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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

How my perspective as a non-Indigenous person was profoundly changed

In an an opinion piece for The Canberra Times, Commission President Hugh de Kretser reflects on how the truth-telling process can change the perspectives of non-Indigenous Australians like himself. It follows this week's publication of the final reports of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the first formal truth-telling inquiry into injustices against First Peoples in Victoria.

Category, Opinion
Race Discrimination

The key to ending racism? It's right here in these PMs' speeches

Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman reflects on how two speeches from two Prime Ministers, half a century apart, hold the key to ending racism. It comes at a significant marker in Australia’s history, fifty years since the Racial Discrimination Act came into effect.

Category, Opinion
Childrens Rights

Australian parents and kids deserve better

In a joint op-ed, National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds and Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay contend that the proposed ban on social media access for Australians under 16 merely addresses surface issues without improving overall safety on these platforms.

Category, Opinion
Business and Human Rights

Pandemic probe: Statistics can’t capture the loss of trust and confidence

The Covid-19 response inquiry report is an important first step, but there is much more that needs to be done if the government wants to start rebuilding public trust. The number one lesson should be that response measures do not operate in a vacuum. The full human impact needs to be understood and...

Category, Opinion
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

The year our Voice broke: The fallout from the failed referendum

“It’s gone.” That’s what Mick Gooda said to me plaintively half an hour into counting the votes to enshrine a First Nations Voice to parliament in our constitution on October 14, 2023. I’d started that day – a year ago today – with a high level of optimism that Australia was going to do this, that...

Category, Opinion

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