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DAILY BULLETIN – DAY FOUR
24 April 2008
Produced for the Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia Compiled by FAIRA on behalf of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Caucus at the UNPFII
CONTENTS
Young Leaders Meet Government Delegate
The six young Aboriginal leaders have met with Mr Bernie Yates, leader of the Australian Government delegation, to find out more about how the Government works at the United Nations and the role it plays at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
It was an excellent opportunity to see the UN from the government perspective and to understand how the UN can work in the interests of indigenous peoples.
The trainees had many questions to ask of the government delegate and were particularly interested to see how international forums were different from consultations and discussions in Australia.
At times the questions put to Mr Yates were aggressive and critical of the government but he was able to keep a positive approach and provided answers to the many issues.
For the trainees it was the first opportunity for them to talk directly with a senior official of the government and the experience, combined with observations of the Forum discussions, should give a greater understanding on how to bridge the communication divide.
Of course, the trainees were most keen to see that the standards in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples were applied in a practical manner by the government.
Australia Responds to Issues
Bernie Yates, Deputy Secretary, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Australia, responded to issues directed at Australia so far.
First, he welcomed the positive comments made on the apology in relation to the Stolen Generation, and welcomed the remarks of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, on the Australian Government’s statement of intent to close the gap in indigenous health.
The Commissioner had been instrumental in developing a partnership with the Government based on shared ambitions and goals.
Regarding concerns of child abuse in the Northern Territory, he said massive Government resources had been expended to address those problems.
The result was more police presence and night patrols; school nutrition programmes were providing children with lunch in schools; food security was being upgraded on a region-by-region basis, through community stores licensing arrangements; jobs occupied by aboriginal people had been recognized as Government service delivery jobs, and workers given the appropriate entitlements.
On the employment programme in the Northern Territory, he said the new Government had announced a moratorium on the previous Government’s plans to phase out the CDEP community job schemes.
An additional 300 indigenous ranger jobs, on top of the 140 ranger positions existing under CDEP, were being created around the country as part of the “Working on Country” programme.
An expert review of the 'emergency response' in the Northern Territory would take place independent of the Government and in consultation with indigenous communities.
This review would take into account the racial discrimination concerns and the report of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.
On aboriginal land rights, he said the Aboriginal Land Rights Act of
1976 continued to provide indigenous people the power to negotiate and control mining on their land and to receive returns.
The Government was also undertaking consultations with stakeholders on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Mr Yates concluded his statement by saying 'the Australian Government is committed to a new relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples based on respect, co-operation and mutual responsibility'.
ENDS
