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I have spent a lot of time this past year convincing people from all walks of life that the challenges facing Indigenous peoples in this country are not insurmountable.

The 2000 Social Justice Report is the second by Dr Jonas. It tabled in both houses of the federal Parliament on 28 March 2001. The theme of the report is reconciliation and human rights.

Our challenge for the future is to embrace a new partnership between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The core of this partnership for the future is closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians on life expectancy, educational achievement and employment opportunities.

The young boy I visit is [words deleted]Afghani. When I first started to visit he was very distressed and in my opinion suicidal. He told me he was crying every day and all he did was cry and sleep. He also took part in a hunger strike and spoke of stitching his lips together. His words "one week two week I be dead, better if I dead no more cry no more thinking my mother my father." I…

Yeoval is a rural town located in central western NSW, midway between Orange and Dubbo. It has a population of 450 and a surrounding district of 1,500. When the Yeoval Public Hospital was closed in 1988 a vital facility disappeared. The local community, however, was not prepared to lose its hospital without a fight. The community held a public meeting and a decision was reached to form a…

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner acknowledges the work of Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission staff and consultants in producing this report (Fabienne Balsamo, Somali Cerise, Kirsten Cheatham, Anna Dawson, Darren Dick, Janet Drummond, Cassandra Goldie, Christopher Holland, Vanessa Jackson, Christina Kenny, Julia Mansour and Emilie Priday).

This research report: Assesses the prevalence and depth of stereotypes and negative attitudes towards older Australians Provides insight into the impact of these attitudes and the resulting behaviours on older Australians and the general community, including business decision makers Examines the portrayal, and invisibility, of older Australians in the media by all main media platforms…

Many fundamental freedoms are guaranteed by international human rights law. They include the freedoms of expression, movement and choice of residence, peaceful assembly and association, and the freedom to manifest one's religion or belief.

As outlined in this guideline, in all jurisdictions except NSW, the granting of an exemption is not a legal prerequisite for conducting a targeted recruitment strategy, as long as the recruitment program meets the requirements of a special measure. This is because the purpose of an exemption is to exclude the application of a particular law to certain conduct which would otherwise breach…

As a place where the future leaders of the Australian Defence Force are trained, what happens at ADFA has profound significance for Defence and for our nation. It is now more than one year since the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Review made a series of recommendations to improve the treatment of women at ADFA. These wide-ranging recommendations targeted many aspects of life at ADFA as…

4.1 Introduction 4.2 Justice reinvestment in Australia five years on 4.3 Justice targets 4.4 National Justice Coalition 4.5 Conclusion and recommendations 4.1 Introduction The overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as both victims and offenders in the criminal justice system remains one of the most glaring disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander…

Family violence and abuse is occurring at an unacceptable level in our Indigenous communities. It is a scourge that damages our families and communities, traumatises our women and children and tears at the fabric of our culture.

In my role as Social Justice Commissioner I am required to produce two annual reports on Indigenous human rights issues – the Social Justice Report and the Native Title Report. The reports, which are tabled in federal Parliament, analyse the major changes and challenges in Indigenous affairs over the past year. They also include recommendations to government that promote and protect the…

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and good faith in the fulfilment of the obligations assumed by States in accordance with the Charter,