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Good afternoon, everyone

My name is Katie Kiss. I am a proud Kaanju and Birri/Widi woman from far North Queensland, and I grew up on the lands of the Darumbal people in Rockhampton. I am the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner based at the ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ and my one-year anniversary in the role is tomorrow – 3 April.

I acknowledge that this Assembly is being held on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples who are the traditional custodians of the Canberra area. I pay my respects to their elders - past, present and emerging and acknowledge all my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters here at this landmark Assembly.

I have been asked to speak today about the National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap’s Priority Reform Three and about the National Anti-Racism Framework which the ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ has developed.

I want to acknowledge Aunty Pat in particular as the Co-convenor of this important work, and the significant work of the Coalition of the Peaks, and the Partnership Working Group (or PWG as it is known) in our collective efforts to advance the intent of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (the National Agreement).

With respect to my role, my mandate as the Social Justice Commissioner, as outlined in the ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ Act, 1986 is:

• to monitor the exercise and enjoyment of human rights by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• to promote discussion, awareness, and respect for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• to examine policy and legislation to see whether they recognise and protect the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Additionally, under the Native Title Act 1993 (s209), I am tasked with reporting to the federal Attorney-General on the Act’s operation and its effects on the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

My role as the Social Justice Commissioner aligns with the core goals of the National Agreement.

I note that both the targets and the priority reforms are all concerned with human rights – and the fact that we need targets – each of which is a human right – is a demonstration that our rights have been violated.

As part of my mandate, it is necessary that I monitor and support the delivery of the National Agreement to ensure that all parties, including governments, are held accountable and that the way it is implemented respects and protects the rights, needs, and priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

In support of this function, I have recently made a request to the PWG co-Chairs to attend the meetings of the Partnership Working Group as an observer.

While all elements of the National Agreement are critical and interconnected - monitoring and reporting on progress against the priority reforms will be essential, and I have identified within my five-year term agenda, a particular focus on Priority Reform 3: transforming government, and addressing and eliminating systemic and structural racism.

Correct me if I am wrong – but one of my observations from the Jumbunna presentation yesterday, is that the Indigenous led-review does not seek to address the lack of government accountability to the Agreement, to the Coalition of the Peaks, or to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as beneficiaries of the Agreement.

While I understand that the Productivity Commission has sought to address this – and they have been very direct in their assessment of progress on the National Agreement – the Productivity Commission comes to this discussion as a mainstream agency and part of the machinery of government. They don’t question the government's commitment or progress from a First Nations perspective.

Of course, through the Indigenous-led review, our people can contribute our views and opinions on government commitment to the agreement – but should that be our role and will they listen? Will offering our views and opinions make a meaningful difference to the agreement outcomes – or will they continue to fall on deaf ears and be ignored?

Or - should governments as part of their accountability to their citizens – of which we are members – be accountable to us – as partners to the agreement, and as rights holders entitled to the rights represented by each of the targets and the priority reforms?

In the absence of an independent accountability mechanism, which if we see a renewed commitment to this post-election, will still be a way off in terms of establishment – the Indigenous-led reviews are our opportunity to question government on their commitment and progress.

I also hear much of the discussion focused at the departmental level, which of course is absolutely necessary – but the failure to progress against the agreement sits at the very top - in the Cabinet - in the Budget Committee - and in Parliament. The federal government has responsibility for and the power to ensure that it’s agencies and States and Territories meet not only their commitments under the National Agreement, but also their human rights obligations.

I come from Queensland – we have seen the first act of the newly appointed government repeal the Path to Treaty Act enabling truth and treaty – an act informed by First Nations Queenslanders, and the only act in the country that required implementation in accordance with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We have also seen the passage of the Adult Crime Adult Time legislation that supports the unacceptable jailing of 10-year-old children instead of supporting their families and nurturing confident thriving young people.

With the full knowledge that this policy disproportionately impacts our children, the Queensland Government introduced this legislation to Parliament accompanied by a human rights compatibility statement that suspended the Queensland Human Rights Act in order to permit them to violate children’s rights. Legislation that purposefully contradicts commitments under the National Agreement and specifically the Closing the Gap targets.

We all sit here today - with our State and Territory Governments doing this in almost every jurisdiction.

And this wasn’t the first time human rights protections have been suspended in order to pass harmful discriminatory legislation – this was also done in the NT with the Intervention in 2007 under the federal government, and the challenges our leaders and communities in the NT are grappling with today are a direct manifestation of those decisions. If we do the math – it is those children born during the intervention that are captured by harmful government systems that violate rights and underpin the need for the CTG targets.

The federal government has responsibility nationally for ensuring human rights are respected and protected – and it is the federal government who has overarching responsibility for ensuring the success of the National Agreement.

Post Referendum, the National Agreement is their key focus – but without human rights compliance and accountability the National Agreement will continue to be compromised, and our rights will continue to be denied and violated.

