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22 March 2000
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22 March 2000
Morning
Asks for More Affirmative Action by the Government to Decrease Racial
Discrimination
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning continued its review of a report presented by the Government of Australia on its efforts to implement the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Philip Ruddock, a member of Australia's Parliament, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and head of the delegation, responded to the questions raised by the Committee experts, stating that the Government was taking a lead on reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous people.
During the course of this morning's discussion, Committee experts stressed the continuing inequalities suffered by indigenous people and called for more affirmative action to end this situation. Further questions were asked about the Mandatory Sentencing Laws and the Native Title Act.
As one of the 155 State parties to the Convention, Australia is obliged to provide the Committee with summaries of the measures taken by the Government in its efforts to comply with the terms of the treaty.
The Australian delegation also included Leslie Luck, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Ann Duffield, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Bill Farmer, Secretary for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Alistair Sherwin, Adviser on Indigenous Affairs in the Office of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Peter Vaughan, First Assistant Secretary, Office of Indigenous Policy in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Peter Hughes, First Assistant Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship Issues, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Philippa Horner, First Assistant Secretary, Native Title Division in the Attorney-General's Department; Peter Heyward, Director, Human Rights and Indigenous Issues Section at the Department of Foreign Affairs, and James Choi, Executive Officer, Human Rights and Indigenous Issues Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The following experts participated in the discussion: Peter Noble, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Regis de Gouttes, Mahomoud Aboul-Nasr, Francois Lonseny Fall, Yuri Rechetov, Gay McDougall, Carlos Lechuga Hevia, Agha Shahi, and Patricia January-Bardill.
The final observations and recommendations on the report of Australia will be issued towards the end of the session of the Committee which concludes on 24 March.
When the Committee convenes at 3 p.m., it will conclude its consideration of the report of Australia and continue with its adoption of concluding observations and recommendations on country reports which were taken up earlier this session.
Discussion
Committee experts asked the delegation about active mechanisms to implement the Convention. They noted the poor levels of schooling, health and other socio-factors which put indigenous people in an unequal position compared to the rest of the population. Committee experts said that the figures offered in the report by Australia indicated a lack of progress in combating racism. Members also stressed the need for further action by the federal Government to bring better services to indigenous people. They called for more affirmative action to end inequalities.
Where racism still continued, it was part of the Government's responsibility to explain fully to the community the provisions and importance of the Convention, the experts said. An expert asked if there was the same segregation and apartheid of indigenous people in Australia as in South Africa which was condemned by the Government of Australia. Further questions were asked about the freedom of speech qualifications that put limits on the enactment in Australia of Article 4a of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
An expert questioned the delegation about banks refusing to accept requests for loans, and provided other examples of racial discrimination, such as the unacceptable high rate of aboriginal children before the courts. The issue of land rights was still a concern for the Committee, as were reports of budget cuts to organizations working with indigenous people, the experts said. Further questions were asked about the legality of amendments to the Native Title Act of 1998. Some Committee members felt that the excuse to amend the Act actually denied justice to indigenous groups.
Questions were asked about the amount of training given to officials who dealt regularly with people from immigrant and indigenous backgrounds. One expert asked about the prospects for a national reconciliation statement. Others expressed concern about the Mandatory Sentencing Laws, reporting that some of those put into prison under this law did not know why they were arrested. They said this law discriminated against indigenous people. Committee members felt that the law conflicted with the norms of justice. Questions were also asked about the mechanisms in place for the States and Territories to meet the requirements of the Convention.
The Committee would have liked to see more representatives from the indigenous population on the delegation, the experts said. There was a lack of social upliftment of indigenous people though there was a welfare approach to social justice. Experts asked about the benchmarks for success in combating racial discrimination. They mentioned the Native Title Act, and its amendments that were justified by the argument that all people should be treated the same. However, they asked the delegation if the treatment of indigenous people should be different considering the past injustices they had suffered.
Committee members noted the amount of land given under control by aboriginal people, but asked about the quality of this land and its worth. One expert regretted that the statistics did not provide comparisons between what the indigenous people received and what non-indigenous people received. He also hoped that the Government would make an apology to the indigenous people for past wrongs.
