Six states and two territories-this is Australia as we know it today, but before Colonisation, there were over 500 different clan groups or 'nations' around the continent, many with distinctive cultures, beliefs and languages. The colonisation of Australia had a devastating impact on indigenous people who have lived on this land for over 60,000 years. It was the momentous Mabo case that finally legally acknowledged the history of Indigenous dispossession in Australia. It abolished the legal fiction of "terra nullius" (a Latin term meaning "land belonging to no one) and altered the foundation of Australian land law. Australia's Federal Parliament passed the Native Title Act 1993, which established a legal framework for native title claims throughout Australia by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In this episode, we're going to learn from Kylie, Robin, Deanna and Gerry about some aspects of work conducted by the department, including land rights, and how this can play an important role towards reconciliation. Always was, Always will be...