The National Apology to the Stolen Generations one year on (2009)

Hearing Each other? The National Apology to the Stolen Generations one year on

Tom Calma

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner

Australian Human Rights Commission

Melbourne: Making a Difference

Parliament of the World’s Religions (Pre-Parliament Event)

8 February 2009

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I acknowledge the traditional owners of the Wurundjeri country, the land where we are meeting today, and thank Joy Murphy Wandin for her warm welcome to country. I pay my respects to your elders and to those who have come before us. I would also like to thank the Wunsyaluv dancers for the dances they have performed for us today.

I am an Aboriginal elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and the Iwaidja tribal group whose traditional lands are south west of Darwin and on the Coburg Peninsula in the Northern Territory.

In July 2004 I was appointed as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The Australian Human Rights Commission is a national, independent, statutory body established under the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. The Commission promotes and protects human rights in Australia.

As the Social Justice Commissioner I monitor the enjoyment and exercise of human rights for Indigenous Australians, review the impact of laws and policies on Indigenous peoples and report on Indigenous social justice and native title issues.

Social justice is about making sure that every Australian – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – has choices about how they live and the means to make those choices. It also means recognising the distinctive rights that Indigenous Australians hold as the original peoples of this land.

As the Race Discrimination Commissioner I also monitor the application of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), which is in place to ensure that Australians of all backgrounds are treated equally and have the same opportunities.

I was pleased to be invited to speak here today and to be with you as preparations for forthcoming Parliament of the World Religions, to be held here in Melbourne in December 2009, get underway.

I was pleased to see that several themes from this year’s Parliament of the World Religions overlap with the work I do on issues such as climate change, healing, health inequity, religious discrimination, and justice. I was particularly pleased to see a special focus in this year’s Parliament on the struggles and spiritualities of indigenous peoples from around the world.

So I hope today to contribute to the preparations for the Parliament by talking about the situation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia and conclude with some of the actions people can take to advance reconciliation here in Australia.

To start with I would like to go back to a historic moment in another parliament – the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia, on the 13 February 2008. When the Prime Minister of Australia gave the National Apology to the Stolen Generations.

Many of you will know the ‘Stolen Generations’ refers to the Indigenous children that were separated from their families under the Australian government’s laws, policies and practices of forcible removal of Indigenous children.

The atrocities experienced by these children and the impacts of the removals on the children and their families were documented in the Bringing them home report in 1997.

The report recommended that one of the ways for government to make reparations for the history of gross violations of human rights was through acknowledgement and apology. 11 years later the Apology finally came.

The National Apology was a momentous occasion for so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who were either themselves removed, or affected by the removal of their family members. It was also a landmark in the history of Australia as a nation. It was a moment of reconciliation.

12 months have now passed since that historic moment. In the last of my Essentials for Social Justice speeches given in 2008, I reflected on some of the achievements and challenges that Indigenous peoples have seen since the Apology.

I noted that there had been some terrific initiatives which were emblematic of the new partnership between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Most notable were the commitments by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and Ministers for Health and Indigenous Affairs, along with every major Indigenous and non-Indigenous peak health body to the Statement of Intent to Close the Gap in Indigenous health inequality.

The government committed to:

develop a long-term plan of action, that is targeted to need,  evidence-based and capable of addressing the existing inequities in health services,  in order to achieve equality of health status and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non- Indigenous Australians by 2030.

And the government committed to do so with the full participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; by respecting and promoting the rights of Indigenous peoples, and by monitoring efforts, in accordance with benchmarks and targets.

These commitments provide the basis for the cultural shift necessary to face up to the challenges in relation to Indigenous health equality. But they also formed a template for addressing all areas of poverty and disadvantage experienced by Indigenous peoples. The government has recognised this, and has made equally important commitments in the areas of education, employment and early childhood development.

However, there have also been some areas of inaction that have failed to move the agenda beyond the rhetoric. Some of these areas include:

• The continued suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act from the Northern Territory Intervention measures.
• The lack of follow-up action to implement the outstanding recommendations of the Bringing them home report; and
• Most concerning, the limited adequate engagement and partnership with Indigenous peoples in the development and implementation of government policies, programs and services.

