WGAR News: "High Court gives Congress chance to argue equality before the law"

Newsletter date: 15 December 2012

Contents:

* National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples: High Court Statement
* Human Rights Law Centre: High Court to hear landmark case on race discrimination and "special measures"

* The Wire Audio Interviews: Amelia Kunoth-Monks following in her grandmother's footsteps
* ABC Alice Springs Audio Interview: Guestroom - Olga Havnen
* 19th Maurice Blackburn Oration: Professor Clare Martin
* VEOHRC: Human Rights Oration 2012: Ron Merkel, QC
* STICS Forum Videos: After the NT election... The Struggle Against the NT Intervention:
[Speeches by Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM, Amelia Pangarte Kunoth-Monks, Jeff McMullen and Paddy Gibson]
* Sydney Book Launch Videos: 'A Decision to Discriminate':
[Speeches by Jeff McMullen, Graeme Mundine, Barbara Shaw and Sekai Holland]
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention

* NIRS: Call for treaty to recognise traditional law

* NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PEOPLES: HIGH COURT STATEMENT

- Statement

National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples: High Court Statement
High Court gives Congress chance to argue equality before the law
http://nationalcongress.com.au/high-court-statement/
11 Dec 12: "Statement by Congress Co-Chairs Jody Broun and Les Malezer
The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples (Congress) welcomed the High Court’s acceptance of its application to present submissions in the case of Maloney v The Queen and the opportunity to clarify the proper use of special measures for legislation.
"Congress is the national representative voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and it is appropriate that we assist in this important test case.
"Our ability to be self-determining and have a say over things that impact on our lives is a basic human right.
"Special measures are used across Australia to enact laws for the 'advancement' of First Peoples without any yard stick for their effectiveness, duration or community support and acceptance.
"As 'amicus curiae' (a friend of the court), our public submission will assist the Court in considering special measures in their ruling on the appeal, Maloney v The Queen.
"The legal principles, rather than the details of this case, provide the opportunity for a watershed moment in Australian history. ... ""

- Congress submission to the High Court

http://nationalcongress.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/CongressHighCo...

See:

Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples:
Last updated: 5 May 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-o...

- Related News

SMH: High Court hears landmark Palm Island case
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/high-court-hears-landmark-...
11 Dec 12: "A landmark case before the High Court about the validity of alcohol restrictions for indigenous people on Palm Island could have broader implications for programs that target only Aboriginal people. On Tuesday, the High Court in Canberra began hearing an appeal from indigenous woman Joan Monica Maloney who was convicted of alcohol possession on Palm Island in 2010. Ms Maloney is challenging the Queensland law that restricts alcohol on Palm Island on the basis that it contravenes the Racial Discrimination Act and constitution."

Australian: Alcohol bans 'are not racially neutral'
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/alcohol-bans...
12 Dec 12: "ALCOHOL restriction laws in Queensland have been challenged in the High Court, with lawyers for Palm Island woman Joan Maloney arguing prohibition cannot be justified on the basis it may be beneficial for a particular community. Ms Maloney is appealing against her conviction for possessing contraband spirits in a public place on Palm Island in 2008, arguing that the alcohol restrictions in the predominantly Aboriginal community breach the Racial Discrimination Act."

* HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CENTRE: HIGH COURT TO HEAR LANDMARK CASE ON RACE DISCRIMINATION AND "SPECIAL MEASURES"

- News

Human Rights Law Centre: High Court to hear landmark case on race discrimination and "special measures"
http://www.hrlc.org.au/high-court-to-hear-landmark-case-on-race-discrimi...
11 Dec 12: "The High Court will today hear a landmark case on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples rights to equality, non-discrimination and self-determination. The Human Rights Law Centre is assisting the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples to make an application to be heard as an "amicus curiae" providing information to support the High Court in the Maloney v The Queen case. The HRLC’s Indigenous Rights Director, Ben Schokman, said it was supporting Congress so all Australians can be treated equally."

