home | news l

Maori-style treaty 'could benefit all Australians'

30 May 2008 - The federal race discrimination commissioner Tom Calma has backed calls for an Indigenous treaty to be signed by the Federal Government.

The comments come a day after the head of World Vision Australia Tim Costello also put his backing behind the concept.

Mr Calma says other countries have reaped the benefits of signing a similar document with their Indigenous people.

"(There are) not only benefits for Indigenous peoples, but also for the country itself," he says.

"If we look just at our near neighbours in New Zealand, the treaty there has derived many economic and social benefits for the Maori people and it is that type of arrangement we need to look at for Indigenous Australians."

Mr Calma says both the Federal and state governments also need to do more work to reunite members of the Stolen Generations.

Amnesty International's annual human rights report, also released yesterday, found while the Commonwealth's apology to the Stolen Generations was encouraging, victims should be compensated.

The Prime Minister indicated earlier this year that his Government would not consider financial compensation for the victims.

But Mr Calma says other ways to assist those affected need to be investigated.

"While some work has already been done link-up programs have been supported in the past, there is still a need for a lot more, because there are still many Indigenous Australians out there that haven't been able to associate with their families because they haven't found them, and if they have found them, they haven't been able to reunite with them."

Source: ABC

Further information: social justice issues page - includes news index and external links

|| click to go to the top of this page