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All Australians have human rights. Human rights are universal: they are for everyone, everywhere, everyday. Human rights are based on values such as freedom, equality and dignity and seek to protect our quality of life.

As my predecessor pointed out in the Native Title Report 2003, native title is a political process as well as a legal process. Indigenous people enter a relationship with the State on the basis of their identity as the traditional owner group of an area of land. In some cases native title has provided the first opportunity since colonisation for a relationship of this type to be formed.

Improving the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a longstanding challenge for governments in Australia. While there have been improvements made in some areas since the 1970s (notably in reducing high rates of infant mortality1) overall progress has been slow and inconsistent. The inequality gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians remains wide and has not been progressively reduced.

Family violence and abuse is causing untold damage to the cultures and fabric of Indigenous societies. It is damaging our communities, our families, our women, our children and our men. All Indigenous people are entitled to live their lives in safety and full human dignity - without fear of intimidation, family violence or abuse. This is their cultural and their human right. Like all Australians, Indigenous peoples are also entitled to the full and equal protection of the law.

Since 2001, the primary method of assessing whether an individual is under the age of 18 years in the context of criminal proceedings in Australia has been through the analysis of an x-ray of the young person’s wrist. As this Inquiry is considering the treatment of young Indonesian males suspected of people smuggling who say that they are children, it is important to consider the appropriateness of this and other age assessment processes in this context.