President speeches: Speech at Annual UNAA Day Dinner
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Kaurna people, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Kaurna people, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Transcript of remarks made by Graeme Innes AM Deputy Disability Discrimination Commissioner, at the launch of the revised Commonwealth Disability Strategy, Parliament House, Canberra, 5 October 2000
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we stand, and pay my respects to their elders both past and present. I make this statement at any function where I speak in order to:
Families, and those who support them, play a vital role in the protection of human rights. Accordingly, I am very pleased to address this conference, and I commend all of you for your work in preserving and strengthening families.
I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional country of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Good evening distinguished guests, my Indigenous brothers and sisters and non Indigenous friends. May I begin by acknowledging the Wurrundjeri People of the Kulin Nation on whose land we are meeting on tonight, and thank the dancers for cultural expression and your welcome to country. Thank you also to the Vice Chancellor, Professor Paul Johnson for your introduction, and to La Trobe University for inviting me to present this year’s Hyllus Maris Memorial Lecture. May I also acknowledge Ms Lois Peeler and the other family members of Hyllus Maris who are with us tonight.
Of course, women too can be violent. However for the most part, the purpose and effects differ radically - male violence is used to regulate women's behaviour, and men's. Men commit most of the violence that is considered in the criminal system, against women and against other men.
Thank you for inviting me to speak today. Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are now meeting, the Gadigal people.
We are gathered this evening on the land of the Ngambri people, from whom Canberra takes its name, and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.
I don't care how hard it is. You build Aboriginality or you get nothing. There's no choice about it. If our Aboriginal people cannot change how it is among themselves, then the Aboriginal people will never climb back out of hell. 1
Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to speak at this conference. I'm very pleased to be here. Firstly as a senior Commonwealth public servant not based in Canberra I immediately warm to this forum. The challenges of interacting with, and learning from, our colleagues are increased greatly by the fact that we aren't located in the city viewed by most commonwealth public servants as the centre of the universe.
Over the past year I have travelled to about 30 communities in all States and Territories from large regional cities like Cairns and Bunbury to small towns like Bourke and Peterborough, to remote communities like Papunya and Yuendumu. Wherever I have gone I've heard of the hard work and commitment of rural nurses in their local communities.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to address you today and express my admiration to you all for taking on the very necessary venture of providing practical legal assistance to some of the most powerless and marginalised people in society.
Thank you to the Australian Catholic University for inviting me to speak today. As you no doubt know, I am a social worker by training , graduating in 1978, so it is wonderful to have an opportunity to address you. It is great to see so many upcoming social workers here today, as well as a number of you who have a wealth of experience and do so much good in our communities. It’s a tough job at the coal face. One that you often do in difficult circumstances, with little support, not to mention little money!
We would like to begin by emphasising the limited role of discrimination law - that is, we agree to some extent with comments by ACCI that equality cannot be achieved solely by providing stronger antidiscrimination legal provisions.
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