Disability Rights
26 years ago, on this day in 1973, the first call was made on a mobile phone other than a car phone, when Martin Cooper, a Motorola executive shocked New Yorkers by walking down the street talking into a shoe-shaped handset. We've moved a long way since then, when there are more mobile phones in Australia than people, and phone calls are just one of the many things that they now do.
Disability Rights
I was particularly pleased to receive the invitation from Deafness Forum to participate in this event to recognise the access initiatives developed by Princess Alexandra Hospital .
Disability Rights
I recently returned from attending a United Nations meeting, where work is progressing on the development of an International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
Disability Rights
Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney, Australia
Race Discrimination
Centuries ago a great many of the inhabitants of this beautiful island were wiped out by colonization and its aftermath. The disappearance of so many is a solemn reminder of the injustice done to the first peoples of this land. Their violent absence is a presence that calls for us to reflect on injustices, suffering and reconciliation in the broadest sense. To them I pay my respects.
Rights and Freedoms
Good morning. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet – the Gadigal people of the Eora nation – and their elders both past and present.
Rights and Freedoms
In the contemporary world, and particularly amongst developed economies, many of us believed that the culture of civil liberties, freedoms and non-discrimination are reasonably well established and these precepts have clear links to innovation, creativity and the broader concepts of economic productivity and a well functioning civil society. Indeed, I believe that many of us had come to accept and expect this to be the situation, and that conferences like the one we attend here today could be built on this very premise.
Rights and Freedoms
Over the past year I have travelled to about 30 communities in all States and Territories from large regional cities like Cairns and Bunbury to small towns like Bourke and Peterborough, to remote communities like Papunya and Yuendumu. Wherever I have gone I've heard of the hard work and commitment of rural nurses in their local communities.
Commission – General
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Kaurna peoples on whose land we meet this evening. I also thank Katrina Power for her warm welcome to country.
Commission – General
I also want to make mention of the fact that we are 130kn south west of an area of great significance to the Aboriginal communities of western NSW, which is now called Mutawintji National Park - the first park to be handed back to its Traditional Owners under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act in 1998. [1] The caves and overhangs in the park have been transformed into expansive galleries of Aboriginal rock art, and it comes as no surprise that they have formed the backdrop for ceremonies for at least 8,000 years.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Chair of the Close the Gap Steering Committee for Indigenous Health Equality
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I speak as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and National Race Discrimination Commissioner of Australia. I am a member of Australia’s national human rights institution.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation on whose land we are today and pay my respects to their elders. I’d like to thank the organisers for inviting me to speak, and I would like to acknowledge you, the Aboriginal field staff. You have an important role and I pay tribute to you and your work.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
May I also congratulate the organisers for convening this important Forum. We know that rates of diabetes among indigenous peoples across the globe, and in Australia, are extremely high and require specific, focused attention. And we also know that we need action urgently.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I am speaking on behalf of Dr William Jonas, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. Dr Jonas is unable to be here today, with doctors having advised him he is not able to fly at this time due to a recurring illness. Dr Jonas sends his apologies and has asked that I deliver this speech on his behalf. He has asked me to express to you his appreciation for attending today and to thank Parry Agius and Lowitja O'Donoghue for agreeing to speak at this launch.
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