Indigenous rights 'under attack' in youth crime reforms

West Australian

3 days ago

The rights of Indigenous Australians are under attack and children have been subjected to "egregious breaches" of human rights, a leading advocate says.
Katie Kiss, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, made the remarks in delivering the Mabo Oration in Cairns on Friday.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can often feel overwhelmed with the blatant attack on our rights, but we are not in isolation - this is a global phenomenon," Ms Kiss said in her speech, named in honour of land rights campaigner Eddie Mabo.
"Indigenous peoples the world over and our rights are under attack.
"We are in an invisible war for our survival, dignity and wellbeing."
Ms Kiss said the attack on rights was not reflected "from our perspective" in media but instead being lived out in homes, communities and impacting the most vulnerable.
She hit out at the "disregard and the wilful breach of children's rights proceeding unchecked and unchallenged in Queensland and the Northern Territory", two jurisdictions where governments were elected after taking 'tough on youth crime' approaches in election campaigns.
Queensland is in the process of adding 20 more offences to its landmark "adult crime, adult time" laws, while Northern Territory dropped the age of criminal responsibility to ten in addition to strengthening bail laws.
"What is happening in Queensland are egregious breaches of human rights against children," Ms Kiss told the audience.
She said it "speaks volumes" that Northern Territory chief minister Lia Finocchiaro and Queensland premier David Crisafulli were unfazed by rebukes from the chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ann Skelton.
"The story of this land since colonisation is a tale of two worlds colliding that has continued for more than eight generations," Ms Kiss said.