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'Though land rights and self-determination provide no utopia for the contemporary indigenous Australian community, they have belatedly put right an ancient wrong. The cost and inconvenience are unavoidable. Terra nullius is no longer an option.' Full text is from Fr Frank Brennan's keynote speech at the Central Queensland Law Association Conference, Mercure Capricorn Resort, Yeppoon, 27 October 2012.
Most Australians would agree that it’s time to free the Constitution from all vestiges of racial discrimination. For this, it needs an amendment affirming the status as Indigenous Australians as equal citizens. But in the current political climate, a referendum is unlikely to produce the necessary super majority of electors in four of the six states voting in favour.
Those who have been aware of racism in the Constitution and prepared to tolerate it, have effectively blessed the attitude that it's acceptable to regard Indigenous Australians as second class citizens in theory as long as we treat them as equals in practice.
Earlier this year Frank Brennan celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a Jesuit priest. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating once dubbed him a 'meddling priest', a label he accepts with mixed feelings.
Like many Aboriginal communities, the Western Desert communities of WA's Pilabara are dealing with many pressing local issues. If plans for a national representative body can address some of these without introducing cumbersome structures that will inevitably fail, it will have achieved much.
The Rudd Government would be wise to ignore calls to 'bin' UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Human Rights' James Anaya's statement on the Intervention. Sometimes it takes an international body to condemn an obnoxious law or practice.
The death of a WA Aboriginal elder in a prison van last year was one of the worst human rights tragedies in Australian living memory. A recent speech by Governor-General Quentin Bryce evoked a more optimistic outlook for Indigenous justice.
Dodson can be expected to show courageous leadership, and not shrink from challenging government. The responses of Tony Abbott and some Aboriginal leaders exemplify the fact that many see the focus on Indigenous rights as passé.
Events such as the National Apology and the Northern Territory Intervention loom large in the collective memory. Many of the struggles faced by early 20th century activist Fred Maynard regarding the protection of Indigenous rights remain with us today.
The abuse of children in remote communities has been the catalyst for revising romantic notion of land rights and self-determination. 2020 summiteers were allowed to dream and strategise about closing gaps while wondering how best to recognise the enduring rights of indigenous Australians.
The Rudd Government is consulting and working out what to do about the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The symbolism of reversing Australia's vote against the Declaration would need to be matched by more work in partnership with indigenous Australians.
37-48 out of 51 results.