Unfinished Justice: Honouring Mabo Day and the Unmet Promise of the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission
- Brian AJ Newman, LLB
- Jun 3, 2025
- 3 min read
Today, as we publish this reflection on the enduring legacy of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, we do so on a day of profound national significance—Mabo Day. Observed annually on 3 June, Mabo Day commemorates the courageous efforts and remarkable achievements of Eddie Koiki Mabo, a proud Mer Island man, who successfully challenged and overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius through the landmark 1992 High Court decision. This historic victory not only recognised the rightful ownership and connection of Indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands but also reshaped the very foundations of Australia's legal and social landscape, affirming the principles of justice, equity, and reconciliation.