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Opening and acknowledgement

Good morning, everyone.

Let me begin by acknowledging the Larrakia people, the Traditional Custodians of the unceded lands, territories and waters on which we gather today.

I pay my deepest respects to their Elders, past and present, and I honour the strength of their continued connection to Country. 

To the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us from across this country - thank you for being at this important annual gathering of our people.

You bring the collective spirit and strength of your communities, your lands, and your knowledge systems. You carry stories, dreams, and responsibilities that ground our conversations in truth with the aim of achieving justice and healing.

I also acknowledge AIATSIS and the Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation as the co-hosts for this year’s Summit.

To our non-Indigenous allies and partners, and other distinguished guests - thank you for walking with us. You are witnesses, co-learners, and, we hope, advocates for transformative change. 

I hope that as you walk alongside us you deepen your understanding of our collective journey towards a fair and just future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

It’s a deep honour to be here on Larrakia country, where the spirit of resistance, culture, and renewal has long shaped the story of the Northern Territory and our national struggle for justice. This place holds histories that speak powerfully to our Summit’s theme: “Voices of Empowerment: Strengthening our Future.”

Because it is through voice - through story, through truth, through assertion of rights and identity - that we build strength. And it is through strength that we forge our collective future.

�����鱨վ me – The work we are called to do

For those who don’t know me, I am a proud Kaanju and Birri/Widi woman who grew up in Rockhampton, on the lands of the Darumbal people and now live on the lands of the Quandamooka people in Magan-djin - Brisbane.

I began my role as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner at the �����鱨վ in April 2024.

As the Social Justice Commissioner, my mandate is to monitor the exercise and enjoyment of human rights by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and to support the realisation of those rights. I also monitor the effectiveness of the Native Title Act in recognising and realising our rights.

But I am also a mother, a grandmother, a daughter, a granddaughter, a community member, and a beneficiary of stories passed through generations of my people. And I carry the voices and aspirations of my old people and of my children and grandchildren – our future generations, just as each of you carry yours.

This moment: Voices rising across the continent

The Theme of this year’s Summit: Voices of Empowerment: Strengthening our Future – that considers a world in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights, knowledges and voices are recognised, respected, and valued by all Australians – comes at a critical time.

As we continue to navigate the disappointment following the failed Voice referendum - a moment that exposed deep fault lines in our nation’s understanding of justice, and of us - Here we stand. Not silent. Not defeated. But louder. Sharper. More determined than ever in our demand for transformation that improves outcomes for our people.

This year’s Summit asks us to reflect on what empowerment truly means - and how we strengthen our collective future through the power of voice and self-determination.

Because the Voice was never the end of our journey. It was a tool – a mechanism - an opportunity - among many in a much older, deeper, and more enduring struggle.

Today, I want to focus on two pillars of that struggle: Native Title and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration).

And I want to speak to how these frameworks must contribute to the evolution of the Australian legal landscape - not just to recognise our voices, but to empower them, to lift them, and to embed them into the western systems that dominate the governance of this land and its people.

Native Title: A system in need of reform

On Friday night I was honoured to give the biannual Mabo Oration in Gimuy, Cairns – an Oration that pays tribute to Dr Eddie Koiki Mabo of the Merium People – and the landmark High Court Decision which bears his name.

While the Mabo decision confirmed our pre-existing and continuing native title rights and interests, this judgement forced this country to confront its greatest legal fiction: the fiction of terra nullius – or land belonging to no-one. 

The Mabo Decision was not simply a legal recognition of native title – it was the acceptance of truth, that resulted in the rejection of the doctrine of terra nullius in Australia, and a recognition of the enduring connection between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Country.

A legacy that would fundamentally change the course of Australian history and the foundations of the Australian legal system:

• by rejecting the notion that First Peoples societies were “without a settled law’;
• by confirming that our traditional laws and customs survived the imposition of British law; and
• by recognising our traditional laws and customs as not only a coherent system, but as an additional source of law in Australia that does not derive from the Crown.^[1]

But what followed - the Native Title Act - has not done justice to that legacy.

Yes - it gave us a legal pathway to recognition, but that pathway is one that was shaped by the same colonial legal system that has long denied our existence and our inherent rights.

Rather than delivering on its stated intent of rectifying the consequences of past injustices and securing the adequate advancement and protection of our rights, recognition and representation, the native title system places the burden on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to translate the ancient and sacred into a bureaucratic interpretation that priorities the rights of others over those it was intended to protect.

In the 33 years since it’s commencement, we have seen the Native Title Act contribute to an Indigenous estate of approximately 62 percent of the Australian land mass, including exclusive and non-exclusive native title determinations and Indigenous land Use Agreements^[2].