PHILIP RUDDOCK, a member of Australia's Parliament, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and head of the delegation, noted the shared history in Australia between all groups, and acknowledged the mistreatment, as did the parliament in Australia, of aboriginals. He expressed a desire to move forward together.
Responding to queries on the laws in Western Australia and the Northern Territory that stipulated mandatory minimum custodial sentences for certain repeat offenders (Mandatory Sentencing Laws), the delegation said that this was a complex subject, not least because the criminal justice system was the responsibility of the states and territories. The federal Government had expressed its concern about the impact of these laws, especially on young people, and hoped that the laws would change. The federal Attorney-General had written to his counterparts in Western Australia and the Northern Territory asking them to change the laws, but they had not replied to this request.
While the Government recognized that indigenous people were over-represented in the criminal justice system, the delegation said that it was not clear that these laws contributed significantly to that over-representation. For example, he said that while the laws were enacted as a result of community concern about repeat offenders committing a high proportion of property offences, home burglary did not fall within the top five categories of offences for which indigenous people were imprisoned.
Replying to questions on state and territory anti-discrimination legislation, Mr. Ruddock said that since December 1999, all states and territories had legislation prohibiting racial discrimination. In response to a question on whether there was a lack of entrenched guarantees against racial discrimination, the delegation said that Australia has established rights through a range of institutions, laws and programmes.
The delegation said that most indigenous people spoke English, and it was up to the magistrate or the judge in a particular case to decide if an interpreter was needed during a case. It said that the level of aboriginal over-representation in prisons had fallen in the past five years.
Concerning reconciliation, the delegation defined it as a system of complete social, economic and cultural equality for aboriginal people. In terms of measuring this, the delegation said that they had already collected and published a wealth of information in this regard, but would be open to the Committee's guidance on examples of best practice elsewhere.
The delegation said the federal Government had allocated $ 63 million to adopting the recommendations of a Royal Commission on aboriginal children who had been separated from their parents. The Government supported family reunions. The national parliament had also adopted a 'Statement of Regret' last year on this issue.
****
Morning
Asks for More Affirmative Action by the Government to Decrease Racial
Discrimination
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning continued its review of a report presented by the Government of Australia on its efforts to implement the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Philip Ruddock, a member of Australia's Parliament, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and head of the delegation, responded to the questions raised by the Committee experts, stating that the Government was taking a lead on reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous people.
During the course of this morning's discussion, Committee experts stressed the continuing inequalities suffered by indigenous people and called for more affirmative action to end this situation. Further questions were asked about the Mandatory Sentencing Laws and the Native Title Act.
As one of the 155 State parties to the Convention, Australia is obliged to provide the Committee with summaries of the measures taken by the Government in its efforts to comply with the terms of the treaty.
The Australian delegation also included Leslie Luck, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Ann Duffield, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Bill Farmer, Secretary for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Alistair Sherwin, Adviser on Indigenous Affairs in the Office of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Peter Vaughan, First Assistant Secretary, Office of Indigenous Policy in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Peter Hughes, First Assistant Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship Issues, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Philippa Horner, First Assistant Secretary, Native Title Division in the Attorney-General's Department; Peter Heyward, Director, Human Rights and Indigenous Issues Section at the Department of Foreign Affairs, and James Choi, Executive Officer, Human Rights and Indigenous Issues Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The following experts participated in the discussion: Peter Noble, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Regis de Gouttes, Mahomoud Aboul-Nasr, Francois Lonseny Fall, Yuri Rechetov, Gay McDougall, Carlos Lechuga Hevia, Agha Shahi, and Patricia January-Bardill.
The final observations and recommendations on the report of Australia will be issued towards the end of the session of the Committee which concludes on 24 March.
When the Committee convenes at 3 p.m., it will conclude its consideration of the report of Australia and continue with its adoption of concluding observations and recommendations on country reports which were taken up earlier this session.
Discussion
Committee experts asked the delegation about active mechanisms to implement the Convention. They noted the poor levels of schooling, health and other socio-factors which put indigenous people in an unequal position compared to the rest of the population. Committee experts said that the figures offered in the report by Australia indicated a lack of progress in combating racism. Members also stressed the need for further action by the federal Government to bring better services to indigenous people. They called for more affirmative action to end inequalities.
