AUSTRALIA ENDORSES THE UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
(Drawn from a Media Release by the Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, the Hon Duncan Kerr SC MP on 3 April 2009)
On 3 April, the Australian Government issued a statement supporting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in Parliament House in Canberra.
“This is a great occasion not only for Australia’s Indigenous community, but for Indigenous Peoples around the world, including in our immediate region,” said Mr Kerr, who represented the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Stephen Smith MP at the ceremony today.
“In my discussions around the Pacific Islands, I have been struck by how important last year’s apology to the stolen generations was to many Pacific leaders and communities.
“Through the statement today, we have reinforced our ongoing commitments to reconciliation and closing the gap between Indigenous Australia and the rest of the country.
“Australia’s Indigenous community holds an important place in our relationship to the Pacific. Many of the traditional links we have to the region are through our Indigenous heritage. These include direct familial, social and cultural ties particularly between communities and peoples of the Torres Strait and the Pacific. Australia is also now home to many Indigenous peoples of our region.
“Australia’s engagement with the Pacific and our closer partnerships with the peoples and countries of our region must be built on mutual trust, in accordance with the Port Moresby Declaration issued by the Prime Minister in March 2008.
“In addition, our capacity to represent and support the Pacific in international forums will be built on the ‘mana’ or respect that we hold within our region,” said Mr Kerr.
The full statement by the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP can be found at: http://www.jennymacklin.fahcsia.gov.au/internet/jennymacklin.nsf/content/un_declaration_03apr09.htm
Media contact: Alopi Latukefu (Mr Kerr's Office) 0411 622 531
DFAT Media (02) 6261 1555