[Commpsych] FW: Petition to restore Racial Discrimination Act in NT - results

[Heather Gridley]

Hi everyone

For those of you who signed the petition to restore the Racial
Discrimination Act in the NT, here's some feedback (see media releases
below and background info attached).

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday 18th September 2008

Greens move to restore Racial Discrimination Act in NT
The Australian Greens today tabled a petition of 4156 signatures,
expressing concern about the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act
(RDA) in the Northern Territory Intervention and calling for its
reinstatement.

"This community outcry sends a very clear message to the Government
about the treatment of Indigenous Australian through the Northern
Territory Intervention," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

"We do not need to wait for a review to tell us that suspending the
Racial Discrimination Act is wrong - it is a simple question about basic
human rights," she said.

"If the NT Emergency Response measures are to the benefit of Aboriginal
communities then the Government has nothing to fear from restoring the
RDA."

"The Greens will be moving amendments to the NT Emergency Response
Consolidation Bill in the Senate to restore the Racial Discrimination
Act," said Senator Siewert.

"Given that the ALP objected to the suspension of the RDA when they were
in Opposition [1], we expect their support for these amendments," she
concluded.

MEDIA RELEASE

Thousands of Australians call for reinstatement of Racial Discrimination
Act in the Northern Territory

Thousands of Australians are calling on the Rudd Government to reinstate
anti-racist legislation suspended by the Howard Government last year in
order to push through the controversial Northern Territory Intervention.
Northern Territory Intervention measures were made exempt from the law
protecting Australians against racial discrimination - the Racial
Discrimination Act - when the response package was passed by the Federal
Parliament last August.  

A group of 4,000 will send their voices to Canberra today (Thursday 18
September) via petition to call for the reinstatement of the act in the
Northern Territory.  

Organised by former Canberra resident Michele Harris, the petition is
supported by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Commissioner Tom Calma, Amnesty International Australia, Oxfam Australia
and Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

Oxfam Australia director of policy James Ensor said that while the
Northern Territory Intervention rightly prioritised the protection of
children, the way it had been carried out did not meaningfully involve
Aboriginal people.
"It is wrong that a law designed to protect all Australians - the Racial
Discrimination Act - has been suspended to enable laws which
discriminate against Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory," Mr
Ensor said.  
This means that provisions such as the quarantining of welfare payments
are applied solely on the basis of the race of the welfare recipient.
"Because of the blanket approach to welfare quarantining, many
indigenous people are deeply humiliated at requirements placed on them
such as being compelled to use store cards in lieu of cash."
Mr Ensor said that alongside the re-introduction of the Racial
Discrimination Act, there needed to be greater consultation with
Indigenous communities and full participation in the measures that
affect their lives.
Petition organiser Michele Harris said:  "Through the petition many
ordinary Australians have indicated their genuine concern that full
human rights protection and protection against racism is being denied to
Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory." 


Amnesty International Australia Indigenous Rights Coordinator Rodney
Dillon said taking away people's basic rights was not acceptable and was
never a solution:  "Racial discrimination does not improve the lives of
children, nor does violating international human rights standards," Mr
Dillon said.
Gary Highland of ANTaR said there were alternative solutions:  "We can
ensure that necessary action is taken to protect Indigenous children and
their communities while at the same time respecting basic human rights,"
he said.

"Local knowledge and empowerment is the key to success for government
action.  There needs to be a commitment to shared action by both
communities and government.  A good example of this is the community
partnership agreements, outlined in the Human Rights Commission of
Australia Social Justice Report of 2007."

The petition will be tabled by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert today
(Thursday 18 September).  The Federal Government Review of the Northern
Territory Intervention chaired by Aboriginal leader Peter Yu is due to
hand down its findings at the end of September.

Please contact:
Petition organiser - Michele Harris - 03 9415 7164 / 0414 296 861
Amnesty International Australia - Roxanne Macara, 0423 280 658
Oxfam Australia - Laurelle Keough, 0409 960 100
ANTaR - Gary Highland, 0418 476 940

Notes:
The Racial Discrimination Act gives effect to Australia's obligations
under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination. Its major objectives are to -
*	promote equality before the law for all persons, regardless of
their race, colour or national or ethnic origin, and 
*	make discrimination against people on the basis of their race,
colour, descent or national or ethnic origin unlawful. 
Under the Act, individuals can lodge complaints of racial discrimination
and racial vilification with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
 

Heather Gridley
School of Psychology
Footscray Park Campus (Monday, Tuesday & Friday)
Victoria University 
PO Box 14428 
Melbourne VIC 8001 
Australia

TEL +61 3 9919 5224
FAX +61 3 9919 4324

MOBILE: 0419 113 731

Email: heather.gridley at vu.edu.au

-----Original Message-----
From: Michele Harris [mailto:harrisme at bigpond.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, 9 September 2008 12:26 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Petition results

Please see attached



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