Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
In his introduction to the announcement of the 2020 summit the Prime Minister was succinct in his diagnosis of the challenges we face as a nation in today’s global community. He says and I quote
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land where we meet today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and I pay my respects to your elders and to the ancestors. On behalf of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission can I welcome everyone here today and thank you for participating in this launch. Thank you to Rob Welsh, the Chairperson of the Metro Local Aboriginal Land Council for welcoming us all to Gadigal country.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of Cairns, the land where we meet today, and to pay my respects to their elders. I would also like to thank the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and Professor Ernest Hunter for organising this event and inviting me to open this very important conference.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
It is very fitting that we discuss native title in the context of a treaty just one month after a very significant native title decision, the Miriuwung Gajerrong decision [1], has been handed down by the High Court. 406 pages of honed legal reasoning cut through almost the entire history of non-Indigenous land law in Western Australia to decide the final shape that native title would take for the Miriuwung Gajerrong people.
Disability Rights
I make this acknowledgment in all my public presentations around Australia, not only because I believe that it is good manners to do so, but also because recognising the indigenous history of this land is an important element in recognising the truth of our diversity as a people.
Disability Rights
I'd like to start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people, in whose language Canberra means meeting place as you probably know.
Disability Rights
I always enjoy receiving an invitation from Victoria to talk about Action Plans because I know that Victoria is a leader in the country in terms of organisational commitment to developing Action Plans.
Disability Rights
Thanks for the opportunity to speak to this conference today. You are embarking on this topic, in my view, at just the right time. Unemployment is the lowest it has been for over a decade. Our economy is strong and needing more employees, and our population is ageing, reducing the relative size of the workforce. In coming years, there will be fewer of us to support more of us, so as many people as possible need to be working and paying taxes rather than receiving welfare benefits. What better time to introduce employees with disabilities in larger numbers.
Disability Rights
I suppose we all have things we've passionate about - causes that we'd be prepared to die for, issues that give us the will to carry on in the face of criticism and ridicule.
Disability Rights
Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney, Australia
Disability Rights
I want to talk today about the relationship between the lofty principles of international law on human rights and the practical realities for people with a disability in Australia.
Disability Rights
I have to admit that two months ago when I took the title " The Disability Discrimination Act and the continuing battle for equal rights for people with a disability" for my paper today I was not attaching great importance to the precise words of that title.
Commission – General
13 November 2006 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Forum, Sydney I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners and custodians of the land where we are meeting on today. I would also like to thank our distinguished guests, the Attorney General, the Honorable Philip Ruddock MP, and Professor George Williams for participating in this forum. BALANCING NATIONAL SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Legal
Paper presented at the Homelessness and Human Rights Seminar Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 12.30 – 2pm, Monday 7 April 2008 133 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW
Rights and Freedoms
Homelessness has, I'm sure, been on your agendas for many years. More recently, both Parity and the Rudd federal government (if I can put you both in the same league) has given it a much increased focus. Today, I want to identify the many human rights issues raised in the context of homelessness, and suggest how a human rights framework would help address what is an ever-increasing problem in our society.
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