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Disability Rights

International day for people with disabilities

I am here today partly because Michelle Castagna was quick off the mark in organising me to come before I had accepted any of the numerous other possibilities for events for the international day.

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

USING THE LAW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Graeme Innes AM (2007)

Scarlett Finney was only six when she saw the brochures for the Hills Grammar School, set in park-like grounds in Sydney's outer suburbs. She indicated her keenness to attend "the school in the bush". Her parents were prepared to pay the fees, and saw the setting and curriculum as providing her with a great education. But the school refused her enrolment due to the fact that she had spina bifida, and sometimes used a wheelchair [1].

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Mornington Peninsula Shire Conference

Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand and by so doing remind ourselves that Australia's cultural traditions stretch back many thousands of years.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

Human Rights Education for Life

Thank you for inviting me here today, to speak about a topic which in my view receives too little attention yet is one of critical importance not only to the way we live but to the kind of society we live in – the topic of human rights education.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

Past Achievements and Future Strategies in Educating the Public about Human Rights

Let me preface my remarks today with the assertion that, generally speaking, Australia has a strong and proud record on human rights. The Australian Government is formally committed to supporting the universal observance of human rights both at home and abroad saying that this policy helps to achieve a more stable and just international order, which benefits the security and prosperity of everyone. In this statement, the Government links peace to the observance of human rights, a topic to which I shall return.

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

2009 Speech: NSW Teacher's Federation Conference

I begin by paying my respects to the Gadigal peoples of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land where we gather today. I pay my respects to your elders, to the ancestors, and to those who have come before us.

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

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I would normally begin my speech with an acknowledgement of the traditional owners – but today I need to first express my thanks to Jackie for stepping in to give me voice.

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

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Before I speak about agreement making on Indigenous lands, let me acknowledge the Larrakia people on whose land we are today. The Larrakia are the neighbours of my people the Kungarakan whose country borders the Larrakia to the south west of Darwin.

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

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1. In what follows I have not ventured into the history of proposals for a treaty between the aboriginal peoples of Australia and the Government of Australia. Others here will know this much better than I. Nor do I wish to suggest in detail what such a treaty might contain, if it were possible to bring it about. My purpose is to address the nature of treaties in international law, the possibility of treaties between state and non-state parties, and some contemporary forms of treaty-making in the international arena that might offer some helpful models or analogies.

Category, Speech

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