Where racism still continued, it was part of the Government's responsibility to explain fully to the community the provisions and importance of the Convention, the experts said. An expert asked if there was the same segregation and apartheid of indigenous people in Australia as in South Africa which was condemned by the Government of Australia. Further questions were asked about the freedom of speech qualifications that put limits on the enactment in Australia of Article 4a of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
An expert questioned the delegation about banks refusing to accept requests for loans, and provided other examples of racial discrimination, such as the unacceptable high rate of aboriginal children before the courts. The issue of land rights was still a concern for the Committee, as were reports of budget cuts to organizations working with indigenous people, the experts said. Further questions were asked about the legality of amendments to the Native Title Act of 1998. Some Committee members felt that the excuse to amend the Act actually denied justice to indigenous groups.
Questions were asked about the amount of training given to officials who dealt regularly with people from immigrant and indigenous backgrounds. One expert asked about the prospects for a national reconciliation statement. Others expressed concern about the Mandatory Sentencing Laws, reporting that some of those put into prison under this law did not know why they were arrested. They said this law discriminated against indigenous people. Committee members felt that the law conflicted with the norms of justice. Questions were also asked about the mechanisms in place for the States and Territories to meet the requirements of the Convention.
The Committee would have liked to see more representatives from the indigenous population on the delegation, the experts said. There was a lack of social upliftment of indigenous people though there was a welfare approach to social justice. Experts asked about the benchmarks for success in combating racial discrimination. They mentioned the Native Title Act, and its amendments that were justified by the argument that all people should be treated the same. However, they asked the delegation if the treatment of indigenous people should be different considering the past injustices they had suffered.
Committee members noted the amount of land given under control by aboriginal people, but asked about the quality of this land and its worth. One expert regretted that the statistics did not provide comparisons between what the indigenous people received and what non-indigenous people received. He also hoped that the Government would make an apology to the indigenous people for past wrongs.
PHILIP RUDDOCK, a member of Australia's Parliament, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and head of the delegation, noted the shared history in Australia between all groups, and acknowledged the mistreatment, as did the parliament in Australia, of aboriginals. He expressed a desire to move forward together.
Responding to queries on the laws in Western Australia and the Northern Territory that stipulated mandatory minimum custodial sentences for certain repeat offenders (Mandatory Sentencing Laws), the delegation said that this was a complex subject, not least because the criminal justice system was the responsibility of the states and territories. The federal Government had expressed its concern about the impact of these laws, especially on young people, and hoped that the laws would change. The federal Attorney-General had written to his counterparts in Western Australia and the Northern Territory asking them to change the laws, but they had not replied to this request.
While the Government recognized that indigenous people were over-represented in the criminal justice system, the delegation said that it was not clear that these laws contributed significantly to that over-representation. For example, he said that while the laws were enacted as a result of community concern about repeat offenders committing a high proportion of property offences, home burglary did not fall within the top five categories of offences for which indigenous people were imprisoned.
Replying to questions on state and territory anti-discrimination legislation, Mr. Ruddock said that since December 1999, all states and territories had legislation prohibiting racial discrimination. In response to a question on whether there was a lack of entrenched guarantees against racial discrimination, the delegation said that Australia has established rights through a range of institutions, laws and programmes.
The delegation said that most indigenous people spoke English, and it was up to the magistrate or the judge in a particular case to decide if an interpreter was needed during a case. It said that the level of aboriginal over-representation in prisons had fallen in the past five years.
Concerning reconciliation, the delegation defined it as a system of complete social, economic and cultural equality for aboriginal people. In terms of measuring this, the delegation said that they had already collected and published a wealth of information in this regard, but would be open to the Committee's guidance on examples of best practice elsewhere.
The delegation said the federal Government had allocated $ 63 million to adopting the recommendations of a Royal Commission on aboriginal children who had been separated from their parents. The Government supported family reunions. The national parliament had also adopted a 'Statement of Regret' last year on this issue.
****