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One of the Commission’s central functions is to undertake education programs that increase public awareness and generate discussion of human rights and anti-discrimination issues within Australia.

The 2000 Social Justice Report is the second by Dr Jonas. It tabled in both houses of the federal Parliament on 28 March 2001. The theme of the report is reconciliation and human rights.

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.

Our aim is to make this a reality. To that end we strive to build understanding in the Australian community about what human rights are and their relevance for everyday life. We have made good progress on our journey, but we know we have more work to do.

Human rights are our entitlements to have our dignity and worth as human beings recognised. We all have them, we all want them recognised in our friends and families, and we all have responsibilities to recognise them in others.

This is the third successive Social Justice Report to report on the implementation of the new arrangements for Indigenous affairs at the federal government level. The past two Social Justice Reports have emphasised the importance of governments ensuring the effective participation of Indigenous peoples in decision making that affects our lives. This includes the development of policy, program delivery and monitoring by governments at the national, as well as state, regional and local levels.

This report covers my fourth year as the Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner at HREOC, a position I occupy in addition to my position as the aboriginal and torres Strait islander Social Justice Commissioner. During the period on which I report, Australia elected a new government, ending almost 12 years of a coalition government.

This report covers my final year as the Race Discrimination Commissioner, a position I have occupied for five years alongside my position as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

The Commission is an national independent statutory body established under the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. It has a President and five Commissioners. The five positions are currently held by three persons. Please refer to the organisational chart on page 16 for further information.

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

The Commission is a national independent statutory body established under the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. It has a President and five Commissioners. The five positions are currently held by three persons.