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This opinion piece by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO, appeared in The Guardian Australia on Sunday 29 October 2023 The day the proposal for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice was rejected by the majority of my fellow Australians will be remembered by many as a sombre day in our country’s history. After the result, there is much pain…

National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds had an op-ed published in the Canberra Times criticising the lack of government accountability for the protection of children. This comes in the wake of recent allegations of child abuse across several childcare centres in Melbourne.

As Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman writes for The Guardian Australia, the language used when speaking about those seeking our protection matters. He writes that Australia must take action against discrimination and racism – starting from the top.

When the backslapping over the successful passing of the social media ban legislation has finished, there is a significant amount of work that still needs to be done to improve child safety and wellbeing in Australia.

“It’s gone.” That’s what Mick Gooda said to me plaintively half an hour into counting the votes to enshrine a First Nations Voice to parliament in our constitution on October 14, 2023. I’d started that day – a year ago today – with a high level of optimism that Australia was going to do this, that Australia would get this right, that Australia would make history. How wrong I was. Instead,…

As with any agreement, there are certain requirements that OPCAT signatories need to fulfill, and Australia has been given longer than any other country to meet our OPCAT commitments. Today – 20 January 2023 – is our extended compliance deadline, and Australia has failed to deliver on our promises.

When the COVID-19 pandemic spread to this big island of ours, our leaders made a momentous decision: they decided to save as many human lives as possible. This was the right decision. It shows we as a country care about human life above all else. But now we face an even harder question: how to save lives while preventing economic collapse and staying true to our democratic values? In order…

State and federal governments should reform laws that make offensive acts unlawful and refocus them on protecting free speech and stopping workplace and public harassment. This week a news story broke about a complaint made under section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act by a Queensland University of Technology employee. Section 18C makes it unlawful to "offend, insult, humiliate or…

Our voices heard and understood. Our lives and expertise recognised. Our actions counted and invested in as critical to the health and wellbeing of society. These are the powerful and determined calls of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls in Australia today. They are set-out and responded to in the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices): Securing our Rights, Securing our…

Read Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan's op-ed, published in The Guardian Australia. "Australia will, fundamentally, be changed on 14 October. However the cards fall in the voice referendum, one thing is for sure: our next urgent national priority is tackling racism."