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The Government has to explain why it happened. What was the intention? I have to know why I was taken. I have to know why I was given the life I was given and why I'm scarred today. Why was my Mum meant to suffer? Why was I made to suffer with no Aboriginality and no identity, no culture? Why did they think that the life they gave me was better than the one my Mum would give me?

Human rights principles require that Indigenous people's relationships to land, based on traditional laws and customs, be given legal recognition and protection. International legal principles also recognise that Indigenous peoples have economic, social and cultural human rights. Native title, as it is constructed through the Australian legal system, has a limited capacity to meet these human…

In most cases of forcible removal government officials and agents were responsible for the removal under legislation or regulations. However, there were early cases of removal of children by missionaries without the consent of the parents. In Victoria the absence of government oversight of welfare services enabled churches and other non-government agencies to remove children from their families…

6.1 Introduction 6.2 Steps taken by the Australian Government to implement the Declaration 6.3 Giving effect to the Declaration 6.4 Conclusion and recommendations 6.1 Introduction Throughout my term, I have continually emphasised the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [565] (the Declaration). The Declaration is the most comprehensive and advanced…

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Overview Committee (Queensland), 1996: First Report (Department of Families, Youth and Community Care, Brisbane).

4.1 Introduction Alcohol consumption, misuse and related harm are some of the most challenging issues confronting communities across the length and breadth of Australia. These challenges are not limited to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, but confront every demographic in Australian cities and towns. From Kings Cross to Halls Creek, St Kilda to Santa Teresa – communities…

"I move: That the South Australian Parliament expresses its deep and sincere regret at the forced separation of some Aboriginal children from their families and homes which occurred prior to 1964, apologises to these Aboriginal people for these past actions and reaffirms its support for reconciliation between all Australians."

Paul Blackmore’s photographs illustrate this report. They depict an inspired local initiative. Five years ago the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody drew attention to the appalling conditions in police lock-ups in rural Australia. The cells in Murgon, three hours north-west of Brisbane, were typical - dirty, disgusting, depressing. Detective Sergeant Ryan and Senior Sergeant…

State and Territory legislation, programs and policies in the areas of child welfare, adoption and juvenile justice are intended to provide a non-discriminatory framework for the administration of services. In many cases, programs are designed with the objective of reducing the extent of contemporary removals of Indigenous children and young people. In spite of this, the over-representation of…

The Social Justice Report 2002 discusses initiatives currently underway or in development at the federal, state and territory levels in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. The report commends the following positive developments in Indigenous policy:

Human rights constitute the ethical basis of the social contract between those who exercise power and accrue wealth, and those whose lives are affected by this exercise and accrual. Where such a relationship has no ethical basis and is inconsistent with human rights principles it is not a sustainable relationship. Coercion may prolong it for some time but this is costly to maintain and eventually…

An entrenched pattern of disadvantage and dispossession continues to wreak havoc and destruction in Indigenous families and communities. This situation has been described in the preceding chapters of this Part. State and Territory legislation, policy and practice in the areas of child welfare, care and protection, adoption and juvenile justice do not comply with the evaluation criteria…

The Commission is a national independent statutory body established under the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. It has a President and five Commissioners. The five positions are currently held by three persons.

Thank you for the opportunity to make submissions to the Ministerial Inquiry to identify strategies to increase resource exploration in Western Australia - the Bowler Inquiry. Enclosed is a copy of my submission which contains several recommendations.