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As you may know, my role as Social Justice Commissioner requires me to produce two annual reports on Indigenous rights issues - the Social Justice Report and the Native Title Report.

Under section 46C(1)(a) of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth), the Social Justice Commissioner is required annually to submit a report to the Attorney-General on the exercise and enjoyment of human rights by Aboriginal persons and Torres Strait Islanders (the Social Justice Report).

The Government has established an expert panel in order to ensure appropriate public discussion and debate about the proposed changes and to provide an opportunity for people to express their views.

After watching all the media news on the night of May 26, and all you 'Australians' ... simply refusing to say 'I'm Sorry', I felt ashamed to be an Australian and I would like to clarify the 'Sorry' issue as I understand it.

A national 'Sorry Day' is being observed on 26 May, 1998, exactly one year after the tabling in Federal Parliament of the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

I have spent a lot of time this past year convincing people from all walks of life that the challenges facing Indigenous peoples in this country are not insurmountable.

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 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 these developments and continues to drive change for the benefit of Indigenous people.

This appendix contains the survey form that my Office compiled and sent to all Indigenous communities and organisations that had entered into a Shared Responsibility Agreement (SRA) with the federal government by 31 December 2005. By this date 108 SRAs had been finalised, and they involved 124 communities.

In its final recommendations, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation proposed that there be a legislative requirement for the Social Justice Commissioner to monitor progress towards reconciliation on an annual basis. In the Social Justice Report 2000 it was noted that while legislative amendment to this end was desirable, this task could be undertaken under my existing functions. Accordingly, I undertook to provide an annual evaluation of progress towards reconciliation as part of the social justice report.

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 it comes to ‘good policy’ in Indigenous affairs, a core requirement is the effective participation of Indigenous peoples in all decisions that impact on their lives. In practice, this means governments have a responsibility to actively involve Indigenous peoples in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies that affect them, and to make the necessary changes to avoid or address any adverse impacts.