1996 Kenneth Jenkins Oration
I am honoured and delighted to be here to deliver the Kenneth Jenkins Oration. My participation continues the involvement of members of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission with this event.
I am honoured and delighted to be here to deliver the Kenneth Jenkins Oration. My participation continues the involvement of members of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission with this event.
It is a pleasure to be able to address you today and I would first like to acknowledge the Gadigal people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand.
President speech: Launch of the Social Justice and Native Title Reports 2008 11.00am-1.00pm, 4 May 2009 Turner Hall, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW Audio of Speech in mp3 format [6.88MB] Introduction The Hon Cathy Branson QC, President, Australian Human Rights Commission I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal...
I begin by paying my respects to the Gadigal peoples of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land where we gather today. pay my respects to your elders, to the ancestors and to those who have come before us. And thank you, Allen Madden, for your generous welcome to country for all of us.
Anglicare, Tasmania Annual Social Justice Lecture 22 August, 2007 TOM CALMA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner National Race Discrimination Commissioner Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
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.
I am speaking on behalf of Dr William Jonas, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. Dr Jonas is unable to be here today, with doctors having advised him he is not able to fly at this time due to a recurring illness. Dr Jonas sends his apologies and has asked that I deliver this speech on his behalf. He has asked me to express to you his appreciation for attending today and to thank Parry Agius and Lowitja O'Donoghue for agreeing to speak at this launch.
Mick Dodson, the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner said in his First Report that "A decent standard of health and a life expectancy equivalent to others is an entitlement. Social justice is not primarily a matter of the relief of suffering. It is a matter of the fulfilment of a responsibility. To draw this distinction is not to deny that the facts by themselves speak out for a remedy. Nor is it to deny that compassion is a proper response. But compassion is an insufficient foundation for the delivery of rights".
As lawyers who work every day with ordinary people, you will all have first hand experience of the value that we, in Australia, place on human rights. You will also be acutely aware of the significant gaps in human rights protection in Australia.
I was invited to pick my own topic for discussion. As an ex-judge being invited to speak to students of the law, I assumed that I was expected to speak on something related to the administration of the law from a judge's perspective. And as President of Australia's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), I assumed I was expected to mention the role of human rights promotion in our legal system.
Between December 2007 and April 2008 the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, will deliver a series of key speeches setting out an agenda for change in Indigenous affairs.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Nyoongar people, the traditional owners of the land we are meeting on today. I pay my respects to their elders past and present. I thank you Kim Collard for your warm welcome.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
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.
There are many influences on government when it comes to Indigenous policy creation. Many have contrasting opinions, some are for pecuniary or self interest, some because they feel Indigenous people get too much, others because it is a power trip, others because of an academic interest and for others because they want to see an improvement in the quality of life of Indigenous people. This speech considers:
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