Launch of the Social Justice and Native Title Reports 2008

President speech: Launch of the Social Justice and Native Title Reports 2008

11.00am-1.00pm, 4 May 2009

Turner Hall, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW

Audio of Speech in mp3 format [6.88MB]

Introduction

The Hon Cathy Branson QC, 
President, Australian Human Rights Commission

• I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the Traditional Owners of the land where we gather today.  I pay my respects to your elders past and present.
• I would like to thank Alan Madden for his warm welcome to country
• I would also like to acknowledge:
  • Dr John Boersig, representing the Attorney General, The Hon Robert McLelland MP,
  • Commissioners Innes and Calma,
  • Distinguished members of today’s panel, 
  • Members of Parliament and government officials present with us today,
  • Representatives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations,
  • Ladies and gentlemen
• I welcome you all to the Launch of the Social Justice and Native Title Reports 2008.
• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner is required by law to submit two reports each year to the Attorney-General.These are the Social Justice Report and the Native Title Report.
• Both reports were tabled in parliament last week on 30 April 2009.
• The reports have a significance well beyond mere legislative compliance.
• The annual launch of these reports marks an important point in the yearly calendar of events for Indigenous affairs. Each year the launch of the reports has brought into sharp relief discussions on the current status of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  Each year the launch of the reports raise significant recommendations for government for advancing Indigenous affairs. The reports make important contributions to Indigenous policy as is shown by, for example, the success of the close the gap campaign that emerged from the Social Justice Report 2005.
• The 2008 Reports discuss a variety of human rights issues which impact the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. Some of the topics the reports address are:
  • The impact of climate change on Indigenous peoples, and the contributions that Indigenous peoples are able to make to this global challenge
  • The protection of Indigenous traditional knowledge
  • The challenges of delivering education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in remote areas
  • A framework for healing, following on from the national apology
  • An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander human rights protection framework for Australia
  • Developments relating to Closing the Gap on Indigenous health inequality
• If I may, I would like to briefly highlight one of the issues highlighted in the Social Justice Report that has been close to my heart.  That is the issue of human rights protections for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• In light of the Government’s national consultation on national human rights protections, the Commission has been engaging in discussions with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, and with community groups, on what human rights protections are needed here in Australia. 
• As part of this process we have developed several practical and informative resources. Copies of all our resources are available at the back of the hall, as well as information about making a submission to the national consultation committee.
• The fact is that Australian law does not always protect our human rights and fundamental freedoms. When the rights of any person in Australia are denied, we are all diminished. I want to live in an Australia of which I can be uniformly proud. Where freedom, equality and dignity matter. Where human rights matter.
• I believe that we will have a society of this kind:
  • if those who make our laws are respectful of human rights
  • if those who make decisions under those laws are respectful of human rights
  • if we all are respectful of human rights and live by them each day in our interactions with others.
• I believe that we need greater formal protection of human rights in Australia. A federal Human Rights Act will send an important message to those who make our laws, and to those who administer them, of the rights we want them to protect and respect.
• I strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to participate in the national consultations and put your views on the type of human rights protections that are still needed in Australia. I am sure that the latest Social Justice Report will provide valuable guidance on those protections.
• Finally, I would like to acknowledge the large amount of work that goes into these reports - by the Commissioner, staff of the Australian Human Rights Commission, and a number of members of the community with whom the Commissioner liaises in relation to the reports.  We are fortunate that many of these people with us today.
• Now it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you our first speaker for the launch, Dr John Boersig representing the Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McLelland MP.
• Dr Boersig has had a long involvement in Indigenous affairs and was awarded an Australian Public Service Medal in 2008 in recognition of “outstanding public service in the delivery of law and justice services to Indigenous Australians.” He is now Assistant Secretary, Human Rights Branch, in the Attorney-General's Department. It is also appropriate for me to say a few words about the Attorney-General. The Attorney has been the Member for Barton since 1996. He assumed the position of Attorney-General in 2007. In undertaking his role, the Attorney has highlighted the importance of improving the native title system and has commenced national consultations on better human rights protections, including for Indigenous peoples. This is the first set of reports he has received from the social justice commissioner as the Attorney.
• Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to join me in welcoming the Dr Boersig to give the opening address at today’s launch.