Human Rights Medal and Awards
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2005 Human Rights Medal and Awards
The 2005 Medal and Awards presentation ceremony was held on 9 December 2005 at a luncheon at the Sheraton on the Park hotel in Sydney. The Human Rights Day address was delivered by Commission President, the Hon. John von Doussa QC and Julie McCrossin was the MC.
The judges were: Jonathan Biggins, Justice Catherine Branson, David Cooper, Maurice Corcoran, Nicholas Cowdery QC, Eva Cox, Morag Fraser, Jackie Huggins, Ian Kiernan, Justice Ruth McColl, Sandy McCutcheon, David Marr, Kathryn Millard, Andy Nehl, Natalie O'Brien, Cleonie Quayle, Paul Sheehan, Laura Tingle and Andrew Urban.
Human Rights Medal
Winner: Kevin Cocks
Kevin Cocks, described as the absolute epitome of the quiet achiever, for his lifelong dedication to disability rights and social justice issues. David Vadiveloo was highly commended.
Listen to presentation of Human Rights Medal (mp3, 15min 7.23 MB)
Law Award - sponsored by the Law Council of Australia
Winner: PILCH Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic
PILCH HomelessPersons' Legal Clinic for providing free legal assistance to and advocacy on behalf of homeless people. Devoted human rights advocate Simon Rice OAM was highly commended.
Listen to presentation of Law Award (mp3, 11min 5.2 MB)
Community Award (Individual)
Winner: David Vadiveloo
for his work at the grass roots level assisting Indigenous communities to communicate their issues to the global stage. Kerrianne Cox and Jane Rowe were highly commended.
Listen to presentation of Community Award (Individual) (mp3, 7min 3.4 MB)
Community Award (Organisation)
Winner: Chilout (Children out of Detention)
Award for their campaign to have children removed from immigration detention. Streetwize Communications, The Immigration Advice and Rights Centre, and the NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre Inc.were highly commended. The Community Award category was sponsored by SBS Radio.
Listen to presentation of Community Award (Organisation) (mp3, 13min 6.3 MB)
Arts Non-Fiction Award
Joint Winner: Associate Professor Christopher Newell
Joint Winner: Dr Gerard Goggin's Disability in Australia: Exposing a Social Apartheid
which explored a hidden blight in our society – the treatment of people with disabilities. Following them Home: The fate of the returned asylum seekers by David Corlett was highly commended.
Listen to presentation of Arts Non Fiction Award (mp3, 8min 3.7 MB)
Television Award
Winner:Vivian Solon , ABC TV's Lateline -Margot O'Neill, Tom Iggulden, Hamish Fitzsimmons, Lisa Millar and Tony Jones
ABC TV’s 4 Corners ‘ Out of Mind’ by Matthew Carney, Peter Cronau and Sandra Harvey, and ‘The Pilot’s Funeral’ by ABC TV’s Trevor Graham, Rose Hesp and Denise Haslem were highly commended.
Listen to presentation of Television Award (mp3, 4min 1.9 MB)
Print Media Award
Winner: Andra Jackson , The Age
won the Print Media Award for Mystery Detained Woman an Australia, stories which resulted in the identification of Cornelia Rau. Michael Gordon (The Age) Nauru features and Russell Skelton (The Age) Papunya – Our Third World Shame were highly commended.
Listen to presentation of Print Media Award (mp3, 7min 3.6 MB)
Radio Award
Winner: Locked in with Friends, ABC Radio National's Street Stories - Cath Dwyer
Beyond the Bars: Out and Blak is a unique radio program that presented the stories, songs, messages and concerns of Indigenous prisoners - a six hour broadcast from within the Port Phillip prison in Laverton and the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Deer Park, Victoria.
The judges said it was "simply a great program and a standout winner" and an excellent example of a community telling its own story. They said the program demonstrated that great radio does not have to rely on a big budget - the key ingredient is talking to people who have something honest and important to say.