“An inherent part of reconciliation is the recognition and respect for the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to the Australian community and of the distinct rights which they hold as the first peoples of this land.”
Paul Newman, former Chair of NSW Reconciliation Council, 2004.

Resources

Social Justice Report 2009 
Australian Human Rights Commission
In this year’s Social Justice Report I focus on three areas: justice reinvestment to reduce Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system; protection of Indigenous languages; and sustaining Aboriginal homeland communities. At their core these issues speak to the need for strong communities. This might be through reinvesting money in crime prevention and keeping people out of prison; protecting language and culture that is the glue which keeps communities together; or supporting strong homelands as a model of community development and self-determination.

Reconciling Indigenous peoples' sovereignty and state sovereignty
Paul Chartrand Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 13 November 2009
The concept of ‘shared sovereignty’ is examined as a contribution to the debate on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada and Australia. The discussion includes some commentary on some common features of the reconciliation debate in both countries. The main focus is on the views of a minority of justices in a Supreme Court of Canada case and their comparison with the analysis of Canada’s 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

Social inclusion and social citizenship: towards a truly inclusive society
Matthew Thomas, Luke Buckmaster Parliamentary Library November 2009
Since taking office in December 2007, the Rudd Government has made social inclusion a key theme in its approach to social policy.

Ideology, Evidence and Competing Principles in Australian Indigenous Affairs: From Brough to Rudd via Pearson and the NTER
William Sanders CAEPR Discussion Paper 289 / 2009
This paper tracks the recent rise of ideology and evidence discourse as a way of describing good and bad Indigenous affairs policy. Expressing dissatisfaction with this discourse, it suggests a slightly more complex analytic way of thinking about Indigenous affairs involving three competing principles; equality, choice and guardianship.

A better future for Australia's Indigenous young people 
Author: Laura Brown with Ken Zulumovski Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) 22 December 2009
Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs' Inquiry into the high level of involvement of Indigenous juveniles and young adults in the criminal justice system
The over-representation of Indigenous juveniles in the justice system has been an issue for many years, and is a particular issue in NSW.

Achieving an inclusive society through human rights and social justice 
Author: Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) 05 June 2009
Comments to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consultation on its 2009 Draft National Platform

Get Up, Stand Up: Black Protest In Australia

30 October 2009
It's been quite a while since indigenous Australians joined together to protest against the celebrations surrounding the 1988 bicentenary of European settlement. Since then, aboriginal activists have focussed on such things as reconciliation, addressing the issues raised by the NT intervention, and the "Close the Gap" campaign which tackles the massive differences in outcomes for aborigines. So what's the current state of protest within the aboriginal community, and what needs to be done next?

Developing an Indigenous Policy Framework
Jon Altman CAEPR 17th April 2009
This paper argues for a very different policy framework that looks to openly combine three interlinked elements: needs-based citizenship rights, special Indigenous rights, and compensatory ‘social justice’ rights.

Collaborating for Indigenous Rights
The fifteen years from the late 1950s to the early 1970s was a time of unusual collaboration between black and white activists in Australia. Alliances were formed between Aboriginal Australians motivated to help their people and white Australians wanting to redress the injustices suffered by dispossessed peoples in the building of the Australian state. This site tells their stories.

Rights, Respect, Reconciliation: A Community Education Resource 
NSW Reconciliation Council's resource with information about reconciliation and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Social Justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
An information Sheet from the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Some Questions and Answers about Indigenous Peoples, Migrants and Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Fact from the Australian Human Rights Commission's Face the Facts series, 2008.

Statement on ATSIC : Dr William Jonas AM
William Jonas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, HREOC
The Liberal government is treating ATSIC as a scapegoat for the failures of successive Australian governments. The abolishment of ATSIC will silence Indigenous people at a national level. Summary of Submission to ATSIC Review

ATSIC’s Achievements and Strengths: Implications for Institutional Reform
Dr Will Sanders Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
Argues that, over its fourteen year history, ATSIC indeed achieved much and displayed considerable strengths. This needs to be acknowledged and understood in current processes of institutional reform. Otherwise learning from ATSIC will only be negative, about what not to do. We also need to understand what worked in ATSIC and how that can be built on.

Governance for sustainable development: Strategic issues and principles for Indigenous Australian communities
M. Dodson and D.E. Smith Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
This Discussion Paper examines the concepts of 'governance', 'good governance' and 'sustainable development' in the context of Australian Indigenous communities and regions. It explores the hypothesis that there is vital link between governance and sustainable development.

Key Issues Papers - Controlling Destinies
Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR)
'Controlling destinies' is an important issue for all Australians, and particularly for indigenous Australians, since one of the most long-standing impositions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have endured from governments and others is external control, management and direction. From the earliest days of relocation from traditional lands, through 'protective' isolation and then assimilation policies, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were denied their right to be self-determining within Australia's economic, social, political and legal structures. Indigenous Australians were also given little or no opportunity to contribute to the content of the foundation governing structures of the nation, such as the Federal Constitution and state Constitutions, which were created after colonisation. 'Self-determination' became Federal government policy as recently as 1972. This document contains chapters from different authors on various matters concerning self-determination.

Links

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commission
The position of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner was created by the federal parliament in December 1992 – a response to the findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the National Inquiry into Racist Violence. It was also a response to the extreme social and economic disadvantage faced by Indigenous Australians.

Read the Commision's Annual Social Justice Reports.

Resources