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To begin, I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are meeting.  I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present, and the Elders from other communities who may be here today. Thank you for inviting me to speak at the 6th National Disability Summit.

Local Community Services Association Conference - “Communities Shaping the Future”

Work and family: The legal perspective Speech delivered by Pru Goward, Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Deacon’s lawyers seminar on women and workplace issues, 9 July 2003 Chairman of Deacon’s Melbourne office, Peter Beaumont, National Workplace Relations Team Leader, Neil Napper, Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for inviting me here today. It gives me great pleasure to address the ...

A little over a month ago, I started as the new President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, ending my time as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.

It is indeed a privilege to be invited to speak to you all at such an important time in many of your lives. In my job I get the opportunity to see and be with people of all walks of life, across all parts of Australia. And it is wonderful to be able to include today in my experiences – it is giving the chance to be with an incredibly talented group of young women, who I hope to see in leadership and decision-making positions across Australia in the future – it is incredibly inspiring.

This year’s Native Title Report outlines the four broad themes in native title that I will focus on as Social Justice Commissioner. They are: building an understanding of, and respect for, our rights to our lands, territories and resources throughout Australia, creating a just and fair native system through law and policy reform, promoting effective engagement between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and enhancing our capacity to realise our social, cultural and economic development aspirations.

In keeping with the focus of this agenda item on effective functioning of human rights mechanisms and national institutions I propose at the outset to briefly list some of the key areas with which the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has been involved over the past year. A more detailed account of those activities will be circulated. So here is an overview:

Let me preface my remarks today with the assertion that, generally speaking, Australia has a strong and proud record on human rights. The Australian Government is formally committed to supporting the universal observance of human rights both at home and abroad saying that this policy helps to achieve a more stable and just international order, which benefits the security and prosperity of everyone. In this statement, the Government links peace to the observance of human rights, a topic to which I shall return.