Amnesty International Australia welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement that the Racial Discrimination Act will be reinstated. However, we are concerned about the time taken for the transition to a new approach.

"The protection of the rights of women and children need not and must not be at the expense of the right to protection from discrimination," said Rodney Dillon, Indigenous Rights Coordinator, Amnesty International.

We commend, in particular, indications in the Government’s statement that it intends to address Indigenous disadvantage.

Amnesty International looks forward to a new approach by Government that is based on meaningful consultation with affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

"Transitioning from a state of emergency needs to be sped up so that the government can begin to address the underlying causes of Indigenous disadvantage," said Rodney Dillon.

"It’s also troubling to see that welfare recipients in the Northern Territory will have to wait until 2009 to appeal decisions about their social security arrangements. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Northern Territory should be given the same rights as all other Australians immediately," he said.

Amnesty International is also calling on the Government to reinstate all other legislation that deals with discrimination, including the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Act.

"It is vital that the Government focuses on addressing the underlying causes of Indigenous disadvantage. The best place to start is in affording Indigenous Australians the dignity of fundamental human rights," said Rodney Dillon.

Amnesty International Australia provided a submission to the Review of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Board and will continue to monitor human rights impacts in partnership with Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.