Towards a reconciled Australia: National Press Club speech (2010)
With respect and gratitude I acknowledge that we sit on the lands of the Ngunnawal peoples and I thank the Traditional Owners for allowing us to do so.
With respect and gratitude I acknowledge that we sit on the lands of the Ngunnawal peoples and I thank the Traditional Owners for allowing us to do so.
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.
RECENT announcements notwithstanding, there's no getting around the fact that young people in South Australia are being detained in overcrowded and outdated conditions in breach of Australia's human rights obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not represented in our Federal Parliament. Five years ago, they ceased altogether to have a representative voice when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was abolished. We have suffered as a result.
In 1994, phone numbers had seven digits, we listened to Crowded House, and it was legal to own a semi-automatic rifle. Mother And Son and A Country Practice disappeared from television screens, and The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert and Muriel's Wedding showed off our magnificent country and sense of humour while touching on tough issues such as marginalisation, sexuality and racism.
I begin by paying my respects to the Mouhenenner people, the traditional owners of the land where we gather today. I pay my respects to your elders, to the ancestors and to those who have come before us.
Video - Let the healing begin Response to government to the national apology to the Stolen Generations By Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Wednesday, 13 February 2008 Member’s Hall, Parliament House...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and acting Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
I would like to acknowledge the Yolngu people on whose land we are today. I would also like to thank Charles Darwin University for inviting me to speak at this Garma festival where we celebrate the Yolngu culture and world view.
There have been some improvements in recent years. But there is a long way to go. Indigenous peoples make gains but they are often smaller than those made by the non-Indigenous population - so the disparity in life chances remains static. In fact, there has been very little reduction in this inequality gap in Australia in the past decade.
Thank you for joining me here today to launch the Social Justice Report and Native Title Report for 2005. Both reports were tabled in the federal Parliament 6 weeks ago on 14 February 2006.
Let me begin by extending my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mulrunji and to the Indigenous communities of Palm Island and Townsville, who have been so deeply affected by Mulrunji’s death in custody in 2004 and subsequent proceedings. I share with you my outrage at the failures to...