Tammy Solonec (Photo: Amnesty International)

March 24, 2017

Aboriginal people have been excluded from the debate over the proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, according to Amnesty International.

Human Rights lawyer Tammy Solonec – the Indigenous Rights Manager at Amnesty International – said the Federal Government had gagged the Aboriginal Legal Service over the Bill to change Section 18C of the Act.

A five-day Senate Inquiry has heard from Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs, the Law Council, Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane, the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia, and the Human Rights Law Centre.

However, despite the fact that 18c has been most discussed in relation to Aboriginal issues – ie. an Andrew Bolt column linking skin colour and Aboriginality, Bill Leak’s cartoon, and a legal stoush over Facebook comments linked to QUT’s computer lab – there were no Indigenous groups represented.

“This flies in the face of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s promise to ‘do things with Aboriginal people and not to them’ and his recent commitment to the Redfern Statement to meaningfully engage with Indigenous communities about decisions affecting their lives,” Ms Solonec said.

“This act of silencing denies Indigenous people freedom of speech, participation in democracy and does not enable free, prior and informed consent. This is disrespectful to the First Peoples of this country.

“Any amendment to the Racial Discrimination Act gives a green light to racism which deeply impacts on our communities – our mental health, our participation in education and employment, and our physical safety.

“It is imperative that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are part of this conversation.

“It is completely unacceptable to silence Indigenous people, especially while the Special Rapporteur on Rights of Indigenous Peoples is currently in Australia, and in light of Australia’s upcoming Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) review and bid for a Human Rights Council seat, both scheduled this year.”

Committee chairman Senator Ian Macdonald told SBS he would not allow the Aboriginal Legal Service to speak because “once you start having one group of any type, in this case an Indigenous group, who have a particular view, do you call other members of that same group that might have a different view?”

Labor senator Pat Dodson, a Yawuru man from Broome, described the process of changing the Act as a “shambles”.


 

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