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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice14 December 2012Speech
Justice reinvestment and its importance to Aboriginal communities
I would like to begin by paying my respects to the Dharawal people, the traditional owners of the land where we gather today. I am a Gangulu man from Central Queensland. Gangulu country takes in what is known as the Dawson Valley area and extends to just east of the Carnarvon Gorge. So, as is our practice, can I pass on from the Gangulu peoples to the Dharawal peoples our greetings and acknowledgements for your continued resilience and determination to keep your culture alive and thriving over the last 220 years? -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice22 March 2019Publication
Close the Gap report – “Our Choices, Our Voices” (2019)
To address the widening life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non- Indigenous Australians, we have identified three priority areas that must be addressed. -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2006: Chapter 2: The new arrangements for Indigenous affairs – facilitating Indigenous access to government services
It has now been over two years since the federal government introduced new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs. One of the catchcries of the new arrangements is that they are aimed at ‘harnessing the mainstream.’ This is to be achieved by removing or reducing the barriers that prevent Indigenous peoples from accessing existing mainstream services on an equitable basis. -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 4: Cultural safety and security: Tools to address lateral violence - Social Justice Report 2011
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 safety and security to address lateral violence. -
8 December 2020Book page
Part 3: Living and belonging
Learn about the Wiyi Yani U Thangani project, which works to improve health, housing and education outcomes for Indigenous women and girls in Australia. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice4 August 2023Webpage
Support services - Voice referendum
Racism directed towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is likely to continue increasing in the lead up to the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. We've collated a document with formal support services and ways to report incidents of racism. -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 2: Lateral violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities - Social Justice Report 2011
Last year I set out my priorities for my term as Social Justice Commissioner.[1] My priorities revolve around the central idea that to address the disadvantage faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and build a more reconciled nation, we need to develop stronger and deeper relationships: -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 3: From community crisis to community control in the Fitzroy Valley - Social Justice Report 2010
It is a story of colonisation; the threat of losing our cultural authority to manage our societies; and the despair that has come from that disempowerment. It is a story of grief and trauma and the continued pain of living with grog, drug and violence. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice8 May 2019Media Release
Our Choices, Our Voices: Celebrating Success on National Close the Gap Day
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO and the Co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples Rod Little, will today release the 2019 Close the Gap report – “Our Choices, Our Voices”. The report, prepared by the Lowitja Institute, is being released at a community event at Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation – Aboriginal Medical Service South ... -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice4 August 2023Webpage
Self-determination and Indigenous peoples
Self-determination is an ongoing process of ensuring that peoples are able to make decisions about matters that affect their lives. Essential to the exercise of self-determination is choice, participation and control. The outcomes of self-determining processes must correspond to the free and voluntary choice of the people concerned, including in relation to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice30 March 2019Opinion piece
Our Choices, Our Voices - Celebrating Success on National Close the Gap Day
This Opinion Piece by June Oscar AO and Rod Little was published by Guardian Australia on Thursday March 21, to mark National Close the Gap Day When the Prime Minister Scott Morrison tabled the 2019 Closing the Gap report last month, we were again reminded about the lack of progress made to address the inequality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. We know the statistics. They are ... -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice13 June 2024Speech
Inaugural CASWA AGM and Statewide Gathering Conference
Working together to build capacity Introduction and acknowledgement Thank you, Aunty Robyn, and Tryse for Welcoming us to your beautiful Country. I pay my respects to the traditional owners of the Noongar Nation of the Wadjak lands on which we meet and gather today, here beside the Derbal Yirigan. I thank your ancestors and elders for their custodianship and stewardship over the generations, and I ... -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2003: Chapter 4: Responding to petrol sniffing on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands: A case study
In September 2002, the South Australian Coroner brought down his findings in the inquests into the deaths of Kunmanara[1] Ken (who died on 3 August 1999), Kunmanara Hunt (who died on 27 January 2001) and Kunmanara Thompson (who died on 26 June 2001). Each of these young Anangu was a chronic petrol sniffer (they had been sniffing for at least ten years) in their mid to late twenties living on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands (AP Lands). All three were found to have died as a result of inhalation of petrol fumes.[2] -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice8 April 2020News story
Failure to close the gap in healthcare puts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at increased risk
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have higher levels of pre-existing illness than other population groups due to relative social and economic disadvantage, which means they are susceptible to more severe impacts from COVID-19. It’s important at this time that we listen to the health experts, such as the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), follow their ... -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice8 May 2023Media Release
Landmark Summit to elevate the voices and transform the lives of First Nations women and girls
Australia’s most significant gathering ever of First Nations women begins in Canberra today. The Summit is designed for First Nations women to speak on their own terms to government, policymakers and service providers about addressing issues affecting First Nations women and girls. Together, they will put forward the actions to reshape many of the policies and programs that impact their lives and ... -
8 December 2020Book page
Part 2: Supporting strong families and communities
Learn about issues that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls face and the legal and social initiatives that work to address them. -
14 December 2012Book page
Close the Gap - Part 1 Background
In my 2005 Social Justice Report1, I argued that it was unacceptable for a country as rich as ours, and one based on the notion of the ‘fair go’ and the ‘level playing field’, to tolerate the gross health inequality that has existed between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians for at long as records have been kept. I called for action, and I made recommendations that set out a broad path to bring it to an end as soon as practicable. -
14 December 2012Book page
Close the Gap - Part 3 Looking to the Future
I begin by paying my respects to the Jagera and Turrubual peoples, the traditional owners of the land where we gather today. I pay my respects to your elders, to the ancestors and to those who have come before us. And thank you for your generous welcome to country for all of us. -
14 December 2012Book page
Close The Gap Community Guide
The poor health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is no secret – and something can be done about it. Since 2006, Australia’s peak Indigenous and non- Indigenous health bodies, NGOs and human rights organisations have worked together to secure the support of Australian governments for a human rights based approach to achieving health and life expectation equality for Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is known as the Close the Gap Campaign. -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 2 – An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander human rights protection framework for the 21st century: Social Justice Report 2008
All Australians are equally entitled to enjoy the rights, benefits and responsibilities of citizenship. In our society, every person should feel free from discrimination of any kind and have the right to share in the nation's land, resources and wealth. The entitlements and freedoms of all people are recognised in human rights instruments, many of which have been freely signed and ratified by Australia, and in some instances are now a part of Australian law.