Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Attorney-General, Mr McClelland, I table a ministerial statement on the Universal Periodic Review, together with a draft report of the working group on Australia’s Universal Periodic Review.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the statement.

I must admit I was disappointed to see the government’s response to the UN Universal Periodic Review where they did not respond in a comprehensive manner at the time of the review at the committee. A lot of what was contained in that Universal Periodic Review report, 145 recommendations, was in fact hardly a surprise to the government that these recommendations were made. I am focusing in particular on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues and note some of the main recommendations were about, firstly, fully restoring the operation of the Racial Discrimination Act in Australia. Again, that is hardly a surprise. It is an issue that the NGO report certainly raised. Other issues included withdrawal of its reservations to the CERD, which is the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and implementation of the UN Special Rapporteur reports on the rights of Indigenous peoples from 2009. Those issues have been on the table for a long time. Then there were issues around strengthening the efforts to combat family violence, especially against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children; review of all deaths in custody; increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to legal aid, especially for women; issues around compensation for the stolen generation; and reforms to the Native Title Act. The issue around the stolen generations and reparations was raised a long time ago in the Bringing them home report. I myself have a bill in this very place to address many of those issues, but those issues have been raised for a very long time. And in particular there were the Social Justice Commissioner’s report on native title in 2009 and the issues around implementing the DRIP, which is the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and including those into law. In other words, there were a lot of recommendations that were made. These issues are hardly new.

The government did acknowledge the issues around the significant disadvantage that Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders face in this country. What I find distressing is that that seems to equate with the government in some way justifying reducing the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for example as happened in the Northern Territory emergency response, the NTER, where Aboriginal people’s rights were removed or downgraded through discriminatory practices and the exemption of the measures from the Racial Discrimination Act, and they have not been fully restored despite claims by the government.

I think Australia should have taken a much stronger stance at that time and made some stronger commitments. I look forward very passionately to seeing the government’s response when they do respond in a couple of months time and hope that they do respond in a full and comprehensive manner to those 145 recommendations. I will be looking in particular at the comments on the recommendations, especially those that impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and look at whether we can start addressing this issue of using disadvantage to undermine Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s rights. I think it is quite obvious, and it is in fact internationally recognised, that to start addressing disadvantage you have to make sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and indigenous people are able to fully exercise their human rights. That is one of the issues that leads to their disempowerment and their alienation and can add to their disadvantage.

Australia will be watched very strongly by the international community on the way it responds to these 145 recommendations. I know there are groups around the country that are carefully looking at the recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review and will be, I hope, talking to government about them.

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is certainly the government’s intention to provide a full and comprehensive response to the recommendations. I think it is a little gratuitous for a Greens senator to stand up and make a complaint about not responding in the three-day time period for the initial report. I am extremely proud and in fact I had the honour of leading the Australian delegation at Australia’s UPR on behalf of the Attorney-General, Mr McClelland, who was needed here in Australia in his role with regard to the flood response.

The recommendations made to Australia through the course of our UPR process are under full consideration. I know that the various NGOs and those who are interested in the issues relating to Australia’s human rights record would appreciate that a comprehensive and thoughtful response at the appropriate time is in fact the best possible position for the Australian government to take. There were many recommendations made. It should be said that the serious progress that has been made under the federal Labor government was widely acknowledged by members of the UN Human Rights Council. I was extremely proud to be able to relay to the Human Rights Council our substantive progress in human rights issues across a number of fronts.

Question agreed to.