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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Ending violence in Indigenous communities Forum
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Ending violence in Indigenous communities Forum
Amongst all this expertise, it is fair to ask why is the President of the national human rights commission – and particularly a President who has only fairly recently commenced in this role - here presenting the keynote speech to such a conference?
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we stand and pay my respects to their elders both past and present. And I would like to thank the Australian Employers’ Network on Disability for organising this very important seminar to examine this critical issue of ‘disclosure’ which continues to be a significant issue for employers and a barrier to employment for people with disability.
The creation of Ausyouth is an initiative that clearly picks up on the real-life needs of today's youth, an initiative that has the potential to foster the building blocks of a progressive caring society, and from a human rights perspective, it's an initiative that addresses some of Australia's obligations with respect to international instruments, to which we as a nation are committed.
Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we stand and pay my respects to their elders both past, present and future.
Every suicide of a young person is not an isolated, individualised event. Certainly it robs the young person of his or her promised future. But it also traumatises the family, the friends, the school or workmates and, especially in a rural or remote community, the entire community. Every suicide of a young person speaks volumes of weeks, months, even years of confusion, alienation, hopelessness and despair leading up to the final and fatal event.
I speak to you now, not as the Chancellor of this University, but as the President of Australia’s national Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
I begin by paying my respects to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional owners of the land where we meet today, and I pay my respects to your elders, to your ancestors and to those who have come before us.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land where we meet today and to pay my respects to their elders. I would also like to thank the University of NSW and Professor Daniel Tarantola for organising this event, and the Chair; and to acknowledge my eminent fellow speakers – Sofia Gruskin, Paul Hunt, Justice Michael Kirby and Daniel Tarantola again. It’s an honour to be speaking with such a distinguished group.
Allow me to begin by also acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and pay my respects to their elders both past and present.
I'm sure I'm not the only one here that's excited that we're six days into a 44 day period in which there will be 25 days of ashes test cricket. I'm a happy man.
I would also like to thank the HSA group for inviting me today to speak with you about a significant human rights issue – the right of people with disability to work and participate in the social and economic life of our community without discrimination and with appropriate support.
I follow this custom wherever I go to speak in public. I think recognising Australia ' s indigenous peoples and their prior ownership of this land in this way is more than just good manners. It is an important part of recognising our diversity as a nation.
I would like to begin this morning by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to their elders past and present.
The globalisation of the world economy, including much improved communication and transportation, has increased flows of people across borders. This includes the movement of children, both with their family and unaccompanied. Separated children crossing borders may be refugees, humanitarian asylum seekers, trafficked girls who will be forced to work as prostitutes, or simply children lost in the aftermath of war. So today, children can literally travel across the world undetected and unprotected. And Australia, as part of this global system, has its share of these children.
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