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You would be hard pressed to find a newspaper, television or radio station that did not make mention of Sorry Day activities and National Reconciliation events over the past week.

The DKCRC is dedicated to improving conditions for all desert Australians and it recognises that there have been past instances of Aboriginal people’s knowledge and intellectual property being misappropriated and exploited. The DKCRC Board also recognises that the DKCRC’s objectives will only be achieved by working in equitable partnership with Aboriginal people. Such partnerships include knowledge sharing in research and potentially the creation of new intellectual property.

On 13 April 2000, the Senate requested the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to inquire into all aspects of the agreement between the Northern Territory Government and the Commonwealth regarding the Territory’s mandatory sentencing regime; the consistency of mandatory sentencing regimes with Australia’s international human rights obligations; and Western Australia’s mandatory sentencing regime.[1]

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 within the Aboriginal community.

In my role as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner I am required to produce two annual reports on Indigenous human rights issues – the Social Justice Report and the Native Title Report.

This report covers the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. It considers two issues that are of major concern to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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 consistency of the government's response to the recommendations with the reconciliation process and the aspirations and needs of members of the stolen generations.

Dr William Jonas commenced duty as acting Race Discrimination Commissioner in September 1999 in addition to his duties as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

a) Ngaanyatjarra Regional Partnership Agreement. b) Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly c) Post-ATSIC regional representation for Torres Strait Islanders on the mainland