And it is heartening to see that under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, target 15 that seeks to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples legal rights and interests in both lands and seas by 15 percent respectively by 2030, is one of the four of the 17 targets that are deemed to be on track.^[3]

However, the native title system is slow, adversarial, expensive, complex and in many instances harmful and traumatising. And even when successful, our rights are often limited and come with strings attached.

While some groups have secured agreements negotiated with their genuine consent, other native title holders have argued that the agreements they have entered were done so under duress.

Effectively securing and exercising our native title rights and interests is further exacerbated by a complex web of legislation and regulation that applies often conflicting layers of bureaucracy and red tape that undermines our aspirations, our rights, and our cultural authority concerning our land’s, territories, waters and resources.

While we have actively engaged within the system to reform the way the native title system works, the impacts of the Ten Point Plan are still dominant and significantly restrict the potential for the native title system to deliver on its promise.

The 1998 Amendments were considered to have breached the Racial Discrimination Act, with some arguing that they turned the Native Title Act into an instrument of dispossession. 

Despite recommendations for structure reform, reform efforts have largely amounted to tinkering around the edges that get us no closer to achieving the stated aims of the Native Title Act, outlined within its preamble.

And certainty is most often delivered for government and third-party proponents, at the expense of justice, self-determination, and empowerment for First Peoples.

This has been highlighted in the current ALRC Review of the Future Acts Regime within the Native Title Act^[4].

Timber Creek and Commonwealth vs Yunupingu

In emphasising the limitations of the native title system, we have also had some important recent wins. Again, using the Western Legal system to challenge and secure our rights.

The first being the Timber Creek High Court Decision in March 2019. This case, Northern Territory v Griffiths on behalf of the Ngaliwurru and Nungali Peoples, regarded the ‘most significant’…since Mabo^[5], is the first time since the commencement of the Native Title Act in 1994, that the High Court has ruled on compensation for the extinguishment of native title by past acts – awarding $2.5 m in compensation for both economic and cultural loss, including interest.

The second is the most recent High Court judgement delivered in March 2025, in the case of Commonwealth v Yunupingu. This case confirmed:

• that the ‘just terms’ principle – made famous in the Australian movie, The Castle – applies equally to everyone in Australia
• that native title is a property right, and like any other property right, if it is taken away by the Commonwealth, then native title holders are entitled to compensation on just terms; and
• that given the Commonwealth was responsible for making laws for the Northern Territory from 1911 until 1978, when the Territory obtained self-government, that the principle of just terms compensation applies to the taking of property in the Northern Territory during that period^[6].

Both cases take our fight for our native title rights and interests to a new level, beyond recognition through determination, and agreement making outcomes, to delivering compensation for the loss and extinguishment of our cultural, social and economic rights.

UNDRIP: A global framework for local empowerment

As we work to better align the Native Title Act with the intent outlined within its preamble, we also have other important tools to support our efforts in this regard.

One of those tools is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In the absence of a comprehensive national charter or set of human rights law, we must set the right legal and policy architecture in place.

The Declaration stands as the most comprehensive international instrument on the rights of Indigenous Peoples – pulling together existing legal human rights obligations and providing a lens through which to apply these rights and standards to the lives and circumstances of Indigenous peoples and their communities.

Further, in a patchwork of disparate discrimination laws that are often outdated, unclear, framed only in the negative and with significant gaps between them, Australia lacks a comprehensive set of human rights laws.

So, the �����鱨վ has provided the government with a model National Human Rights Act to underpin a new human rights framework. This includes important advances to better protect the rights of First Peoples and has been endorsed by the Federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights.

When the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration by majority vote in 2007, it gave Indigenous peoples across the world a powerful affirmation of what we have always known: that our rights are not conditional – they are not negotiable - they are inherent.

The Declaration affirms our right to self-determination, and to own, use, and control our lands, territories, and resources. It guarantees our right to free, prior, and informed consent in decisions that affect our rights; as well as our right to develop and maintain our own institutional structures and customs, including juridical systems or customs.

Having voted no to the Declaration at the General Assembly in 2007, Australia formally adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2009.

In the 16 years since then, Australia has failed to embed the Declaration into domestic law and policy in any substantive way that will make difference.

A Parliamentary Inquiry has been conducted recently to consider implementation of the Declaration.

In November last year, Australia’s Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs released its report on the Application of the Declaration in Australia. It makes sensible recommendations for implementing the Declaration and supports the development of legal and policy architecture that respects and realises our rights, including the establishment of a National Action Plan.

We eagerly await a response to this Inquiry Report.

However, if we are serious about empowering Indigenous voices, then we must stop treating the Declaration as an international ideal and start using it as a framework to support the transformation of government systems and structures that impact the rights of Indigenous Peoples, committed to under Priority Reform Three of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Priority Reform Three requires that transformation achieves the elimination of racial discrimination in laws, policies and practices, and supporting this is the National Anti-Racism Framework that was launched in November last year by my colleague Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giri Sivaraman.