- Further info about the High Court proceedings

High Court of Australia: Case B57/2012 - Maloney v. The Queen
http://www.hcourt.gov.au/cases/case_b57-2012

See:

Human Rights Law Centre: Focus area - Indigenous rights
http://www.hrlc.org.au/category/focus-areas/focus-areaindigenous-rights
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to experience significant disadvantage, discrimination and disempowerment. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a framework for the empowerment of Australia’s First Peoples. The Human Rights Law Centre works with ATSI organisations to ensure that the principles in this Declaration - including the principles of self-determination, land and cultural rights, and participation in decision-making processes - are reflected and enshrined in Australian law, policy, practice and institutions."

Human Rights Law Centre: What we do
Freedom. Respect. Equality. Dignity. Action.
http://www.hrlc.org.au/about/what-we-do

* THE WIRE AUDIO INTERVIEWS: AMELIA KUNOTH-MONKS FOLLOWING IN HER GRANDMOTHER'S FOOTSTEPS

- Audio Interviews

The Wire: Amelia Kunoth-Monks following in her grandmother's footsteps
Produced by Lisa Burns and Sue Gilbey
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=9960
12 Dec 12: "Aboriginal Elder Rosalie Kunoth-Monks is known to be one of the feistiest warriors against the Northern Territory Intervention. She was in Adelaide over the weekend with her granddaughters Amelia and Ruby, to launch a new book called 'A Decision to Discriminate', to coincide with International Human Rights Day.
Featured in story:
* Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, Central Australian Aboriginal Elder
* Amelia Kunoth-Monks, from Utopia in the Northern Territory"

* ABC ALICE SPRINGS AUDIO INTERVIEW: GUESTROOM - OLGA HAVNEN

- Audio Interview

ABC Alice Springs: Guestroom - Olga Havnen
By Kate O'Toole and Miranda Tetlow
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2012/12/13/3654051.htm?site=alicesprings
13 Dec 12: "Aboriginal advocate and activist Olga Havnen has been inspired by the stories of her family and forbears... Olga Havnen is a descendant of the Western Arrernte people. Her great grandfather was from China, her grandmother was the first Aboriginal woman to own a house in Alice Springs and her father was a Norwegian sailor who jumped ship in Adelaide! ... And just two months ago, Olga found herself at the centre of a political storm, when she was sacked as the NT's Coordinator General for Remote Services after writing a scathing report on Government spending."
[Olga talks about her report about 40 minutes into this interview.]

See:

WGAR News: "Report finds serious flaws in delivery of gov't services to NT Aboriginal communities" (30 Sep 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/09/30/wgar-news-report-finds-serious-flaws-...

WGAR News: "Damning NT report shows income management must go" STICS (5 Oct 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/10/05/wgar-news-damning-nt-report-shows-inc...
[STICS: Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney]

WGAR News: Anti-Intervention campaigners speak out over sacking of Olga Havnen: STICS (11 Nov 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/11/11/wgar-news-anti-intervention-campaigne...
[STICS: Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney]

* 19TH MAURICE BLACKBURN ORATION: PROFESSOR CLARE MARTIN

- Speech

Maurice Blackburn Oration: Professor Clare Martin - An issue of Equity: Is it fair and just that there are 230,000 second class citizens in the Northern Territory?
http://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/arts-and-festivals/community-festivals/ma...
http://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/mccwr/publications/speeches/maurice%20bla...
http://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/mccwr/publications/speeches/maurice%20bla...
5 Dec 12: "It’s a great privilege to be invited to give the Maurice Blackburn Oration and to be the first from the Northern Territory to do so. ... Looking back over the last 34 years, there’s no doubt that we have been challenged and frustrated by our second-class constitutional status. There’s no question our political institutions have been affected by the power of the federal parliament to overturn our legislation, or impose legislation; no question that from time to time our political effectiveness circumscribed; or that Territorian lives have been unfairly targeted by thoughtless federal policies. Being a state would have meant I had a different story to tell to you tonight." By Professor Clare Martin

* VEOHRC: HUMAN RIGHTS ORATION 2012: RON MERKEL, QC

- Speech

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission: Human Rights Oration 2012
Audio - Human rights - myths and realities
http://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view...
http://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/files/HRO2012.mp3
11 Dec 12: "The 2012 Human Rights Oration was delivered on Tuesday 11 December 2012 by Ron Merkel, QC - 2011 Human Rights Medallist, barrister and former Federal Court Judge. This year’s Oration was titled 'Human rights – myths and realities'. Ron is widely recognised as one of Australia's leading human rights practitioners with a particular interest in civil liberties, the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, migration law and equal opportunity. His recent involvement in both the Eatock v Bolt decision, which considered the Commonwealth racial hatred protections, and the Occupy Melbourne case, put him at the leading edge of human rights law in Australia."

