International day for people with disabilities
I am here today partly because Michelle Castagna was quick off the mark in organising me to come before I had accepted any of the numerous other possibilities for events for the international day.
I am here today partly because Michelle Castagna was quick off the mark in organising me to come before I had accepted any of the numerous other possibilities for events for the international day.
What I will talk about today is the way in which the Racial Discrimination Act (‘the RDA’) has been used by Aboriginal people to seek a remedy for the injustice of underpayment of wages.
Thank you, Megan McNichol, conference organisers and the Isolated Children's Parents' Association for inviting me to speak at your annual federal conference today.
Let me join those who have spoken before me in acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. I pay my respects to their elders past and present, and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders we have with us tonight.
Good morning. I would like to acknowledge the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the land upon which we meet, and pay my respect to their elders past and present.
When I was invited to give this address, my first thought was to talk about unlawful discrimination in the context of higher education and, in particular, disability discrimination.
The theme of this Conference - Human Rights and Equality for Women in the 21st Century - is rich fare for any time of the day. It calls for speculation about the future and assessment of the past; it invites fresh perspectives and challenges the imagination; it asks for re-examination of motives and goals.
Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd; Opposition Leader, Brendan Nelson; the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin; former Prime Ministers, Professor Bruce Wilson representing the late Sir Ronald Wilson, Stolen Generations patrons Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue and Bobby Randall, NSDC Chair Helen Moran and SGA Chair Christine King, Ministers; Members of Parliament; Senators, members of the stolen generations and your families; my Indigenous brothers and sisters; and distinguished guests from around Australia and overseas.
I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land we are meeting on today, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, and pay my respects to their Elders and Ancestors.
Good morning friends, supporters, Dr’s Peter Toyne and Lester-Irabinna Rigney and distinguished guests. I would also like to acknowledge my Indigenous sisters and brothers who have travelled here to be with us and to share your experiences and stories.
I begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land where we meet today, and pay my respects to their elders. I would also like to thank the LIME conference organisers -- and Gregory Phillips and Lisa Jackson-Pulver in particular -- for inviting me to speak tonight and for organising this event and for ensuring that Indigenous health – so often overlooked in the ongoing debates about health and health reform in Australia – receives the attention it deserves in this context.
I begin by acknowledging the Gimiy Walubara Yidinji people, the traditional owners of the land where we meet today, and paying my respects to their elders. I also thank the National Indigenous Environmental Health Forum, the Conference Organising Group and Queensland Health for organising this event and inviting me to open this conference. And thank you to Shane Nicolls for his opening words and introduction.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Noongar people on whose land we are today and pay my respects to their elders. The recent recognition of the Noongar as traditional owners of this land sets a significant context for the launch of the Western Australian Law Reform Commission Report on Aboriginal Customary Laws. The recognition of Noongar native title through Australian law is the most powerful confirmation possible that as a society they possessed, and continue to possess, well-developed systems of law and custom.
Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, ‘The Right to Health of Indigenous Australians’ seminar, University of Melbourne Law School, 16 March 2006.
It is now more than 5 years since the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission completed its national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families with the publication of Bringing them home.
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