-----Original Message----- From: Webcentral <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, August 09, 2000 12:15 PM Subject: [atsic] Media Release: CLARK DEMANDS ACTION ON A BILL OF RIGHTS >A Bill of Rights should be put in place immediately to secure a future for >Australia's Indigenous peoples. > >On this International Day of the World's Indigenous People I remind all >Australian governments that open dialogue should occur with Aboriginal >Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders on the introduction of a Bill of Rights. > >The theme of this year's United Nations sponsored Day is "Indigenous >Children and Youth". There is no better means of securing their futures >than legal protection of their rights to self-determination, cultural >identity and land. > >The absence of a Bill or Rights leaves Australia lagging well behind other >major Western democracies such as the United States, Canada and New Zealand. > >The Australian Constitution is outdated and irrelevant. There is no >explicit protection of human, civil or political rights for any Australian >let alone the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Indigenous >Australians. > >Formal legal recognition of the collective and individual rights of >Indigenous people is absolutely necessary to ensure we can maintain and >develop our culture, our languages and our relationship with our land, sea >and resources. > >This must be guaranteed in law. > >A Bill of Rights must enshrine our rights to self-determination. By >exercising our political, economic and social rights we can address basic >needs such as health, education, housing and employment. > >As we move towards the Centenary of Federation in 2001 it is imperative that >we look at ways to improve the legal and government institutions in >Australia and make them more relevant to a 21st Century nation. > >A Bill of Rights would be a major step towards development of a modern and >fairer country where all peoples have equal political rights and human >rights. Every person can then be safe in the knowledge their human, legal >and political rights are immutable. > >Geoff Clark >ATSIC Chairman >9 August 2000 > > > >Further information: Paul Molloy 0419 690 926 > ATSIC National Media and Marketing > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
