![]() Land issues have posed problems in the Torres Strait. Islanders have experienced discrimination and inadequate access to employment and services. ![]() There is some contemporary concern over island flooding. The contemporary economy is based on fishing, but much of the population is dependent on welfare services. The establishment of the TSRA has reduced demands for substantially greater autonomy. The TSRA has 20 representatives and is responsible for a range of economic and cultural issues. Greater powers were subsequently devolved to the Island Councils, and there are now eighteen of these, and to the Torres Strait Regional Authority that was established in 1994. There has been growing pressure for increased self-determination and, in the late 1980s there was pressure for self-government (along the lines of that in the Cook Islands) because of what was perceived as neglect by the federal and Queensland state governments. The case took ten years, during which time Eddie Mabo and three other plaintiffs died, but in 1992 the High Court upheld the claim. They claimed continuous enjoyment of their land rights to Murray Island (Mer) and thus that these rights had not been extinguished by the annexure of the islands by the Queensland government in 1879. In 1982 Eddie Mabo and four other Meriam people of the Murray Islands in Torres Strait sought to confirm their traditional land rights in the High Court. Historical contextīecause of their marginal location Torres Strait Islanders largely escaped the early excesses of European invasion and settlement until well into the nineteenth century, when a pearling and trading economy began to develop. In the twentieth century there was considerable migration to the Cape York peninsula on the mainland and to the large urban centres of Cairns, Townsville and Brisbane. The Torres Strait Islanders have two main Melanesian languages (and a pidgin English) and is increasingly concentrated in the urban centre of Thursday Island (within the Torres Strait). ![]() There is some mobility between the two areas. The Melanesian Torres Strait Islanders have lived in the islands north of Queensland for at least 10,000 years and are closely related to the nearby Papuan people of Papua New Guinea. We have a small favour to ask: if you appreciate our work, would you mind considering making a donation to support our work? Thanks for using our World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples! We hope you find it interesting.
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