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Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and acting Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and acting Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Introduction Distinctive features of the DDA Definition of disability Standards Limits of standards Action plans Focus of legislation on long term and large scale change Exemptions Complaint processes Courts and the role of anti-discrimination agencies
I would like to begin by thanking the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) for inviting me to address you today, and to thank you for your attendance.
I am very pleased to be able to contribute to this Forum and would like to congratulate the co-convenors, Rhonda and Fiona, and their organisations for this initiative, which is just one part of the Disability Advisory Council's Disability Action Plan Project running throughout 2006.
I would like to start today by acknowledging the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji people on whose land we are on today and pay my respect to your elders both past and present. Thank you to Seith for your welcome to country. I pay my respects as a Gangulu man from Central Queensland.
I am sure I am not the first person to say it, but it seems to me that there are particularly important reasons for a telecommunications company such as Telstra to be interested in diversity.
Professors Harry Minas and Byron Good - Conference Convenors and Co-directors, distinguished guests from both Australia and overseas, ladies and gentlemen, all.
Allow me to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Bidjigal clan of the Eora people. I also acknowledge Bryan Woodford, ACROD President; Ken Baker, ACROD Chief Executive, my fellow speakers and participants.
Firstly, I would like to pass on apologies from the President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, The Hon. John von Doussa QC, who is presently interstate and unable to be here today. It goes without saying that he entirely endorses the purpose of this project and believes there should be more of it.
Mr Johnathon Ridnell, ABC Regional Radio Dr Maureen Rogers, Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities Fellow speakers Ladies and gentlemen
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight. It's almost 18 months since we launched the Same-Sex: Same Entitlements National Inquiry. In that time, we have travelled around Australia to hear, first hand, about the impact of discriminatory laws on same-sex couples, and their children. We received 680 written submissions from across Australia and met with more than 500 people. The Inquiry put federal laws under the human rights microscope.
We are on Aboriginal land – and as a mark of respect to the traditional owners of this country – I want to recognise their culture and their law because they are integral to what we now call Coogee.
Thank you, Bob, for that generous introduction and warm welcome. And thank you to G&T for hosting this event. I am so pleased to be able to join you this evening for this year’s Vincent Fairfax Speaker Series. I thought I might never make it – for the last two days I have had the privilege of being on-board the warship HMAS Sydney as it undertook war exercises offshore – part of my defence review. As my staff gradually hit the decks one after the other with sea sickness, I wondered whether arranging the sea visit to coincide with tonight’s event was a smart move.
To some of you the role of The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) in the industrial relations scene in Australia will be well known, others of you may be wondering why a representative of a human rights body would be speaking on this occasion. I propose therefore to briefly summarise HREOC's role in the administration of federal anti-discrimination law, including its complaint handling function, and to give some recent statistics.
I always enjoy receiving an invitation from Victoria to talk about Action Plans because I know that Victoria is a leader in the country in terms of organisational commitment to developing Action Plans.
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