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Dad died when I was about two. My parents were married, but they often lived apart. When I was a little kid, they gave me to an Uncle and Auntie and the police took me away from them and put me in a Home. I have never been with my brothers and sisters at all. They were also put into the same Home. My brothers and sisters did not know that I existed until a nun said, 'Come and meet your little…

I was adopted as a baby by a white European couple. They were married at the time. They couldn't have children and they'd seen the ads about adoption and were keen to adopt children.

Bringing Them Home - the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families (the National Inquiry) - made 54 'head' recommendations, 83 recommendations in total [1], to address what was referred to as 'the continuing devastation of the lives of Indigenous Australians'. The implementation of most recommendations requires action…

After watching all the media news on the night of May 26, and all you 'Australians' ... simply refusing to say 'I'm Sorry', I felt ashamed to be an Australian and I would like to clarify the 'Sorry' issue as I understand it.

Politicians, church leaders, community members and the local Aboriginal community gathered in Peace Park yesterday for 'Sorry Day', organised by local members of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

A national 'Sorry Day' is being observed on 26 May, 1998, exactly one year after the tabling in Federal Parliament of the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

This table provides a collective overview of the responses made by governments to the Inquiry's Recommendations. Analysis of government responses together with details of individual government initiatives, where they are known, are provided in the body of the Implementation Report.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma has called on the federal Government to address serious flaws in their Indigenous affairs programs and services. 

There is an urgent need for sound policy in Indigenous affairs. Chapter 1 of the Social Justice Report 2006 considers what some of the key elements of good Indigenous policy making are.

New arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs (introduced as of 1 July 2004) transferred responsibility for the administration of Indigenous specific programs to mainstream government departments. The new arrangements aim to remove, or at least reduce, the barriers that prevent Indigenous peoples from accessing existing mainstream services on an equitable basis. This objective has…

When it comes to ‘good policy’ in Indigenous affairs, a core requirement is the effective participation of Indigenous peoples in all decisions that impact on their lives. In practice, this means governments have a responsibility to actively involve Indigenous peoples in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies that affect them, and to make the necessary…

Background Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs) have been promoted as one of the key approaches to develop mutual obligation for the delivery of services over and above basic citizenship entitlements.

In recent years there have been significant developments at the international level that impact upon the recognition and protection of the human rights of Indigenous peoples.

That there be established a regular federal parliamentary committee of inquiry into the progress of the new arrangements in Indigenous affairs and progress in achieving whole-of-government service delivery to Indigenous communities.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, has issued a challenge to Australian governments to address Indigenous health inequality and inequality of opportunity through a new campaign outlined in this year"s Social Justice Report.

Mr Calma is an Aboriginal elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and the Iwaidja tribal group whose traditional lands are south west of Darwin and on the Coburg Peninsula in Northern Territory, respectively. He has been involved in Indigenous affairs at a local, community, state, national and international level and worked in the public sector for over 30 years.

A note from the Commissioner New arrangements for Indigenous affairs New arrangements event timeline What are the new arrangements ? Walking with the women Race discrimination and shared responsibility agreements Getting more out of native title Agreement making guidelines Links to the new arrangements Where to from here?

This is my first Social Justice Report to the federal Parliament as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. I commenced my five year term at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on 12 July 2004.

In accordance with the functions set out in section 46C(1)(a) of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth), this report includes 5 recommendations - 2 in relation to the needs of Indigenous women exiting prison and 3 relating to the new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs. The report also contains 10 follow up actions that my office will undertake over…

This appendix provides an overview of the main events leading up to the introduction of the new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs on 1 July 2004, as well as the key events which have occurred since that time to implement the new arrangements.