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Launch
Of The 2006 Social Justice Sunday
Statement

The
Heart of Our Country, Dignity and Justice for Indigenous
Sisters and
Brothers

La Perouse, Sydney

14 September 2006



Speech by Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner

Good
morning everyone; I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of
the Eora Nation, the Traditional Owners and custodians of the land where we are
gathered today. And Aunty Elsie, I pay my respects to you, Aunty Gloria, Uncle
Roy and to other Gadigal elders and family and to the many friends here today.
I would also like to acknowledge Bishop Chris Saunders, Father Brian McCoy and
Mr. John Ferguson.



It is my
great honour to launch the 2006 Social Justice
Sunday Statement: The Heart of Our Country, Dignity and Justice for Our
Indigenous Sisters and Brothers.



Let me summarise the themes
of this statement which were the themes of Pope John Paul II's speech
twenty years ago:

• Respect
  for, and preservation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture,
• Acknowledgement
  of the points of connection between different belief systems,
• Preservation
  and respect for land and land rights, and
• The
  need for true reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
  peoples

These
four themes are profound and visionary and are as relevant today as they were
when Pope John Paul ll addressed people in Alice Springs. And I am not sure
whether to be dismayed or heartened that these themes require the same
commitment in 2006 as they did in 1986.



Some things have changed,
some have improved, and some require our continued vigilance.



I know for example that
over the last twenty years the Australian population has improved its
understanding of Indigenous culture and history. While not easily measurable, I
think there is much good will amongst the wider Australian society and
commitment to developing good relations with my people. I know that politicians
and social commentators, in the main, have a more sophisticated language and
understanding of Indigenous perspectives and Indigenous issues.



The reconciliation movement
has been powerful since Pope John Paul's speech. Australians across the
nation walked for reconciliation in great numbers. It was a time of
inspiration. In hindsight, I wonder if we could have capitalised more fully on
that passion and
optimism.



These things are
hard to measure, but I am concerned that there is a diminishing optimism, both
within my community; the Aboriginal community, and throughout the wider
Australian population. I hope this is not the case, and it is why I
particularly welcome the social justice statement of the Australian Catholic
Bishops at this time - it is inspiring and necessary.



If we reflect on any
progress to address Pope John Paul ll's messages from Alice Springs, it
seems to me that we have won a bit and we have lost a bit. Some of us here
might call it mixed blessings.



I have a strong sense that
it is time to reinvigorate - find our commitment, our energy and continue
to build the bridges between black and white. We need to not only bridge the
gaps of understanding; we need to bridge the gap in life opportunities. I would
like to see a time when there is no difference in the statistics that represent
Indigenous and non-Indigenous social determinants.



And we need to concentrate
on the children.



There are
ever more disturbing stories in the media - and no one needs reminding
that all children require and deserve the very best start to life.



The health and well-being
of the child begins with the mother, and the child's development is
dependent on a healthy gestation period and access to appropriate nutrition,
social and emotional care and educational opportunities. The first years are
critical to the social, emotional, educational and physical well being of the
child.



And as Pope John
Paul ll rightly indicated, preservation of culture is one essential component of
social justice. Preservation of culture through school education provides the
basis for reinforcing the knowledge systems of the child. School should not be
a foreign environment, but rather one that is welcoming, and one that emphasises
what is already known to the child.



I was recently at the Garma
festival in north east Arnhem land where Mr. Tobias Nganbe, the co-Principal of
our Lady of the Sacred Heart School at Wadeye described his school's
commitment to bilingual education. As one of a number of Catholic schools that
support bilingual and bicultural educational, I commend the Catholic educators
across Australia for their ongoing commitment to this approach.



International human rights
standards protect Indigenous peoples' right to culture and language.
Article 27 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights
provides that: minorities shall not be denied the right... to enjoy their own
culture... or to use their own language. ...



The benefits of bilingual
approaches to Aboriginal children are not only in the preservation of the first
culture and languages, there is an emerging body of evidence that indicates that
this approach buttresses English literacy development in children for whom
English is not the first language. This is an important finding as it goes back
to closing the gap in social determinant outcomes.



