The Aboriginal Legal Service: born out of injustice Rebecca Boteler ABC News, February 13, 2012 Not so long ago, Aboriginal people weren’t even recognised as citizens of their own country. They didn’t have the right to vote, the right tohave legal representation or even the right to fight for their own land.
In the early 1970s, an organisation was started to right the wrongs of injustice and give Indigenous people equality before the law. 40 years later, the Aboriginal Legal Service has become much more than that.
A new book, ‘Justice’ documents the story of the ALS, from its humble beginnings to an organisation at the forefront of every major issue facing Aboriginal people today. Its author Fiona Skyring says when the ALS opened its doors in 1973,
there was initially just one full time lawyer…….
the ALS was instrumental in securing land rights agreements for the communities at Noonkanbah and Oombulgurri, paving the way for native title claims in WA.
Land rights wasn’t the only battle the ALS was fighting…..
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-13/the-als-in-the-last-40-years-feature/3827464?section=wa
