It has been over twenty years since the release of the landmark Bringing Them Home report and more than a decade since the National Apology was delivered by then - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Stolen Generations survivors - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who have suffered as the result of past government policies and practices of forced child removal and assimilation. Acknowledging the wrongs of the past was a significant milestone in the history of our nation, but there is still much work to be done to heal the enduring trauma experienced by survivors, families and communities. After two decades, the majority of the Bringing Them Home recommendations have not been implemented, adding to ongoing distress. In the meantime, this inaction fails to address the escalating national crisis involving continuing removal of indigenous children from their families. What is the nation's plan for healing this pain; are we any closer to needs-based funding and a financial redress scheme, dealing with intergenerational trauma and establishing an appropriate policy response? What is the way ahead for the 'unfinished business' in the long journey towards healing?
Indigenous Australians are the most incarcerated people on Earth. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up 2% of all Australians, yet constitute 27% of the nation's prison population. Over-representation in the criminal justice system by indigenous men, women and young people is a persistent and growing problem. What are the reasons for these high imprisonment rates; and what reforms are being proposed to reduce indigenous people's contact with the criminal justice system? Are 'tough on crime' policies flouting death-in-custody recommendations and further entrenching indigenous inequality and disadvantage before the law? After the recent Royal Commission, prompted by shocking abuses at the Don Dale Detention Centre, has anything changed in relation to youth detention? This book examines the latest research on indigenous imprisonment rates, and reviews progress on addressing Aboriginal deaths in custody and youth detention reform. How can governments reduce over-incarceration and commit to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to implement overdue interventions? What will it take to unlock the problems of indigenous inequality in the criminal justice system?
The Australian nation was founded on immigration; for several decades its growth and values have been sustained by multiculturalism and tolerance. Our population and economic growth have been underpinned by a large, legal, non-discriminatory immigration program with broad public support. However, increasing signs are emerging of anti-immigration sentiments and a rising backlash over the size of the nation's annual immigration intake. Issues of concern for people include urban congestion, housing prices, border protection, humanitarian refugee intake, environmental sustainability, and discrimination over racial and religious integration and diversity. This book presents analysis and opinions from the latest immigration figures, polls and debates to explore how community attitudes towards immigration are evolving. Are Australians' sentiments increasingly positive, negative or neutral? Are our immigration levels too high, or should they be increased, or paused? What is the impact of immigration on our shared quality of life? As a people, are Australians at risk of the polarisation seen in other western nations, where social cohesion itself is under threat?
The global spread of the Black Lives Matter movement has exposed the profound and wide-reaching impacts of racial injustice. Racism happens in many forms and contexts, ranging from casual to systemic racism, racial vilification and physical violence. This book looks at how the social cohesion of a culturally diverse nation like Australia is challenged by the complex and incendiary issue of racial discrimination. Topics explored include casual racism, hate speech, cyber racism, Islamophobia, anti-semitism, white supremacist extremism, abuse of Asian people during the coronavirus pandemic, the influence of the BLM protest movement, and the longstanding racial justice calls by Australia's First Nations peoples. Strategies are also offered on how to deal with racial discrimination through legal rights and protections, how bystanders can support people experiencing racial abuse, and how to manage racism in public, at school, in sport, and online. Learn to recognise racism and respond with equality and respect for people of every race, colour and creed.
Indigenous Australians have endured a history of colonisation that has profoundly affected their health and wellbeing. For First Nations people, good health goes beyond the absence of disease and illness; it is a holistic concept that includes physical, social, emotional, cultural and spiritual wellbeing, for both the individual and community. In 2020, all governments committed to new targets to improve the lives of Indigenous people, after the failure of the previous Closing the Gap scheme. Indigenous burden of disease is 2.3 times that of non-Indigenous Australians; rates of psychological distress and chronic diseases are higher; there are disparities across education, housing, employment and income; access to health services is often limited and not culturally appropriate. This book also examines the factors which underpin the foundations for effectively tackling indigenous health and disadvantage: holistic health and wellbeing; social determinants of health; and cultural determinants of health. We have 17 new Closing the Gap targets. Will governments now do what is needed to meet them?