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Social Justice Report 2010 Back to Contents Downloads in PDF and Word Download the full report in PDF Download the full report in Word Chapters Recommendations in PDF | Word Introduction in PDF | Word Chapter 1: Towards a reconciled Australia: An agenda of hope in PDF | Word Chapter 2: Constitutional reform: Creating a nation for all of us in PDF | Word Chapter 3: From community crisis to

In accordance with the functions set out in section 46C(1)(a) of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth), this report includes 4 recommendations on justice reinvestment to reduce Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system, 7 recommendations for the protection of Indigenous languages and 1 recommendation for sustaining Aboriginal homeland communities.

This work is protected by copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part may be used or reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Australian Human Rights Commission. Enquiries should be addressed to Public Affairs at paffairs@humanrights.gov.au.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner thanks the following people and organisations for their assistance in preparing the Social Justice Report 2011.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner thanks the following people and organisations for their assistance in preparing the Social Justice Report 2010.

In my role as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, I am required to prepare two reports on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ human rights issues each year – the Native Title Report and the Social Justice Report.

It is with great pleasure that I present my first Social Justice Report (the Report) as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, having commenced my five-year term on 1 February 2010.

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.

As I reflect on the events that have taken place during the reporting period from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011, I see cause for optimism whilst also acknowledging there are still some areas that remain a concern. Over the last year we have reached some major milestones. For instance, we have seen the election of the two co-chairs and a board to the National Congress of Australia’s First…

[1] Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Membership of the Expert Panel, http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/indigenous/progserv/engagement/Pages/membership_expert_panel.aspx (viewed 17 October 2011).

[1] Extract from United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Report of the International Workshop on Methodologies regarding Free, Prior and Informed Consent and Indigenous Peoples (New York, 17–19 January 2005), UN Doc E/C.19/2005/3 (2005), paras 46–49. At http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/workshopFPIC.html (viewed 19 November 2010).

Only NSW, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory data records Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status of sufficient coverage or quality to publish.

Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. States shall take the necessary steps with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of this right.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Partnership Agreement for Remote Service Delivery came into effect in January 2009 and will run to 30 June 2014. It is a joint commitment by all Australian governments to a ‘concentrated and accelerated approach to tackle deep-seated disadvantage’ in remote communities.[1] The Partnership is premised on a place-based initiative,…

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.

A century ago, the Australian people engaged in a debate about creating a nation. They held meetings...They wrote articles and letters in newspapers. Many views were canvassed and voices were heard. The separate colonies, having divided up the land between them, discussed ways of sharing powers in order to achieve a vision of a united Australia. The result was the Australian Constitution,…

1.1 Introduction This year marks 20 years since the establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner (Social Justice Commissioner) role under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth). When I first started in this position I was asked if any of the previous Commissioners had left any words or notes of advice. I answered them ‘no, but they all…

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…

When we look at the many issues that face Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, it is easy to get paralysed by their complexity, entrenched nature and the sheer size of the challenge. But as an optimist, I believe that there is a lot that we can do to address these problems. There are many different tools available to suit the varying circumstances that face our diverse communities…

It is with great pleasure that I present my second Native Title Report as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. I launched my first Report, the Native Title Report 2010 in February 2011. These reports are produced each year in accordance with the requirement under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (Native Title Act) for me to report annually on the impact of the…