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The colony of Moreton Bay was established as a penal outpost of New South Wales in 1825. Extreme violence accompanied the rapid expansion of European settlers, particularly in the north. This violence and the spread of introduced diseases resulted in a rapid decrease in the Indigenous population. Kidnapping Indigenous women and children for economic and sexual exploitation was common.

A central function of HREOC is to undertake education programs that increase public awareness and generate discussion of human rights and anti-discrimination issues within Australia. HREOC’s legislative responsibilities are:

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Australia’s introduction of mandatory immigration detention and the eighteenth anniversary of the system of mandatory, indefinite immigration detention. In the current context, it is apt to recall that mandatory detention was introduced in reaction to the arrival of asylum seekers by boat, with concerns about a potential ‘influx’…

This report identifies the necessity to adopt a human rights approach to reconciliation, as well as shortcomings in Australia's performance on human rights issues as they relate to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. This chapter emphasises processes and mechanisms that enable reconciliation to be implemented within a human rights framework. It identifies crucial commitments and processes…

This appendix provides an overview of the main events with regard to the administration of Indigenous affairs to 30 June 2006. It commences with a summary table and is followed by a detailed description of each event.

In 1863 the area now known as the Northern Territory came under the control of South Australia. By 1903 the whole area was leased to non-Indigenous people. As there were few non-Indigenous women, relationships between the Indigenous women and non-Indigenous men were relatively common. The consequence was a growing population of children of mixed descent who were usually cared for by their mothers…