human rights | Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane

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.

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.

Friday 1 August 2008

The Bali bombing memorial on the site of Paddy's Pub.

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has appealed for the lives of the Bali Bombers who may soon be executed.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that this action was consistent with the Commission’s commitment to the Church’s Teaching on the death penalty.

Mr Arndt said that this appeal should in no way be seen as minimising the seriousness of the violence perpetrated by the bombers or the enormous personal pain and loss their actions have caused.

“We condemn the actions of the bombers as a gross violation of the dignity and rights of the victims of the bombing of nightclubs in Bali in 2002,” Mr Arndt said.

“Those who have lost family members and who live with injury and disability because of the bombings are entitled to on-going Government and community compassion and support in their efforts to deal with their loss and suffering,” he said.

“Those responsible for this crime deserve the most serious penalty, but this should fall short of the death penalty,” he said.

“The Commission has campaigned for the universal abolition of the death penalty around the world over the course of this year and we must take this action as a matter of principle,” he said.

“Capital punishment should not be used as revenge or retribution or as a deterrent,” he said.

“We must be consistent in our defence of human life, even in the case of people who are responsible for the most appalling actions,” he said.

“Both the Old and New Testaments guide us in this conviction,” he said.

“God ensured that Cain was punished severely for killing Abel, but God also protected him from any attempt to kill him in retribution,” he said.

“In John’s Gospel, Jesus stopped the execution of the woman caught in adultery by demanding that those who were without sin cast the first stone,” he said.

“We will write to the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and ask him to convey our appeal for the lives of the Bali Bombers to the Indonesian Government,” he said.

“We also ask Catholics to continue to send messages to their local MP, Senators, the Prime Minister and Government Ministers asking them to work for universal abolition of the death penalty,” he said.

“We also ask that Catholics continue to pray for the victims of crime and acts of terror, for those on death row and for their families,” he said.

The Commission’s petition asking for Government action on the issue will be lodged in the Senate at the end of August and further public action will accompany that event.

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.

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Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane

A Commission within the Archdiocese of Brisbane

Tag Archives: human rights

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.

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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.

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