Fourth Edition of Indigenous Legal Issues: Commentary and Materials

Launch of Fourth Edition of Indigenous Legal
Issues: Commentary and Materials

Tom Calma

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner

Australian Human Rights Commission

Australian Human Rights Commission, Sydney

6 August 2009

I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal People, the traditional owners and
custodians of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to their elders past and
present.

The third edition of this book was launched by the previous Social Justice
Commissioner, Bill Jonas. So it is pleasing as the next Social Justice
Commissioner to follow, that I am able to be here to launch the fourth edition
of this book.

As the preface of the book notes, this book first came out in the early 1980s
as a result of the efforts of two of the authors who are here today, Garth
Nettheim and Heather McRae.

They were at the time, trying to teach a law school elective subject on
Indigenous Law, but found that there were no textbooks for such a course. So
they created one.

When this book first came out it was a pioneer in its category. At that time
there were very few Indigenous students in Universities, a course on Aboriginal
issues was a rarity, and as we know, a text book was even harder to find.

Since then each edition of this book, one could say, has been a hallmark of
Indigenous Affairs, marking the developments that have emerged these last three
decades.

Each edition of the book has reflected the changing times and added chapters
on new and emerging issues.

For example, in this fourth edition of the book, we see for the first time a
chapter on International Law by Megan Davis. This reflects the landmark
developments that have been taking place at the international level, most
significant of which has been the adoption of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

While this book was important at the time it was first released, because
there was no other like it, it is even more important now.

The latest edition once again achieves that difficult task of being able to
comprehensively cover a variety of complex issues. It continues to prove itself
as an authoritative text, with a critical commentary on how the law can manifest
to both limit and progress Indigenous rights.

Students, academics, government officials and community members - Indigenous
and non-Indigenous alike, will benefit from being able to access the
comprehensive overviews of Indigenous legal issues contained in this one
book.

It is an important endeavour, and challenge, to ensure that this book remains
updated and topical in its subsequent editions’ for it to continue to be a
seminal resource for Indigenous legal studies.

Interestingly, in many ways, the growth of this book has also mirrored the
growth of Indigenous studies in our universities.

Nowadays we are seeing many more Indigenous students at our Universities, and
we see more courses on Indigenous issues, not just in the law faculty but also
across other faculties.

Since the first edition of this book there has been a close association
between UNSW and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The Commission has encouraged and supported the development of Indigenous
programs at UNSW. Today UNSW has both under-graduate and graduate courses on
Indigenous issues, it has an Indigenous Law Centre which also produces the
Indigenous Law Bulletin and it has the Nura Gili Indigenous Programs which
provide essential support for Indigenous students. I am a member of the Nura
Gili Advisory Council.

The Commission has also worked closely with UNSW’s Diplomacy Training
Program which since its first annual course in 1990 has provided support and
specific training programs for Indigenous Australian advocates.

These achievements have reinforced the need for Indigenous studies to become
a core component of university curriculums, in the law faculty as well as other
faculties.

Ensuring that Indigenous studies are part of the mainstream curriculum, and
part of the education of all Australians, is an important aspect of promoting
Indigenous rights and contributing to reconciliation.

Finally, I cannot go any further tonight without taking a moment to
acknowledge the work and effort of the authors and a host of other contributors.

The authors are all leading experts in their fields and have contributed
generously to this latest edition. They are all here tonight and how wonderful
it is to have such a high calibre of authors collaborating on this fourth
edition.

I would like to acknowledge each of them for the expertise that they have
contributed and congratulate them.

This book in its previous editions has been commended over the years for
being an invaluable resource for Indigenous studies. And this edition is no
exception.

It is important that publications such as this do continue to get updated and
published. And I would like to thank Thomson Reuters for their continued
commitment and support to publish such an important resource.

So, it is my great pleasure tonight to formally launch the fourth edition of Indigenous Legal Issues: Commentary and Materials.

Thank you