Seeing reconciliation through is an ongoing challenge but ultimately rewarding (2010)
Learn about the challenges and rewards of reconciliation.
Learn about the challenges and rewards of reconciliation.
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I would like to begin by saying how delighted I am to be here speaking this evening about the work of the ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ. I hope also to learn more about the protection of human rights in Japan and about your proposal for a national human rights institution in Japan. This is my first time to Japan and I am thrilled to be here. I am grateful for all the work that has gone into the preparation for this session and for my visit. And I thank those who have looked after me so well since I arrived in your country.
Monday, 12 April 2010 Racism, exclusion and poverty: key factors reducing international student safety On 31 March 2010, the Academy of the Social Sciences, the ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ and Universities Australia worked in partnership to plan and deliver the Racism and the Student...
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RECENT announcements notwithstanding, there's no getting around the fact that young people in South Australia are being detained in overcrowded and outdated conditions in breach of Australia's human rights obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
May I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and the Darug language group. I also pay my respects to all Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders present today.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not represented in our Federal Parliament. Five years ago, they ceased altogether to have a representative voice when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was abolished. We have suffered as a result.
[1] According to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) – or living heritage – is the mainspring of our cultural diversity and its maintenance a guarantee for continuing creativity. It is defined as follows: Intangible Cultural Heritage means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.
The ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ has this week lodged its submission with the National Human Rights Consultation, recommending that Australia implements a human rights act.
Predictably, opponents of a human rights act reacted swiftly to Mr McHugh's comments, misrepresenting concerns about specific aspects of one model of a human rights act as a reason to reject any such act.
Australia is a great country to live in — for most of us most of the time. We don’t suffer the terrible poverty witnessed in some parts of the world, our judicial system works well by international standards and most of us can vote in elections by secret ballot. Most of us can live pretty safely, say what we like most of the time and, if we are so inclined, practise our faith in peace. Most of us have access to decent education and health services.
In 1994, phone numbers had seven digits, we listened to Crowded House, and it was legal to own a semi-automatic rifle. Mother And Son and A Country Practice disappeared from television screens, and The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert and Muriel's Wedding showed off our magnificent country and sense of humour while touching on tough issues such as marginalisation, sexuality and racism.
What sort of Australia do we want to live in? I'm quite sure most people, like me, would say they want to live in a society where respect for the individual is recognised as precious. Where everyone is valued, whether they are male or female, young or old, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, whatever their faith, whether or not they have a disability - everyone.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
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