Human Rights and Reconciliation
Thank you to Andrea Durbach and the Australian Human Rights Centre for the invitation to speak tonight, and also to Amber Rowe for her organisation of this event.
Thank you to Andrea Durbach and the Australian Human Rights Centre for the invitation to speak tonight, and also to Amber Rowe for her organisation of this event.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and National Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
I would like to begin by acknowledging all the traditional owners of the land where we meet, the Ngunawal Ngambri people. Thank you Matilda House for your welcome and for joining us here today. It is a pleasure to jointly address the Press Club with Fred Chaney from Reconciliation Australia. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and Reconciliation Australia have a history of working in partnership together.
I’m sorry that I can’t be with you in person to deliver these remarks, but through my voice for the day, Mr Glenn Pearson, I am very pleased to be invited to talk about my perspectives on the new arrangements in Indigenous affairs. Glenn – I owe you one!
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Ending violence in Indigenous communities Forum
This paper seeks to discuss the relationship between human rights broadly and Indigenous rights specifically within a sustainable development framework. In doing so, I will provide an overview of human rights standards relevant to Indigenous peoples and their implications for sustainable development approaches. The paper will conclude with a brief discussion of the challenges and opportunities that exist for a sustainable development approach to Indigenous issues within Australia.
The two reports launched in Adelaide today provide a scorecard on how Australian governments are meeting their obligations to ensure that Australia's Indigenous peoples can fully exercise their rights and interests.
It is a particular pleasure for me to have been invited here today to launch the City of Dandenong's Diversity Action Plan. Allow me a few moments to explain why.
I would like to thank ACROD for inviting me to deliver the Kenneth Jenkins Oration; both because I regard it as a privilege and because it gives me the opportunity to address a gathering of the key people in the disability field at an important time in the work of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
First, it's great to celebrate our national day with such a large, diverse and - as we've seen - talented group of Australians. And may I particularly congratulate those who've chosen to join us as Australians today.
This is a rare event for the Human Rights Commission - a media conference convened by the President with other Commissioners. I can recall it occurring only once before in the Commission's history. The fact that we are doing this today reflects the seriousness of the issue we are discussing.
May I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri people, and pay my respect to their elders past and present.
In the second century AD, Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, thanked one of his brothers for teaching him to value "the conception of the state with one law for all, based upon individual equality and freedom of speech, and of a sovereignty which prizes above all things the liberty of the subject."1
I have been asked to speak today about the contributions made to Australia by women from diverse cultures. A topic difficult for its breadth, depth and complexity - like our cultures and identities themselves. Made more difficult by the variety of women's experiences and the way we choose to define 'contribution.'
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