We know that our people are at the table. Our people are in our communities doing the work – where there are good outcomes – it is most often our organisations delivering progress – and often in the face of resistance and unwillingness from our key partners in the agreement – governments - to support our efforts.

So, my question is - how do we hold them accountable to their part of the agreement if there is no other mechanism to hold them accountable?

The Indigenous-led review – at least provides an opportunity for us to question them on their efforts, from an Indigenous perspective, from a lived experience perspective taking into consideration our understanding of the impacts and consequences in our communities of the lack of progress, and from a rights holder perspective.

I’m not sure if this is possible under the current review – but something I believe should be considered. So, at this stage, the question may need to be: How can Joint Council use the outcomes of this Review to hold governments to account?

We have two other tools available to us – but if we don’t use them – they won’t fix anything.

They are the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the National Anti-Racism Framework.

Systemic racism and structural disadvantage exacerbate system failures for our people, so transforming government, and consequently ‘the system’ is critical to closing the gap and achieving better outcomes for our people.

The Declaration provides internationally agreed MINIMUM standards to ensure the survival, dignity, and wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples globally.

If we are to see progress against the targets and the rights outlined in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, mechanisms will need to be negotiated with governments that promote self-determination, respond to the priorities identified by First Nations people, and provide an enabling environment for our community-controlled organisations.

In November 2023, the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, provided their report on the Parliamentary Inquiry Report into the application of the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, that included six recommendations. They included the development of a National Action Plan to implement the Declaration, and amendments to the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Act, that would include the Declaration in the definition of human rights but also require governments when preparing human rights compatibility statements to address how the proposed legislation would affect the rights of Indigenous peoples. At the moment there are no human rights protections – other than existing discrimination legislation - or accountability.

With respect to the National Anti-Racism Framework – or the NARF, I would like to pay a special tribute to my friend and colleague Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giri Sivaraman and his team who have demonstrated incredible care, dedication, humility and ability in putting together the National Anti-Racism Framework.

I would also like to acknowledge Marni Tuala and Peter Honeyman of First Nations Collective Consulting, who were instrumental in ensuring that the Framework was informed by First Nations people, and centres their knowledges, experiences, and ideas. And I want to also give gratitude and thanks to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who gave their time and commitment and provided input into the NARF.

The referendum debate in 2023 revealed the extent of racism against First Nations people throughout Australia and how - with rates of reported racism having increased - those who would deny us our rights have been emboldened by the result. Racism causes incredible harm. Indeed, it is responsible for many tragedies in communities like my own around Australia. And we are left to meet this force head on.

We cannot pretend that racism is confined to the behaviour of a few individuals. It is pervasive and can only be addressed through a comprehensive response.

The publication of the National Anti-Racism Framework is an important and unprecedented milestone. It names racism for what it is. It locates it within the structures that surround us and provides a plan to transform those structures.

Implementation of each of the framework’s recommendations is essential to embedding cultural competence, cultural safety, cultural integrity and cultural humility - but I want to mention a few which are relevant to the agenda I hope to take forward as Social Justice Commissioner.

The first is the recommendation that:

• Australian governments fund and work in partnership with the National Anti-Racism Taskforce to develop and implement a First Nations Anti-Racism Framework Implementation Plan.

This dedicated plan is important because our experience of racism in this country is unique. Our historic dispossession and disenfranchisement have had a devastating impact. Denial of this reality and blaming our people, including our children, for its consequences is a key characteristic of contemporary racism whether it be in the form of exchanges on the streets - or in the Parliament - or in the systems that negatively impact us even while we have no involvement in deciding how they work.

The next two recommendations I want to highlight are that:

• The Australian Parliament enact a federal Human Rights Act; and that
• The Australian Government comprehensively incorporate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into domestic law.

Australia is required to codify its international human rights obligations and has lagged behind other nation states in this regard. If our governments are serious about anti-racism, it’s time step up!

The final three recommendations I want to bring attention to today are that:

• The Australian Government immediately:
• Establish an independent mechanism to monitor and report on the status of the implementation of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
• Establish an independent complaints and investigation mechanism for police misconduct and use of force; and
• To raise of the age of criminal responsibility to 14.

Over 30 years ago, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) published its report. There have been approximately 580 Indigenous deaths in custody since then as a result of many of the recommendations remaining unimplemented.

We are not a criminal people. The root cause of our over-representation in prisons and jail cells is the result of persistent structural racism over centuries. The imperative for major reform is clear, and as a matter of particular urgency are those changes which protect our human rights and prevent our people, in particular our children and young people from being subjected to mistreatment and rights violations – from being systematically removed from their families while at the same time pushing them to the margins where poverty and disadvantage are unavoidable – or banishing them from society altogether into institutions which only do more harm.

I am committed to our success under the National Agreement – and will work during my term to support you in the work you are all doing – but in line with Aunty Pat’s words yesterday – we need to do this together if we are to rise together – our people, and our partners – to have a collective impact.

Thank you