disease as the major cause of the destruction of the full-blooded...
.
Mansell identifies himself as a Palawa
Tasmanian Aborigines
The Tasmanian Aborigines were the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Before British colonisation in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Parlevar. A number of historians point to introduced disease as the major cause of the destruction of the full-blooded...
descended from the Trawlwoolway on his mother's side and Pinterrairer on his father's side, both of which are indigenous groups from north-eastern Tasmania.
Legal career
From an early age, Mansell protested at the status and treatment of Tasmanian Aboriginals within the community. However he soon discovered that mere protest was an ineffective measure to achieve his aims of land rights and improved conditions, and the radical tactics that he and other Indigenous rights protesters employed in the 1970s were abandoned.As a result, Mansell undertook a degree in law at the University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...
. Upon graduating, he began a career as a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, attempting to defend the rights of Aboriginals, whilst pursuing an agenda of reform. Since then he has become a qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Tasmania
Supreme Court of Tasmania
The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, and is able to both receive appeals from lower courts, and able to be appealed from.The ordinary sittings of the...
, and the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
.
He has also been both Chairman and Legal Manager of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, which he helped set up in 1972, and he is the secretary of the Aboriginal Provisional Government
Aboriginal Provisional Government
The Aboriginal Provisional Government is an Indigenous Australian independence movement.-Earlier activity:In 1988 Michael Mansell, Clarrie Isaacs and other activists who later formed the APG, travelled to Libya using Aboriginal passports used by the group...
.
In 1987 Mansell was named 'Aboriginal of the Year', and played a crucial role in the drafting of legislation for the Native Title Act 1993
Native Title Act 1993
The Native Title Act of 1993 provides for determinations of native title in Australia. The Act was passed by the Keating Labor Government in response to the High Court's decision in Mabo v Queensland...
that arose out of the Mabo v Queensland
Mabo v Queensland
Mabo v Queensland was a landmark High Court of Australia decision recognising native title in Australia for the first time...
case.
Publications
Some of the subjects that Michael Mansell has written about include the Australian Constitution, Aboriginal Customary law, Cultural and Intellectual Property, The Human Genome Project, Land Rights and Aboriginal Sovereignty.Activism and commentary
Within the indigenous community, Michael Mansell has mostly enjoyed strong support. One group, the Lia Pootah, claim that Mansell and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre have monopolised indigenous issues since the early/mid 1990's, to the detriment of other Tasmanian indigenous groups.In the wider Australian community, Michael Mansell has often been seen as controversial, having resorted to confrontational tactics in order to push issues of Indigenous rights and past mistreatment onto the public agenda in Tasmania. Mansell has often been involved in public confrontation with politicians and the media. One area where he is most in conflict with the Australian and Tasmanian governments is over the issue of sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
.
In April, 1987, at a conference in Libya called 'A Conference on Peace and Revolution in the Pacific', Mansell spoke to a large international audience, claiming that in Australia, Aboriginal people were forbidden to enter hotels, and that in Australia it was a common pastime for white Australians to bury Indigenous people in the earth and kick their heads off. Mansell's allegations were widely reported in the Australian press at the time.
To gain international recognition for the cause of Indigenous Tasmanians, he established an alternative Aboriginal passport
Aboriginal passport
An Aboriginal Passport refers to various travel documents of varying degrees of legality issued to or by Indigenous Australians.-Western Australia:...
. In 1988 he secured official recognition for the passport from Gaddafi who declared it valid for travel to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. Mansell said he had Gaddafi's support for the establishment of a separate Aboriginal nation.
In 2001 Mansell stated that "there were more phoney than real Aborigines in Tasmania and more than half the voters in the 1996 ATSIC election were not Aboriginal". Mansell's Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre brought court challenges against the claims of Aboriginality of a number of candidates to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives...
.
In February 2008 Mansell said on Australian radio that although he was happy that the new Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
would offer a formal public apology on behalf of all Australians for the treatment of the "Stolen Generations", he referred to it as a 'half-measure' if it was without compensation. On the first anniversary of the apology, Mansell said that the apology had not improved the situation of aborigines, nor had the government stopped welfare policies based on race.
External links
- Keeping up the fight, Stateline Tasmania, September 17, 2010.