Foreword

By Professor Mick Dodson

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner 1993-98

This year marks 20 years since the establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner (Social Justice Commissioner) role under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth). I was appointed in January 1993 as the first Commissioner. I acknowledged then that with the disparities faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people social justice wouldn’t be recognised and addressed in the life of my appointment as Commissioner. However, it was my endeavour to establish a foundation for future Social Justice Commissioners to see this achieved.

The whole process in those early years was like trying to sail a ship at the same time as we were building it. As the first Social Justice Commissioner, I had to define and design what we considered to be social justice and set the agenda for the Commissioner’s role. Central to this agenda was the recognition of our rights and determining the manner in which they will be enjoyed.

I adopted a position on social justice that was grounded in the day-to-day lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In a practical sense, social justice is what confronts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when they wake up. For too many of our people this is the prospect of things that are detrimental to them. What house do they wake up in? Is there adequate sanitation? Do they have the opportunity for meaningful employment and education? Does education respect and honour their cultural background?

An understanding of social justice which is explicitly based on rights to equality, and rights to fairness, together with the resources to achieve this equality, places social justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on its correct foundation.

From the very beginning, it was important that the Social Justice Commissioner be viewed as independent in carrying out the requirements of the office and to pursue those objectives without interference from the Australian Government and the other Commissioners. I was aware that the appointment of an Indigenous person to the office of the Social Justice Commissioner may be viewed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as just another arm of Government. To counter this, it was my view that I should ensure the powers and functions entrusted to me as Commissioner should be pursued in a balanced and independent fashion.

Under the leadership of Sir Ronald Wilson, President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, all the Commissioners worked in a very supportive and collegiate fashion.

During my term as the Social Justice Commissioner the range of issues that I reported on cannot be captured in this foreword. However, one of the issues that recast the landscape of the country was the recognition of native title.

In the wake of the Mabo decision on native title in the High Court, the Government promised a threefold response. The first part was the Native Title Act itself and the second was the Land Acquisition Fund. The Social Justice Package was to form the third part of the Government's response. I was heavily involved in negotiations on the Social Justice Package and I advocated for a shift away from the administration of Indigenous welfare to the recognition of Indigenous rights. To this day the Social Justice Package has never been delivered.

I still reflect on the significance of the Bringing Them Home Report on the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. It validated what victims of the Stolen Generations were saying and acknowledged the generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people separated from their families and communities. Reporting on these experiences was emotionally, physically and psychologically draining for all those involved. Yet I am so proud of the Report because the voices of the victims were heard loud and clear and their stories were finally heard and accepted.

While the establishment of the Social Justice Commissioner was in part a response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC), I was concerned with the view that my role had a specific function of overseeing the process of implementing its recommendations. My work on the recommendations from the RCIADIC was solely on the two relating to community education and field officer training.

The Social Justice Commissioner position is the only role in the world dedicated to Indigenous peoples rights and fundamental freedoms within a National Human Rights Institution. It plays a leadership role internationally in promoting a model for greater recognition and protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples.

During my term as Commissioner I said that an understanding of social justice is explicitly based on our rights and access to the resources to achieve these objectives. This can be realised through the full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration) domestically. I look forward to watching the development of a National Strategy on the Implementation of the Declaration, which is currently underway through a partnership between the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples (Congress) and the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Social Justice Commissioner.

My vision for the future is that the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people shall be respected, promoted and fulfilled. I encourage the Government’s long-term commitment to engaging in formal dialogue with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Social Justice Commissioner and Congress. And I have hope about developing a National Strategy to give full effect to the Declaration which includes the monitoring, evaluation and annual reporting to monitor the progress of such implementation. The commitment of the Government to the progression of the Declaration will be a test of substantial respect for human rights.

Finally, as I said in my first Social Justice Report in 1993, I have an unshakeable belief in Australia’s potential to transcend its past.

Professor Mick Dodson