PRESS RELEASE Government Racism Is Not Sustainable The Howard Government will be forced to change its approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the Olympic Games. This is the view of the National Indigenous Working Group on Native Title (NIWG), as representatives of NIWG attend as observer at the meeting of the International Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in Geneva. Today the Committee will consider the case of Australia, which has already been found to have breached the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination when it legislated the 1998 amendments to the Native Title Act. At its previous session, in March this year, CERD determined that Australia breached the Convention and called upon Australia to suspend the Native Title Amendment Act 1998 and enter into negotiations with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The Australian Government, since March, has refused to accept the findings of the Committee and has engaged in extensive political campaigning to pressure CERD to alter its findings. NIWG considers that the Australian Government now faces pressures from many fronts including: - the findings by CERD that Australia has racist laws; - international concern over Jabiluka uranium mining, and the indigenous rights of the Mirrar Peoples; - the meagre proposals to alter the Australian Constitution, which do not embody preceding Indigenous rights or redress discriminatory aspects of the Constitution; - the cases of the ‘stolen generations’ of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders; and the atrophy of the ‘Reconciliation’ agenda in Australia. Deputy Chairperson for NIWG, Les Malezer, said that the Australian Government has taken the wrong path by setting out to decimate recent gains made in the recognition and exercise of the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. ‘The Australian Government will continue to be judged by the international community as long as it embraces acts of racial discrimination’ he said. ‘Australia has a high profile, not least because a) it is a rich and privileged nation enjoying the highest standards of living; b) it has a worldwide reputation for being a ‘white’, colonial nation founded on the unjust theft of Aboriginal lands; and c) it is hosting the Year 2000 Olympics. ‘Other governments may feel the embarrassment of association with a racist government like Australia. ‘Although the Australian Government considers that it can use its considerable affluence to divert attention away from its racist policies, its sphere of influence is diminishing’ Les Malezer said. ‘Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders are choosing to talk to other government, non government organisations and overseas populations about their plight in Australia. ‘NIWG strongly advocates that the Australian Government should accept NIWG’s standing offer to enter into negotiations in good faith. ‘A significant precedent has just been established in Queensland where the Beattie Government and the Queensland Indigenous Working Group have signed an agreement aimed as cooperative and purposeful negotiations for legislative and administrative reforms for the Indigenous Peoples. ‘NIWG urges the Australian Government to immediately follow this course of action, for the immediate and future good of the nation and all the peoples. ‘If the Prime Minister, John Howard, is personally opposed to negotiations it is up to all other politicians to establish a fair and non-racist government in Australia’ Les Malezer said. ******************************************************* CONTACT: Pam Jones - 0419 648154 (mobile); 07 33914677 (office) ___________________________________ Les Malezer General Manager FAIRA Aboriginal Corporation Deputy Chairperson National Indigenous Working Group on Native Title NIWG Attending: Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities United Nations Geneva Mobile: + 61 419 710720 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: http://www.faira.org.au ------------------------------------------------------- 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/