* STICS FORUM VIDEOS: AFTER THE NT ELECTION... THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE NT INTERVENTION

- Video Speeches

STICS Forum Videos: After the NT election... The Struggle Against the NT Intervention
http://stoptheintervention.org/past-events/6-dec-2012-the-struggle-again...
"Videos from the event:
1. Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM - Alyawarr Elder from Utopia homelands, NT ...
2. Amelia Pangarte Kunoth-Monks - NT youth leader living on the BasicsCard ...
3. Jeff McMullen - Chief Executive Officer (Honorary) of Ian Thorpe's Fountain for Youth ...
4. Paddy Gibson - Stop The Intervention Collective Sydney"

- Compilation

STICS: Stop The Intervention Collective Sydney
6 Dec 2012 The Struggle Against the NT Intervention
Special STICS public forum marking Human Rights Day:
http://stoptheintervention.org/past-events/6-dec-2012-the-struggle-again...
"Communities in the Northern Territory continue to resist the NT Intervention, and the policy framework is in deep crisis. In June, the Labor government passed "Stronger Futures" legislation, which will continue key discriminatory Intervention powers for a further ten years. But Central Australian communities like Amoonguna, Ampilatwatja and Daguragu are refusing to sign long term leases with the government. They have issued ultimatums, demanding a return of community controlled councils and the eviction of Intervention managers and Shire Councils from their land."

* SYDNEY BOOK LAUNCH VIDEOS: 'A DECISION TO DISCRIMINATE':

- Video Speeches

Respect and Listen: 'A Decision to Discriminate': Sydney Book Launch
http://www.respectandlisten.org/nt-intervention/concerned-australians/a-...
"Video clips from the launch:
1. Jeff McMullen ...
2. Graeme Mundine ...
3. Jeff McMullen - reading the letter from Deni Langman ...
4. Barbara Shaw ...
5. Sekai Holland"

* BACKGROUND TO 'STRONGER FUTURES' NEW NT INTERVENTION LAWS:

Last updated: 13 December 2012

http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-stronger-futures-new-nt...

* BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:

Last updated: 4 December 2012

http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-northern-territory-...

* NIRS: CALL FOR TREATY TO RECOGNISE TRADITIONAL LAW

- News

National Indigenous Radio Service: Call for treaty to recognise traditional law
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7687-call-for-treaty-to-recognis...
12 Dec 12: "A prominent Aboriginal rights campaigner says a treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians would allow a better legal standing of Indigenous people. Robbie Thorpe from Melbourne spoke at the Sovereignty and Land Rights conference in Brisbane recently. Mr. Thorpe says Indigenous people have fewer rights under Australian law than they would have under traditional tribal law. He says a treaty would allow the two separate laws to be recognised."

- Related Event

WGAR News: 1st Brisbane Sovereignty & Land Rights Conference: Sovereign Union & Treaty Republic (5 Dec 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/12/05/wgar-news-1st-brisbane-sovereignty-la...

Event: 10am Sun 25 November 2012: Qld State Library
1st Brisbane Sovereignty & Land Rights Conference
* BBQ breakfast from 9-9:45am
at Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy, Musgrave Park
* Conference begins at 10am Queensland State Library
Speakers include:
* Mark McMurtrie
* Adrian Burragubba
* Robbie Thorpe
* Wayne Wharton
* Marshall Bell
* Norman Johnson
* Kevin Arjin
* Gracelyn Smallwood
* Michael Mansell
Event details: https://www.facebook.com/events/295153823919301/

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