Page 290 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 February 2016
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Making amendments to the Human Rights Act 2004 will greatly support the ACT government’s reconciliation action plans and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice partnership. The signing of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agreement on 23 April 2015, in partnership with the Chief Minister, Head of Service and my predecessor, as well as the chair of the elected body, further strengthens the importance of these amendments. I agree with Ms Berry that changes in the Human Rights Amendment Bill 2015 will embed the principle of inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s cultural rights in the way we do business, supporting the strategic and community priorities of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agreement.
In developing these new amendments, the ACT government has benefited from the expertise and input of the elected body. The elected body advised the ACT government that the amendments to the Human Rights Act 2004 needed to be consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the members of the elected body for their assistance, and I look forward to building on this partnership with the elected body in the future.
The bill inserts a new section 27(2) into the Human Rights Act 2004 to provide:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples hold distinct cultural rights and must not be denied the right—
(a) to maintain, control, protect and develop their—
(i) cultural heritage and distinctive spiritual practices, observances, beliefs and teachings; and
(ii) languages and knowledge; and
(iii) kinship ties …
These amendments demonstrate the ACT government’s commitment to acknowledging the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and including the cultural rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the ACT’s Human Rights Act.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ special and ancient connections with land and waters need to be formally recognised. The bill seeks to do just that.
I believe that the proposed changes to the Human Rights Amendment Bill 2015 are an important and positive step towards rightfully recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. When we debated this bill in May last year, I reminded the Assembly that the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights to express and maintain their identity and culture, their kinship ties and their material and economic relationship with land and waters is part of moving forward towards national reconciliation. Making these amendments to the Human Rights Act will recognise those special rights and relationships in the ACT legal and justice system
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