As you will be aware, the scale of disadvantage faced by Indigenous peoples in Australia is significant:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders comprise 2.3% of the total population. The median age is 21 years.^[1]
• There is a 17 year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.^[2]
• Indigenous peoples are half as likely to have completed school to Year 12.^[3]
• 24% of the total prisoner population is Indigenous.^[4]
• The rate of Indigenous children being placed on care and protection orders is around seven times high than other Australian children.^[5]

It is no easy task to address such entrenched and systemic levels of disadvantage. But what I pointed out in my Social Justice Report 2005, is that change is possible. With political will and community involvement, it is possible to achieve such change within a generation. Addressing such disadvantage could generate an additional $8.3 billion savings each year from 2029 onwards.^[6]

For the remainder of today’s speech I will touch on some of the key issues facing Indigenous Australians that are also issues being addressed in the Parliament on the World Religions. These are: climate change, healing, religious freedoms and human rights.



Firstly, climate change. Australians have been paying a lot of attention to how to tackle this problem, which if unaddressed can have such catastrophic results for everyone. However, I have noticed that the contributions and involvement of Indigenous peoples have been largely absent from these considerations.

I would encourage you to look at the situation in the Murray-Darling Basin and the Torres Strait Islands as two examples where we can already see the devastating impacts of climate change in Australia, and understand the specific impact this has on Indigenous peoples.

While it is soul destroying to see what is happening to the lands and water ways in Australia, we can also be inspired by some of the innovative responses that Indigenous peoples have developed in response.

For example in my Native Title Report 2007 I provide a case study of an innovative use of traditional fire burning practices in Arnhem Land, that are used to generate income by reducing carbon in the atmosphere. The Western Arnhem Land Fire Management Project is an example of the groundbreaking approaches that use land and traditional knowledge to respond to the issues of climate change.

If we are to address the issue of climate change in a comprehensive way, it is vital for any response to consider a human rights approach. This must include ensuring Indigenous peoples are adequately consulted and their rights to land, water and livelihood remain protected.

Secondly, the issue of Indigenous healing. Healing is required across a number of fronts to address the trauma from the dispossession and dislocation that has occurred through colonisation, the Stolen Generations, and contemporary forms of disadvantage that manifest as family violence, drug and alcohol abuse and incarceration.

In terms of Indigenous healing what is needed is a range of Indigenous healing services that are: developed and provided by Indigenous peoples; informed by Indigenous spirituality and Indigenous culture; and supported by a range of health and wellbeing services.

There is a need in Australia for a national Indigenous healing body that will enable Stolen Generations members and their families to access services and programs they need for their healing, as well as enable other Indigenous community members experiencing trauma in the contexts of violence, abuse, suicide, mental illness and alcohol and substance abuse, to access healing services.

Thirdly, the freedom of religion and belief and the issue of religious based discrimination. Freedom of religion and belief is protected by a number of international treaties and declarations, including article 18(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

This right encompasses freedom of thought on all matters and the freedom to manifest religion and belief individually or with others, in public or in private.

The right to freedom of religion is supported by the right to non-discrimination on the grounds of religion, contained in Article 26 of the Covenant. The Covenant also specifically recognises the right of Indigenous people’s to culture and freedom of religion in Article 27.

In 1998 the Commission released a report Article 18: Freedom of Religion and Belief. The report made 26 recommendations to strengthen protections for the freedom of religion and belief and to prevent discrimination on the grounds of religion. These recommendations included:

• The enactment of a federal Religious Freedom Act
• Making vilification on the basis of religion and belief unlawful
• Promoting and protecting Indigenous heritage throughout Australia - as the report found that the protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage property is fundamental to the continuation of the cultural and spiritual beliefs of Indigenous Australians; and
• Supporting the Draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - which has since been finalised and adopted on 13 September 2007.

To date these recommendations to a large extent remain unimplemented.

At the same time, much has happened since 1998. Since 11 September 2001, the response of governments everywhere to the fear of terrorism, in particular terrorism linked to a religion, has increased everyone’s focus on the role religion plays in global issues of peace and security.

Given the escalating focus on religion, it has been timely to consult again with the Australian people about what their fears, hopes, aspirations and lived realities about religion and belief.

As aprt of this consultation I launched a discussion paper in September 2008 and our project partner, VicHealth, released a related discussion paper the following month. I would encourage you all, if you have not already done so, to send submissions responding to these papers. This submission process is due to close in the next couple of weeks. Copies of both are available here today.

Finally, I would like to talk about human rights and justice. I believe that a quintessential component of justice is the recognition and protection of human rights and the provision of remedies for where human rights are violated.

Unfortunately, in Australia, human rights are not very well protected under the law and there are few avenues for remedy:

• The Australian Constitution does not protect rights such as the right to life, freedom from torture and rights to health, education and adequate housing.
• The Constitution does not protect the right to equality before the law, or the freedom from discrimination on the basis of race or sex.
• There are no explicit Commonwealth protections against discrimination on the basis of religion or sexuality.
• Australia is the only western democratic country that does not have a national human rights law.

