Search results

Indigenous mental health is finally on the national agenda. As participants in the National Mental Health Strategy, States and Territories acknowledge the importance of the issue. Some of the effects of removal including loss and grief, reduced parenting skills, child and youth behavioural problems and youth suicide are increasingly recognised.

This is my third Social Justice Report as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and covers the period 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006.

The Social Justice Report 2003 is the fifth report by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Dr William Jonas. It was tabled in federal Parliament, along with the Native Title Report 2003, in March 2004.

1) Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD): additional information to Australia's 10th, 11th and 12th periodic reports under CERD, March 2000;

Education is a key determinant in predicting health and well-being, longevity, employment, housing and economic stability. This section documents the issues emerging from the consultations and public submissions in relation to education.

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:

1. Ten Years on from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody 2. Mutual Obligation, Welfare Reform and Indigenous Participation: A Human Rights Perspective

7.1 Introduction 7.2 What children want and need 7.3 Early childhood education and care services and children's wellbeing 7.4 Government provision of early childhood education and care services 7.5 How do we make child care services more family-friendly? 7.6 Making early childhood education and care services more accessible for parents and children with disability 7.7 Integration of child care…

Improving the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a longstanding challenge for governments in Australia. While there have been improvements made in some areas since the 1970s (notably in reducing high rates of infant mortality1) overall progress has been slow and inconsistent. The inequality gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other…

Improving the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a longstanding challenge for governments in Australia. While there have been improvements made in some areas since the 1970s (notably in reducing high rates of infant mortality1) overall progress has been slow and inconsistent. The inequality gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other…

In the Social Justice Report 1999, my first report as Social Justice Commissioner, I identified four key themes and challenges that existed in the approach of the federal government to Indigenous policy making at the time. These were moving beyond welfare dependency, accountability, participation and reconciliation.[1] Since the release of that report approximately four years ago, the key themes…

On 21 June 2007, the Australian Government announced a ‘national emergency response to protect Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory’ from sexual abuse and family violence.[1] This has become known as the ‘NT intervention’ or the ‘Emergency Response’. The catalyst for the measures was the release of Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into…

On 27 July 2000, the Commonwealth government and the Northern Territory Government signed an agreement for the establishment of a juvenile pre-court diversion scheme in the Northern Territory (NT). This agreement arose specifically as a response to the continued criticism of the NT’s mandatory minimum imprisonment laws and their impact on juveniles and Indigenous people. By establishing the…

During these ten years, thousands of individuals and organisations have used the DDA to create change, either by making complaints of discrimination, using the law as a basis for negotiating broad social change or educating organisations on their responsibilities.