The National Anti-Racism Framework is another important tool - locating racism in the structures that surround us and providing a plan to transform those structures for our future.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must have full participation in the laws, policy and decisions that directly affect us and we must be safe from racism while doing so.

Voices of Empowerment: What real change looks like

So, what does empowerment look like? What does it mean to move beyond symbolic gestures to real structural change that delivers a fairer just future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples?

Empowerment means that Native Title law for example must be redesigned through an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lens. That the rights affirmed in the Declaration - especially our right to self-determination and the right to give our free, prior and informed consent - must be embedded in all aspects of the Native Title system.

It means that:

• Development must no longer be inevitable and uncompromising. The default assumption must shift from “yes unless blocked” to “only if consented to.”
• The Declaration must be legislated. We need a National Declaration Implementation Act that embeds human rights standards and the Declaration and requires compliance from all governments^[7]. Every law, every policy, every planning decision must be assessed and consistent with human rights standards that Australia has committed to.
• First Nations governance must be respected. This includes expanding our role in decision-making across environmental management, cultural heritage, health, and education - wherever our communities are impacted; and
• that PBCs and our governance institutions are resourced to succeed. They must be free to define their own governance models that accord with our cultural arrangements, laws and customs, economic agendas, and development strategies based on community priorities.
• And like Aunty Pat mentioned yesterday, young voices must be nurtured. Empowerment is not just about voice - it’s about building platforms, passing the microphone, and ensuring the next generation is equipped and supported to lead when required.

Imagine an Australia where:

• Every PBC is resourced and staffed by its own community members.
• Sacred sites are protected by binding agreements under Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law and custom, and western law.
• Development projects are subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led environmental and cultural assessments.
• Senior Elders and Young leaders are embedded in every decision-making body, shaping the policies that will impact their futures.

But this cannot be just a dream. It is a blueprint. It is a non-negotiable standard that Australia has committed to. And we must insist on it.

Conclusion

Empowerment is about self-determination being embedded - at every level, in every system, and on our terms. We must be actively engaged in all decisions that affect us at all stages, and we must be supported to achieve our individual and collective goals and outcomes.

In the current legal landscape of this country, this must be matched by political will for change – from all sides of politics and across all jurisdictions.

Nationally our voices are still being filtered, mediated, and constrained by systems that weren’t built for us and structures that work against us.

This must change.

Growing up in Rockhampton and throughout my life journey and career, I have been privileged to have had a strong village to support me. A village that respects and values senior cultural authority but also builds our generations of the future.

The imposition of laws that wilfully cause harm - that seek to control, destroy and deny our rights - have done considerable damage, and the outcome of the Voice Referendum has further embedded and emboldened that.

But we as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People work hard each day to undo that damage. To rebuild our villages.

Not as passive beneficiaries of a legal system. We are rights holders with inherent rights. And we must come together to do that, because our collective voices are the power. And our future depends on how we use them.

I started this yarn today, reflecting on the legacy of Mabo and those who have come before us. It is our responsibility to carry that legacy forward – not just remember it.

Using the tools I outlined today, we must unapologetically exercise our right to self-determination to strengthen our futures and our cultural systems.

We continue to come to the table to seek out partnerships that support our goals and aspirations today, and for our futures.

We have strong allies that stand with us. We ask that you continue to walk beside us.

Our greatest challenge is securing the political will and bipartisan support to facilitate transformation, empowerment, self-determination, respect for and protection of culture, and equality and non-discrimination.

We all have a role to play, and a contribution to make. I look forward to working with you all to make the change we want to see.

In conclusion, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the injustice this community here is experiencing right now.

Just over a week ago our Walpiri families lost a young man, the second you man, at the hands of police and authorities. I acknowledge his family and community and their pain and deep sorrow.

Since the 1991 RCIADIC Inquiry we have seen almost 600 of our people die in custody. This is unacceptable.

Governments largely ignore the 339 recommendations of that inquiry that if implanted would help to prevent further deaths and reduce the numbers of our people in the first place.

The death of Kumanjayi White is unacceptable and the circumstance of his death demonstrate failure and negligence at every level.

A young man with a disability, in a shopping centre without his carers, looking for food because he was hungry and taken down by force resulting in his death – this is unacceptable.

I attended the vigil last night. The speakers are right. 

This time is critical now for our people across this country to stand with his family and community in holding those accountable for his death. 

Our collective voices must be loud enough to get a just outcome for Kumanjayi White.

We must demand an independent investigation because for the 600 before him, police investigating police has never resulted in justice for those who lost their lives.

Transparency and integrity are critical.

We need people on the streets raising our voices and on social media, but we also need those in roles like mine working on the inside also trying to get just outcomes.

We all have a role to play and a contribution to make and we need to stand together.

Thank you.