Page 3927 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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The Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the most comprehensive instrument detailing the rights of Indigenous peoples in international law and policy and addresses both individual and collective rights, cultural rights and identity, rights to education, health, employment, language and others.
The commissioner will promote the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, including their special rights under human rights law as children and their cultural rights as Indigenous people. The commissioner will contribute to a growing network of office holders across the country promoting the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. However, our commissioner will have a distinct framework tailored to the needs of the ACT community, which was co-designed with local stakeholders.
This bill sets out the key elements of the new commissioner’s role: the capacity to undertake individual and systemic advocacy; ongoing engagement with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community; cooperation with the Human Rights Commission; and transparency through the provision of an annual statement to both the Legislative Assembly and the community.
The commissioner’s power to engage in individual advocacy was identified in the Our Booris, Our Way review and subsequent co-design process as a critical element for this new position. Participants in the co-design process wanted to see the commissioner make a difference in the lives of children and young people in real time, noting the importance of the developmental period for lifelong wellbeing. Providing effective early individual advocacy was identified as an important part of preventing systemic harms, creating a more positive trajectory for children, their families and communities.
The bill empowers the commissioner to do just that. It provides the commissioner with the capacity to undertake individual advocacy in relation to a broad range of service systems, including the child protection and youth justice systems, as part of their broad mandate and in acknowledgement of the need to take a holistic approach to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.
The bill includes powers for the commissioner to access information needed to undertake this function, make recommendations in individual matters and require a response from the person in charge of a relevant entity within a stated reasonable time frame. The commissioner will be able to intervene on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in relation to decisions that will affect their rights or interests. This includes case conferences and relevant court proceedings.
Amendments to the Children and Young People Act and the Court Procedures Act included in the bill will also provide the commissioner with powers to enable individual advocacy, including access to information. Importantly, the commissioner will be entitled to appear, be heard and call witnesses in any hearings in court proceedings against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children or young people or in an application, proceeding or matter under the Children and Young People Act, including care and protection proceedings.
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