Pope John Paul ll's
message to preserve the fragile environment and to continue the work of
Indigenous people in the care of the land is another area where there has been
some cause for celebration and some cause for concern.



While Indigenous people
continue to exercise their human rights to their ancestral lands and while there
has been some slow progress in reaching land agreements through native title, I
have concerns about the recent amendments to the Northern Territory Land Rights
Act and what this might mean in other jurisdictions.



There is a strong federal
government push to take control over communities on Indigenous land by taking
out 99 year leases over larger Indigenous townships. At the same time, the
government is also describing homelands - smaller Aboriginal outstations
- as cultural museums. It seems that the government will work to control
and centralise (and perhaps privatise) services in large communities while
withdrawing services to smaller communities that it considers unviable. This is
a social justice issue, and a human rights issue and we must not stand by and
let this happen unchallenged.



But leaving to one side the
homelands issue, I want to talk about the leases on larger communities. The
government claims that there are no real problems with 99 year leases because
they can only be implemented with the consent of Traditional Owners. Well
here are three big problems I see regarding their approach to consent:



One: under the amendments
Traditional Owners will be offered financial incentives - by way of rental
on their land. Traditional Owners living in reduced economic circumstances may
be tempted by short term financial gains to make decisions that will have
lasting consequences for more than four generations. They are also not being
told about the consequences of leasing or the implications of taking out a loan
to purchase a house on the leased
land.



Two: 99 years is a
long time. It means that Traditional Owners today are giving consent for those
of the next generation, and the one after, and the one after and the one after
.... My feeling too, is that once in place these 99 year leases will be renewed
over and over, and in effect, Indigenous lands will be alienated from the
Traditional Owners for all time. In fact, Traditional Owners who lease their
lands for 99 years will potentially have less rights of access to their
traditional lands than they might enjoy under a Native Title ILUA or a pastoral
lease, and



Three: the
changes to the legislation have not been discussed with Traditional Owners. In
fact, the lease provision was slipped into the legislation at a late stage and
there has been no discussion and no specific or detailed information provided to
Indigenous people in the Northern Territory as to what these leases mean.



So what might they mean in
real terms? A Northern Territory CLP MP has alluded to the fact that it might
mean a McDonald's or an Irish theme pub .... In effect, this could result
in the slow creep of cultural and economic imperialism throughout remote
Australia and is especially concerning with the Minister for Indigenous Affairs
current whim to abolish the permit system that controls access onto and protects
the rights of those living on Aboriginal lands in the NT.



Perhaps there is a concern
number four: while 99 year leases have not been effected through the
legislation yet, covert meetings have been had with Traditional Owners to set up
heads of agreement. To my knowledge these meetings are happening between senior
government bureaucrats and Traditional Owners who have no independent legal
representation or independent scrutinisers. We would not enter into any land
leasing or purchasing agreement in wider Australian society without the
protection of a professional conveyancing agent so why does government not
afford the same support or right to Indigenous land owners.



And maybe there is even a
number five: the Government's stated intention for amendments to land
rights is to open up economic development opportunities for Indigenous people.
I can only see that it will do the opposite unless it is managed strategically
and sensitively and with protections for Aboriginal peoples. There is great
potential for exploitation of Indigenous communities and I can see
non-Indigenous business rubbings its hands together with the prospects of the
money that can be made.



So I hold some fears for
the preservation of the fragile environment - the environment that
sustains my people.



Pope
John Paul ll was right when he said that the way forward is to find points of
agreement between... people. I know
that the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council is committed to working for
justice for my people and to finding the connections between Indigenous and
non-Indigenous people. We are here today because we see the importance of
justice and we are prepared to take action to ensure that there is true social
justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, now and into the
future. Importantly, we
sometimes have to look to the past to assist us with the present and the
future. Pope John Paul II's
statements from 20 years ago give us that direction.



The 2006 Social Justice
Sunday Statement is one important step forward. I commend The Heart of Our
Country, Dignity and Justice for Our Indigenous Sisters and
Brothers to you and especially draw
your attention to the "What else can we do" section of the
statement, and I commit to work with you to achieve dignity and justice for my
Indigenous brothers and sisters.



Thank you, God bless and
let's all stand strong in our struggle for
equality and justice for all.