ANTAR

🚨Recently, ANTAR made a submission to the first ever national Inquiry into youth justice and incarceration in Australia. As part of our submission, we made 15 evidence-based recommendations, many of which urge the Federal Government to take action on First Nations-led recommendations that have come out of previous state and territory inquiries, royal commissions and similar processes, most of which remain unimplemented. What our research shows is that when it comes to addressing the gross overrepresentation of First Nations children in all stages of the so called ‘justice’ system – and to reduce the egregious harms taking place – the knowledge, evidence and answers are already firmly in place. First Nations communities know what works. It is now beyond time for all governments to take action. 🧑💻Read ANTAR’s submission on youth justice and incarceration in Australia at: https://lnkd.in/gZvG8AqT #ANTAR #Submission #AusPol #YouthJustice #RaisetheAge #RaisetheAgeNSW #UNDRIP #UNCRC #OPCAT #SelfDetermination #VoiceTreatyTruth

The federal government's proposed National Water Agreement (NWA) is looking to overhaul Australia's overarching National Water Initiative (NWI) 20 year old water policy, widely considered unfit to meet the challenges posed by climate change. A 2021 review of the existing NWI also found it left Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples out of the national conversation on water and was not aligned with Closing The Gap targets. The new proposal seeks to incorporate better science and boost participation by First Nations peoples in water management. Gunditjmara Djab Wurrung man and chief executive of the National Native Title Council, Jamie Lowe has said involving First Nations people in water policy would benefit all Australians. "From an environmental and cultural perspective, for thousands of years, we've had outstanding water management practices, so from that perspective, First Nations people have a lot to offer," he said. As reported by Nikki Sorbello for Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) read the article in full by clicking on the link in the comments section below.

Everyone deserves a safe and secure place to call home. We welcome this step towards greater protections for people living in rental homes. With more than half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households renting in either the private sector or social housing, new rental reforms have the potential to make a huge difference for our families and communities.   The ALS runs the Greater Sydney Aboriginal Tenants Service, supporting renters from the Central Coast through to the Blue Mountains and Macarthur areas. If you live in this area and are having trouble with your landlord or housing provider, give us a call on 1800 765 767. https://lnkd.in/gJchbP8h

Ahead of Queenslanders heading to the polls next weekend, ANTAR and ANTaR Qld have analysed and assessed the Qld major parties’ policies on First Nations priority issues. We asked Qld Labor, the Qld Greens, and the Qld LNP for their policy platforms and their responses can be read in full on our website. Specifically, we asked the parties for their policies on: ↔️Closing the Gap ⚖️Incarceration & Youth Justice ⛰️Cultural Heritage Protection 🤝Treaty & Truth-Telling We’ve rated the parties on their available future-facing policy commitments (if elected) and have not included past policy commitments or implementation to ensure a fair assessment. The Qld Election Scorecard is available on our website👉🏿 https://lnkd.in/guNKSUBW We recommend close consideration of the parties’ commitments to rights and justice for First Nations communities. And if you’re in Qld, don’t forget to VOTE!🗳️ #AusPol #QldPol #QldVotes #ElectionScorecard #ANTAR #JusticeRightsRespect

As the ACT heads to the polls tomorrow to decide on their next government, ANTAR and our partners ACT ANTaR have assessed the First Nations policy platforms of the major parties contesting the election as well as the minor parties who responded to our requests. We recommend close consideration of the policies and if you're in the ACT, don't forget to VOTE!🗳 EXPLORE THE SCORECARD⤵️ https://lnkd.in/gMB2-fbU *Authorised by B.Cansdale, ANTAR, Gadigal Land, Sydney #AusPol #ACTPol #ACTVotes #ANTAR #JusticeRightsRespect #CommunityControl

#StillYes ... 12 months post Referendum, where are we now... "Australia’s colonial history has too much hurt, oppression and injustice to warrant celebration without significant pause. On no day is this fact more salient than 26th January each year. All Australians must have one eye on the past, doing all we can to shed light on the truth and reality of our shared history (and the ongoing impacts of this history). With the other eye, we must be looking towards the future, at which point I urge all Australians to ‘stay true to Uluru’ (Voice, Treaty, Truth). Together, we will eventually create a shared future that we can all be openly and unquestionably proud of."

One year ago we headed to polling booths across the nation with hope in our hearts. We gave it our all. On 14 October 2023, 6.2 million Australians voted for positive change and a better future. The work continues to turn ‘no’ into ‘yes’ - for voice, treaty and truth. #VoiceReferendum #ReferendumAnniversary #StillYES #Yes23 #YestoVoice #VoiceTreatyTruth #UluruStatement #StayTrue2Uluru #TimeforTreaty #TreatyNow #TruthTelling #TruthListening #ANTAR #JusticeRightsRespect

This is a really thoughtful opinion piece by Uluṟu Youth Dialogue leader Bridget Cama on the UN DRIP anniversary.

13 September is the anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The Declaration is the most comprehensive international instrument on the rights of Indigenous peoples. It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the Indigenous peoples of the world. It elaborates on existing human rights standards and fundamental freedoms as they apply to the specific situation of Indigenous peoples including colonisation, dispossession and denial of cultural practices. Indigenous peoples around the world, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, were involved in its drafting. In 2007, a majority of 143 states voted in favour with 4 votes against (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States) and 11 abstentions. Australia later endorsed UNDRIP in 2009 but there has been no implementation of Declaration principles in Australian law or policies. First Nations people in Australia are more likely to die younger than non-Indigenous Australians, face systemic racism and a higher rate of incarceration, and right now First Nations children are 10.5 times more likely be in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children. Australia must take steps to finally implement UNDRIP into domestic law and policy making to strengthen and protect the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Read more via ANTAR: https://lnkd.in/guh8mTBF #UNDRIP2024 #Reconciliation

The Declaration articulates the minimum standards to ensure the survival, dignity, and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples globally. While governments spend their time arguing that the Declaration is not legally binding in order avoid to implementation - they are wasting an opportunity to frame reforms within a clear blueprint for positive outcomes, that provides an internationally adopted mechanism against which to assess and measure the efficacy of Indigenous policies, programs and implementation practice…the Australian Senate have recommended implementation through a National Action Plan - after 15 years of avoidance - it’s time to give effect to the Declaration!