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The Australian Government has signalled that economic development is a central focus for the Indigenous Affairs portfolio this term. The Ministerial Taskforce on Indigenous Affairs, created in May 2004 to drive and coordinate the federal Government’s Indigenous policies,1 identified as one of three key areas2 for priority action:

5.1 Europe and the UK 5.2 United States 5.2.1 Americans with Disabilities Act 5.2.2 Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act 5.2.3 Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act 5.3 World Summit on the Information Society

‘This painting is the story of us children coming home’, Chris Mason, 2007 ‘Our totem is the goanna and is culturally significant with the black and white in the centre representing assimilation and how we have learnt to live within the framework of white society. The different shades of colour in the middle show no matter the colour of our skin we are one and do belong. The border represents Link-up who made this story possible and helped bring us home. The red represents our Aboriginal bloodline that links us together.

This appendix provides an overview of the main events with regard to the administration of Indigenous affairs to 30 June 2006. It commences with a summary table and is followed by a detailed description of each event.

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 without any court order or other official approval.

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 its impact. The intensive scrutiny and public awareness of this issue has not, however, led to sufficient commitments of resources and effort to date.

When the Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth) (the Age Discrimination Act or the Act) was introduced in 2004 it heralded a new era in the recognition of age discrimination in Australia. Subsequently, the Australian Human Rights Commission published a paper ‘Roadmap to the Age Discrimination Act’ which provided an analysis of the Act as it was conceived in 2004.[1]

3.1 General findings In our consultations the Commission received information from people with disabilities and their advocates, support services in the community and in government and people in the police, courts and the custody and release system. The Commission also received many submissions and held a number of meetings with community members and public officials who work in or with the ...

Discover how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls face barriers when accessing education and employment and how this is being addressed.

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 cultures.

This appendix provides an overview of the main events leading up to the introduction of the new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs on 1 July 2004, as well as the key events which have occurred since that time to implement the new arrangements.