Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO Age Discrimination Commissioner Keynote Address to National Press Club of Australia, Canberra Wednesday, 28 June, 2023 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Welcome Thank you Andrew Tillett (National Press Club Vice President) for your kind introduction. I am sometimes introduced...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I begin today by paying my respects to the Ngunnawal peoples, the peoples on whose land we come to celebrate Reconciliation week today. I am of the Gangulu from the Dawson Valley in Central Queensland and when I speak to my Elders, they ask me to pass on my salutations to the traditional owners of the land I visit, and thank them for their continued fight for their country and their culture. But today I also acknowledge their graciousness in sharing their lands and their culture with all those who live and visit here in the spirit of reconciliation.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Where: Australian College of Educators (the Boardroom) James Darling House 42 Geils Court Deakin, Canberra When: Saturday May 17 Time: 11.00am for 11.30am (see appendix 1)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Thank you for the opportunity to speak here this morning. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners, the Turrbal people on whose land we are on today.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
The position of Social Justice Commissioner was created in 1993 in response to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and HREOC"s National Inquiry into Racist Violence. It was created to ensure an ongoing, national monitoring agency for the human rights of Indigenous peoples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Just over a month ago I wrote an opinion piece on reconciliation that was published in The Australian newspaper. That article was published on the eve of Corroborree 2000 and the handing over to the people of Australia of the declaration towards reconciliation by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. In that article, I posed the following question:
Over the last four years the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (the Commission) has played a key role in raising community awareness about the human rights Australians with a mental illness. The Commission, through its public inquiry process, brought into national focus how, amongst other things, people affected by mental illness frequently faced discrimination and stigmatisation based on ignorance, fear and inaccurate stereotypes.
Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney, Australia
I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional country of the Girringun people and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
The voices of children and young people shape our work. By listening to you we can research important issues and make recommendations on behalf of children and young people in Australia.
Child justice and wellbeing
We heard from children and young people and families from across Australia about their experiences with criminal justice systems.
We looked at what could be done to stop children coming into contact with the police and the courts and ending up in detention. And how people in charge could treat young people in detention safely and respectfully and be held to account.
Children and young people told the National Children's Commissioner they need 'help way earlier!'. She wrote a report about this. She also recorded this video to report back to children what she heard.
We will soon survey people aged 14 – 18 years about their experiences of, and attitudes towards, consent, respectful relationships, and sex education. This will help the government improve consent education across Australia.
Our project 'Do things with the information we tell you': Supporting Quality Engagement with Children (SQE) is about making sure the right people – the decision-makers in government – hear what children have to say and take action.
Australia has signed up to a UN treaty which protects children’s rights. The government reports on how it is upholding this law to a special committee every 5 years.
We also submit reports on how we think the government is tracking and what actions we think they should take.
You can also read our reports that have been written for kids
For more than two years, children and families in Australia have been living through the global COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2022, I asked children and their parents/guardians and grandparents, about their experiences during COVID-19, and what help they needed to recover.
This guide is intended to help children and young people understand child sexual abuse, how and where to get help, and how the National Strategy is improving Australia’s response to child sexual abuse. It is recommended for children aged 9 years and up.
Kids Helpline and the Australian Human Rights Commission have co-authored a report on the impacts of COVID-19 on children and young people who contact Kids Helpline.
The report tells the Australian Government how it can do better in looking out for children and young people. This version is for children and young people.
It is my pleasure to report to you today on the outcome of deliberations of the Working Group on Human Rights Education. This working group was relatively small in size but very diverse and robust in its deliberations. It consisted of representatives of Arabic countries, including the host country Qatar as well as Japan, the Philippines and Australia.
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 would also like to acknowledge the Victorian Governor Professor David de Krester, and his wife Mrs Jan de Krester; Chief Justice Hon Marilyn Warren; other senior representatives of each of the three branches of the Victorian government; the many community leaders present and also the many members of the legal profession present. I feel greatly honoured to have been invited to participate today in the opening of the legal year.
Debates about a charter of rights are often monopolised by the contentious issue of the proper role of the courts. While this is undoubtedly an important question, it overlooks the impact a charter would have on the role of Parliament as a guardian of rights of freedoms.