As part of the “Season of Creation” and in ongoing response to the Papal Encyclical “Laudato Si’ “, the Archdiocese of Brisbane Justice and Peace Commission and Evangelisation Brisbane co-host a panel discussion: ”Cultivating a Sense of Place: Contemplating Ecology in a Time of Loss”.
Panelists include:
Professor Douglas Christie (Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles )
Anne George
Clare Locke
Peter Arndt
10 December 2008
Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has called for both the Federal and Queensland Governments to take action on the rights of Indigenous Australians.
In particular, it has called on the Federal Government to become a signatory to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and for the Queensland Government to act on the concerns of Indigenous people about the use of money from its “Stolen Wages” reparations Scheme and the Aboriginal Welfare Fund.
The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was of the highest priority to the Commission.
“On International Human Rights Day, the Commission wants to express its solidarity with Indigenous people who are still waiting for justice,” Mr Arndt said.
“After speaking with our Indigenous advisors, we urge the Federal Government to act quickly to become a signatory to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” he said.
“The Prime Minister promised to do this at last year’s election, but the Government has not done so yet,” he said.
“The Government was given an opportunity to show its support for the Declaration in the Senate in September, but did not do so,” he said.
“Our Indigenous advisors have also told us that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are very upset with the Queensland Government’s unwillingness to listen to them on the Stolen Wages issue,” he said.
“The great majority of Indigenous people consulted by the Government wanted it to use unclaimed funds in its reparations scheme to pay more money to Indigenous workers who had wages taken away from them and never given back,” he said.
“They do not want any of the money from the reparations scheme or the Aboriginal Welfare Fund being used to establish an education fund, but the Government has ignored them,” he said.
“Aboriginal workers have a right to be paid their wages in full,” he said.
“Every Indigenous child also has a right to get a decent education funded by the Government and not just a select few who get a scholarship funded out of Indigenous workers’ wages,” he said.
“The Government should not be taking money from funds put aside to pay Indigenous people what they are owed in wages and using it for other purposes,” he said.
“There is a lot of anger and hurt within Indigenous communities over this issue and the Government must listen,” he said.
For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.
Professor Lowitja O’Donoghue Speech
Public Lecture and Prayers for Reconciliation
St Peter’s Anglican Cathedral, Adelaide
Tuesday 27th May 2008
Professor Lowitja O’Donoghue
Monday 26 May 2008
Commission Calls For Action On Unfinished Business
Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission called on Catholics to acquaint themselves with the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report on the forcible removal of Indigenous Children from their families and communities in the Twentieth Century and to be active in promoting the implementation of all the Report’s fifty-four recommendations.
The call is being made on National Sorry Day, a day which the Report recommended be set aside each year for remembrance of all those whose lives were affected by this policy.
The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that the Federal Parliament’s apology to members of the Stolen Generations on 13 February this year ensured that one of the Report’s recommendations was finally implemented, but that most of the 1997 Report’s recommendations have not been acted on by Government.
“The apology is a very important step in the journey of healing, but there is much more to be done before we can close the book on this sorry chapter in our history,” Mr Arndt said.
“This is the tenth year on which National Sorry Day has been marked and Christians should be at the forefront of efforts to challenge our Federal Government to deal directly with the Report’s unfinished business,” he said.
“Funds have been put into family reunion services over the last ten years, but there is still so much to do in terms of community education and reparations,” he said.
“We hope that Catholic parishes and schools continue to mark National Sorry Day on 26 May, National Reconciliation Week from 27 May to 3 June and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday on the first Sunday each year with prayer and rituals because this is an important way of remembering the hurt and injustice of the past and the present,” he said.
“But our prayers and rituals will not mean as much if we do not also try to take action to bring healing,” he said.
“There are many resources available for people to learn more about the issues involved and we encourage Catholics to use them to become acquainted with the story of the Stolen Generations and the Report’s recommendations,” he said.
“The National Sorry Day Committee has also provided a variety of opportunities for individuals, schools and parishes to take action to get all the Report’s recommendations implemented,” he said.
“The Committee suggests that people adopt one of the recommendations and work hard to convince our leaders to implement it,” he said.
The National Sorry Day Committee’s resources are available on its web site.
“Over the next ten years, it would be wonderful if Christians around Australia played a significant part in bringing healing to the many indigenous Australians affected by this unjust policy of the past,” Mr Arndt said.
“We hope that Christians can be inspired by the impact of this year’s apology and find ways to shine the healing light of Christ’s love on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians,” he said.
For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.
NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.
Media Release
Tuesday 8 April 2008
Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has expressed its disappointment at the Queensland Government’s recent decision on the distribution of funds from the Indigenous Wages and Savings Reparations Scheme and the now defunct Aborigine Welfare Fund.
The Scheme was established in 2002 to provide reparations payments to Indigenous workers who had wages placed in trust by the Queensland Government over a significant part of the twentieth century and never returned.
Much of the money set aside for the Scheme was not distributed and the Government undertook a process of consultation with Indigenous people over the course of 2007 to determine what would be done with unclaimed funds.
The Premier, Anna Bligh, and the Minister for Indigenous Partnerships, Lindy Nelson-Carr, recently announced that about $15 million from the Scheme would provide top-up payments of either $1500 or $3000 to claimants who have already received payments of $2000 or $4000. $21.2 million from the scheme and $10.8 million from the Aborigines Welfare Fund would be used to establish the Indigenous Queenslanders Foundation, which will provide education and sporting scholarships of up to $20000 to young Indigenous people.
The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that, after consulting with its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisors, the Commission urged the Government to re-imburse claimants fully for all wages placed in trust and never returned.
It also urged the Government to pay the descendants of deceased workers all wages owed in full.
“We are talking about money earned by Indigenous women and men by the sweat of their brow and taken away from them and used for other purposes,” Mr Arndt said.
“The Queensland Government’s attempts to get away with a token payment which is a small fraction of the actual amount earned by Indigenous workers is unfair,” he said.
“The only just decision would be to pay Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers in full as the New South Wales Government is doing,” he said.
“The Commission is astonished that the State Government has decided to put some of the funds in the Scheme into education scholarships scheme despite the majority of Indigenous people consulted by the Government rejecting such a proposal,” he said.
“This decision continues the same shabby treatment of Aboriginal people which saw their wages taken away from them in the first place,” he said.
“The Government must pay Indigenous workers what is owed to them in full and must pay the families of deceased workers what is owing to them too,” he said.
“It has a responsibility to provide the same standard of education to all Queensland children and should provide educational opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from the Education Department’s funds and not from money which is owed to Indigenous workers,” he said.
Mr Arndt said that the Commission would talk to its Indigenous advisors about any further action it might take on the issue.
He said it would also keep in touch with Indigenous groups working on the issue and provide support where it could.
For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.
NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.
Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane 