I would also like to thank the Law Council of Australia and its Advisory Committee on Indigenous Legal Issues for inviting me to deliver this address, and to take part in the customary law panel discussion later today. 

There have been some improvements in recent years. But there is a long way to go. Indigenous peoples make gains but they are often smaller than those made by the non-Indigenous population - so the disparity in life chances remains static. In fact, there has been very little reduction in this inequality gap in Australia in the past decade.

Improving the health status of Indigenous peoples in Australia is a longstanding challenge for governments in Australia. The gap in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remains unacceptably wide.

Senator Scullion, distinguished guests and participants, can I begin by paying my acknowledgement to the Irukandjii Peoples, the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting and pay my respects to their elders.  I would also like to thank the National Indigenous Environmental Health Forum, the conference organising group and Queensland Health for organising this event and for inviting me to address you.  And thank you to Shane for his opening words and introduction.

I would also like to thank the conference organisers for two things: – firstly for inviting me to present today, and secondly, for developing a conference on such a critical but very marginalised theme on the national stage – Indigenous policy development – and how we can all do it better.

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.

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.

May I begin by acknowledging the Larrakeyah people – the traditional owners of the land where we meet today.  I pay my respects to their elders and those who have come before us.

Thank you Tiffany, as a Descendant of the Wiradjuri and Wongaibon Nations I would like to acknowledge the Ancestors, Elders and  their descendants of the Ngunnawal  people and I would like thank Aunty Ruth and Uncle Cecil for welcoming me here today.

We are here to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Bringing them home – the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.