President Speech: 2009 Human Rights Day Oration
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal peoples 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.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal peoples 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.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to address you today and express my admiration to you all for taking on the very necessary venture of providing practical legal assistance to some of the most powerless and marginalised people in society.
Torture and various forms of terrorism have been practiced throughout history, though never on the scale we are now confronted with. The first visual records of police interrogation were discovered in a four thousand year old tomb in ancient Egypt. Since the pharaohs there have been many refinements in methods of inducing physical pain and gathering intelligence, most notably during the Spanish Inquisition, but more recently in the modern totalitarian state.
It is with respect and gratitude I acknowledge that we sit on the lands of the Nyoonga People and I thank the Traditional Owners for allowing us to do so.
I would like to acknowledge the Kaurna People, the traditional owners and custodians of the Adelaide Plains and pay my respects to their elders past and present. Thank you Uncle Lewis O’Brien for your warm and generous welcome.
Thank you Sharron for your introduction, and thank you Uncle Lewis O’Brien for your warm welcome to country. And congratulations to the Taikurtinna Dancers for a great performance and oration.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Noongar people on whose land we are today and pay my respects to their elders. The recent recognition of the Noongar as traditional owners of this land sets a significant context for the launch of the Western Australian Law Reform Commission Report on Aboriginal Customary Laws. The recognition of Noongar native title through Australian law is the most powerful confirmation possible that as a society they possessed, and continue to possess, well-developed systems of law and custom.
It is now more than 5 years since the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission completed its national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families with the publication of Bringing them home.
Under clear blue skies on a warm afternoon, Yankunytjatjara members of Anangu Pitjantjatjara peoples are sitting in the shade of large gum trees on the banks of a broad, dry creek bed. They have come from far and wide to be at this important meeting. There is a good turn up, despite a number of people having to attend to other responsibilities.
Comprehensive Area Psychiatrists Special Interest Group Rozelle Hospital Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM Human Rights Commissioner and Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner May 17 2005
20 years ago today Kay Cottee sailed into Sydney Harbour, after spending 189 days as the first Australian, and the first woman, to circumnavigate the globe solo. As a sailor myself, I truly appreciate this epic achievement. When she set foot on land, she was asked how it felt to have conquered a man's world. "I was brought up to believe there is no such thing as a man's world or a woman's world" she said, "its everyone's world."
Launch of Set the Standard , the final report from the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins Tuesday 30 November 2021 Check against delivery The Commonwealth Parliament sits at the heart of Australia’s representative democracy. As...
Can I also acknowledge Blake Dawson Waldron lawyers for providing the venue and facilities, and the NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Service for their initiative in organising this forum.
In my presentation today I want to focus on the Commission's work with Local Government and the effect the Disability Discrimination Act has had on how they go about their business.
Thank you, Dr Morgan, for the invitation to attend this launch of the Westpac Disability Discrimination Act Action Plan. I am most pleased to formally receive a copy for the Commission to register.
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