Social Justice

The phenomena of the Stolen Generations, disproportionate contact with the criminal justice system, suicide and ‘deaths in custody’ are most probably interrelated. They are also most likely related to poverty and to the more general problems arising from a history of alienation and dispossession. While apology from the nation to the Stolen Generations was long overdue, it has not yet led to substantial improvements in social justice, or to any other social and economic outcomes. Many Indigenous people and their supporters think that drawing a line under the events of the past, and fostering a new kind of relationship between Australia’s Indigenous and immigrant peoples, requires a measure of Indigenous self-determination, and an acknowledgement that the land was not ceded to the Crown. The Uluru Statement from the Heart and the public debate about eliminating racial terminology in the Australian Constitution show that considerable work is still needed for Australia to achieve social justice for Indigenous peoples. Meaningful social justice will involve a recognition of the distinctive rights that they hold as the First Peoples of this land.