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The past year has delivered some significant and promising new developments in indigenous affairs. the national apology to the stolen generations and the government’s commitment to the Statement of Intent to Close the Gap in health inequality both demonstrate a growing determination to face the challenges that confront Indigenous australians. i am pleased to say that hreoC has had a part in…

Family violence and abuse is occurring at an unacceptable level in our Indigenous communities. It is a scourge that damages our families and communities, traumatises our women and children and tears at the fabric of our culture.

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:

Family violence and abuse occurs at unacceptable rates in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) communities. We have heard many tragic stories of women, children and young people who have experienced devastating sexual abuse and family violence. It is a scourge that is causing damage and trauma among Indigenous communities, to our women and children, and to the fabric of Indigenous…

Homelands still belong to the people, we want to build homes on our land and live there. When we come to the homeland we come back to the peace and quiet. ... It is a much better environment on the homelands, better things for the children.[1]

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…

The Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee conducted an inquiry this year into the federal government's implementation of recommendations made by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in Bringing them home. The inquiry considered proposals for the establishment of an alternative dispute resolution tribunal for members of the stolen generations; and considered the…

Discover a national conversation on how to promote the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls and their communities.

back to contents Chapter 5: Addressing family violence in Indigenous communities There is no issue currently causing more destruction to the fabric of Indigenous communities than family violence. This has been acknowledged by all levels of government in recent years, with a number of significant inquiries and initiatives undertaken or commenced at the federal, state and territory level to address…

When we look at the many issues that face Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, it is easy to get paralysed by their complexity, entrenched nature and the sheer size of the challenge. But as an optimist, I believe that there is a lot that we can do to address these problems. There are many different tools available to suit the varying circumstances that face our diverse communities…

Lateral violence is a multilayered, complex problem and because of this our strategies also need to be pitched at different levels. In Chapter 3 I have looked at the big picture, with the human rights framework as our overarching response to lateral violence. In this Chapter I will be taking our strategies to an even more practical level, looking at how we can create environments of cultural…

4. Research relevant to benchmarking 5. The Commonwealth Grants Commission Report on Indigenous Funding 6. Australian Bureau of Statistics 7. Initiatives at the inter-governmental level related to benchmarking 8. The Steering Committee framework for reporting on Indigenous disadvantage 9. Governance and capacity building 10. Developments at State and Territory level

On 13 February 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, on behalf of the Australian Parliament, made a historic and long overdue national Apology to the Stolen Generations. With eloquence and emotion, Prime Minister Rudd said what so many Australians have wanted to say, and what so many Indigenous peoples have needed to hear:

a) Do Indigenous peoples have a right to self-determination? b) What is Indigenous self-determination? c) Summary - Defining Indigenous self-determination