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Rights and Freedoms

Surviving the bush: health and rural communities: Chris Sidoti (1999)

I would like to thank the Victorian Healthcare Association for inviting me to speak today. I hope that the Congress has been stimulating and has provided all of you with both an understanding of the problems facing healthcare in Australia, and some sense of optimism for what can be achieved to improve the health outcomes for all Australians.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

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The topic for discussion is the role of human rights in good governance. Along the way I will touch on HREOC’s perceptions of cultural change at DIMA, legal roadblocks to cultural change, and the importance of human rights principles in the law and policy making process.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

Seventh International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions

Torture and various forms of terrorism have been practiced throughout history, though never on the scale we are now confronted with. The first visual records of police interrogation were discovered in a four thousand year old tomb in ancient Egypt. Since the pharaohs there have been many refinements in methods of inducing physical pain and gathering intelligence, most notably during the Spanish Inquisition, but more recently in the modern totalitarian state.

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Is it coming up roses yet? Women in the 21st century

Union, University and Schools Club * check upon delivery Introduction Thank you to the Union, University and Schools Club for inviting me to speak and to Dr Mary Forbes for reaching out to. This is a wonderful event. Full of pride, full of celebration—and full of women and supportive men! Let me...

Category, Speech
Commission – General

Speeches by Professor Gillian Triggs

Professor Gillian Triggs was appointed President of the Australian Human Rights Commission from 30 July 2012. Click here to access her biography. [ Year: 2012 ] 2012 APS Human Rights Network Delivered by Professor Gillian Triggs, 29 October 2012 Current issues Australia faces in relation to its...

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

2009 Speech: Bilingual Education

Good morning friends, supporters, Dr’s Peter Toyne and Lester-Irabinna Rigney and distinguished guests. I would also like to acknowledge my Indigenous sisters and brothers who have travelled here to be with us and to share your experiences and stories.

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Role of social workers as human rights workers with Indigenous people

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!

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

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I would like to begin by acknowledging and paying my respects to the Traditional Owners, the Wurundjeri people, and to pay my respect to their elders.

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

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I call my paper 'Social Justice Then Native Title' in order to make a clear distinction between two aspects of Indigenous People's struggle; the ultimate goals we are seeking to achieve and the means by which we seek to achieve them. Distinguishing the means and the ends, the former a servant of the latter, is a fundamental tenet of strategic thinking. And it is clear to me that a strategic approach will identify native title as simply a tool for achieving social justice for Indigenous people.

Category, Speech
Disability Rights

Innes: International Day of People with Disability 2008

On 16 December 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations appealed to Governments around the world to observe 3 December of each year as International Day of people with disability. This is a day to celebrate abilities of people with disability all over the world. The aim of observing this day each year is also to increase awareness, and understanding, of disability issues and the gains to be derived from the integration of people with disability in every aspect of life. The nomination and celebration of this day is an important tool in promoting the rights of people with a disability.

Category, Speech
Disability Rights

Preparations for the Olympics and Paralympics and inclusion of people with disabilities: the Australian experience

There is substantial attention in the international community being directed at present to the human rights of people with disabilities. An international convention on human rights and disability is being actively considered through the United Nations system. I would have been attending a regional meeting in Beijing in April this year as part of this process but this was cancelled because of the SARS outbreak.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

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I also thank Professor Barry Brook for his survey of the latest scientific assessments and forecasts on the impact of climate change on our planet. They are indeed alarming. The fact of climate change, and the rate of change, has become all too clear, even if there are still sceptics that wish to debate the causes. Our title reference to “Catastrophic Impacts” seems fully justified.

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Keynote Address CEO Sleepout

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with all of you, and sleep with some of you. As you will have noticed, Vinnies was good enough to let my eleven-year-old daughter Rachel join me as my guide tonight, and she'll be the only one getting any of my cuddles. The rest of you have to make your own arrangements.

Category, Speech

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