Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Category: Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights

The Voice: nothing to fear

John Farnham’s 1980s hit You’re the Voice opens with the lines ‘We have the chance to turn the pages over / We can write what we want to write.’ This nicely fits what Australians will do later this year when they vote in a referendum to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in…

March 30, 2023
Voice to Parliament: Debunking 10 myths and misconceptions

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a generous invitation to all Australians from First Nations peoples to walk together towards a better future. Having a referendum on a First Nations Voice to Parliament is the first step on that walk; a chance to change the Constitution to enable First Nations people to be heard in matters that affect…

March 2, 2023
A new Treaty Authority between First Peoples and the Victorian government is a vital step towards a treaty

Last week the Victorian government demonstrated its commitment to build an equal relationship with First Peoples. A new bill has been labeled in the Victorian parliament to advance the treaty process.

June 23, 2022
Indigenous people cannot be aliens in their own land. Why challenging this fact (again) is so concerning

By Melissa Castan and Kate Galloway Last year, we wrote an overview of the High Court decision in Love, Thoms v Commonwealth. The case concerned whether the Commonwealth had the power to deport two Aboriginal men who were born overseas. Neither man was an Australian citizen under Commonwealth law. If the men were deemed “aliens”, then…

October 26, 2021