List of recommendations

Recommendation 1

4.100The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government ensure its approach to developing legislation and policy on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (including, but not limited to, Closing the Gap initiatives) be consistent with the Articles outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Recommendation 2

4.101The Committee recommends development of a National Action Plan, in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, that outlines the approach to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Australia.

Recommendation 3

4.102The Committee recommends that any National Action Plan should consider the legislative, policy, and other approaches to implement, and assess compliance with, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples across all jurisdictions and should seek to include coordination agreements with all levels of government to maximise success.

Recommendation 4

4.103The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government establish an independent process of truth-telling and agreement making, as requested by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as a mechanism to support healing and assist implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (particularly Articles 3, 8, 11, 28, 32, and37).

Recommendation 5

4.104The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government work with State and Territory Governments and non-government education institutions to develop and adopt content for all levels of education, including for new citizens, in order to enhance awareness of:

Australia’s human rights framework, including the relationship between the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and human rights covenants,

Australian history in respect to the relevance of the legal fiction of ‘terranullius’ in facilitating the colonisation and settlement of Australia, and its impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and

General civics awareness, including the functions and operations of Australian political and legal institutions.

Recommendation 6

4.105The Committee recommends that the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth) be amended to include the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the definition of ‘human rights’, so that it be formally considered by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights when scrutinising legislation.