To address these issues the government is holding a national consultation. It is asking the people of Australia which human rights (and corresponding responsibilities) should be protected and promoted? And how? I would again encourage all of you to participate in this consultation and make your views known.

In my view, there is a need to improve human rights protections in Australia for everyone, and in particular to also ensure that there is improved protection for Indigenous peoples’ rights.

There are several ways in which Indigenous human rights could be better protected. But whatever ways are chosen it is important that any process of reform fully involves Indigenous peoples.

Three options for improving Indigenous rights I would like to touch on are:

• Formal support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• A Human Rights Act
• Constitutional changes

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the UN general Assembly on 13 September 2007.

Article 12 of the Declaration refers to the right to practise their religion and culture, maintain their religious and cultural sites; and the right to the repatriation of their human remains.

At the time the Declaration was adopted, the Australian Government was one of four governments to vote against the Declaration.

Even though the Declaration is now part of international human rights law, and therefore all governments are required to take it inot consideration, it is still important for the government to fulfil its commitment to formally support the Declaration and take efforts to apply it within Australia.

Secondly, Australia needs a federal Human Rights Act, to provide legislative recognition and protection of human rights in Australia.

A federal Human Rights Act should include all of the rights that Australia has promised to protect – including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the right to self-determination.

A federal Human Rights Act would improve human rights protections by:

• requiring all three arms of government – the executive, the Parliament and the judiciary - to carefully consider how their decisions impact on human rights
• providing enforceable remedies; and
• helping foster a human rights culture.

Thirdly, in relation to constitutional change. An important way of redressing the historical exclusion of Indigenous peoples from Australia’s foundational documents and national identity would be to change the preamble of the constitution to recognise Indigenous peoples as the first peoples of this land.

I would also support consideration being given to removing or amending parts of the Constitution that continue to allow Indigenous peoples to be discriminated against in Australia, and replacing with them with guarantees of equality and non-discrimination.

Equally as important as ensuring there are legal human rights protections in place, is the importance of ensuring that Indigenous peoples have appropriate representative bodies, with whom the government can engage with to identify and develop policies and programs for Indigenous peoples.

In July 2008 the Commonwealth government commenced the process of establishing a new National Indigenous Representative Body. On 16 December 2008 the Minister for Indigenous Affairs invited me to convene an independent Indigenous Steering Committee to develop a model for a new National Indigenous Representative Body.

Over the next six months the Steering Committee will be engaging and consulting with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the country on their preferred model for a National Indigenous Representative Body.

Once it is established, a national representative body will play a crucial role in articulating an Indigenous rights perspective for Indigenous policy, and in bridging the gap between the actions of bureaucracy and the views of the Indigenous community.

I would like to conclude today by talking briefly about reconciliation and our role in it.

The reconciliation movement in Australia has been very strong, particularly at the community level, in bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

I have also seen several corporations develop Reconciliation Action Plans, in which they commit to reconciliation and identify ways to contribute to Indigenous communities.

The National Apology was a significant moment in this story of reconciliation, as it tapped into the desire within the Australian community to make amends for the past.

I spoke earlier about Indigenous healing. But what we also need is national healing. And that is what reconciliation is about.

When we speak of reconciliation, in addition to the symbolic and meaningful moments of connection, we are also talking about the systemic issues of protecting Indigenous rights and overcoming Indigenous disadvantage.

To advance towards reconciliation, we need to talk and listen to each other, we need to work together in partnership, and we need to develop greater understanding and respect for each other through education and awareness.

As you prepare for the forthcoming Parliament of the World religions I would encourage you to consider how you might be able to contribute to this journey of reconciliation. In what ways can you assist Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities to work in partnership and cooperation?

Please remember, from self respect comes dignity, and from dignity comes hope.

Thank you.

 

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^[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Population Characteristics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2006, ABS cat no 4713.0 (2008) p 12, 14-15.

^[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Deaths 2006, ABS cat no 3320.0 (2006) p 69, Table 9.1.

^[3] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2008, ABS cat no 4704.0 (2008) p 16-17.

^[4] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Prisoners in Australia 2008, ABS cat no 4517.0 (2008) p 22, table 8.

^[5] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2008, ABS cat no 4704.0 (2008) p 225, Table 11.4.

^[6] Access Economics for Reconciliation Australia, An overview of the economic impact of Indigenous disadvantage, (2008) p 5-6 (extracts). At http://www.reconciliationaustralia.org/downloads/772/Theeconomicimpacto… (viewed 19 January 2008).