dawn wilson
25 September 2007, 03:10PM

Refusal by my country to sign this Declaration goes in line with the 21st Invasion of the N.T. occrring now - I would have been very surprised if it had been otherwise.

krys
25 September 2007, 03:09PM

agreed rach (:
i watched you type that aha.

mads
25 September 2007, 03:08PM

Um, Krys, The Prime Minister represents the Australian people, so we DO actually have the power to change the way he runs the country. The declaration IS about giving indigenous people rights, so they can be equal to the more privileged aspects if this society.

Rach
25 September 2007, 03:07PM

The decisions made by the government aren’t going to change any time soon. Everyone should be treated equily with the same rights and treatment. Why should other people be treated different due to passed action of their race, i mean think about it’s not fare is it?

We are all human and some what all related as we had to generate from something. We need to give everyone a far go and stop racism by the different laws and rights given to different races because that in it’s self falls under racism dosen’t it?

krys
25 September 2007, 03:01PM

the prime minister is sticking to his beliefs and that is all we can accept, we can’t force him to change the way’s he wishes to control the country, after all, we aren’t the prime minister of the country are we?
although the prime minister needs to take into account the diversity of different religions and ethnic groups, we are all equal, no one deserves to have more rights then others, because we are all human, we can all survive on what we are given if we use it to our advantage, if we can’t, thats our own problem, not the governments, not other peoples, our selves.

mads
25 September 2007, 02:21PM

Even if the declaration is symbolic, our not signing it is even more symbolic of our dire human rights record when it comes to the treatment of the indigenous people of this land. What is our government so afraid of? Being anti-racist? Giving everyone a ‘fair go’? Equality?

Lisa
25 September 2007, 12:24PM

I would like to know if Mr Rudd will change this action if he becomes the next Prime Minister of Australia. But I like the others am not surprised at the Governments actions. Lisa

liz
25 September 2007, 11:10AM

I totally agree with Mintie. The contries which have the most issues reguarding aboriginal peple are the ones who do not sign it tells us something. maybe this declaration isnt te right thing. has anyone here read it? I’m just saying that somethings in it might be wrong. e can not assume it is bperfect just cause its from the UN. they do great stuff but there work needs to be judged and evaluated just like everyone elses. this is a complicated issue, I think that most aboriginal people would agree to that and so it needs serious though not just people yelling about goodies and baddies.

Sam
24 September 2007, 09:46PM

Sadly I agree with Tess. Even if the declaration was signed it would have little, if any, effect for those whom it is intended to help.

Tess
24 September 2007, 07:35PM

Mintie -
paralell legal rights do not often bring substantive equality.

Janice Bell
19 September 2007, 04:33PM

I likewise am not surprized, but am disappointed yet again by our government’s attitude to human rights and to the UN

Karuna Santosa
19 September 2007, 01:54PM

Why am I not suprised???!!!!!!

Mintie
19 September 2007, 03:16AM

I can’t see that killing more trees to make more reams of unworkable, unreadable bureaucratese (non-binding at that) does anything except swell the egos of its authors.

Mintie
19 September 2007, 03:16AM

I fully support my Government in rejecting this declaration. Is it surprising that the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia (most probably the countries most likely to be affected by it) are the ones who have rejected it? Wouldn’t they perhaps have thought about it more than the 100+ nations who happily endorsed it, while not planning to do anything about it themselves? How have the other signatories recognised “indigenous rights”?

At the heart of this is the issue of indigenous identity within the nation. Are indigenous peoples “equal” within the nation? Many indigenous people don’t want exact equality: that could actually be seen as cultural genocide. Do they want “extra” rights, or “parallel” rights? I have been studying the issue of reconciliation in Australia; it’s far from simple.

A lot of you would do better to use your brains and think about issues, rather than just jumping on the “US and Australia-bad, indigenous people-good” bandwagon.

GrahamW
17 September 2007, 03:07PM

I have now read lots of detailed reports dealing with the Australian Government’s reasons for voting against as well as actively campaigning against this long overdue and much needed declaration.  None of the reasons given make sense to any thinking person in terms of Aboriginal welfare.  They clearly do not want Aboriginal Australians to be able to use this Declaration as further support for long neglected human rights claims ignored and undermined by our current government.  The Australian Government seems hellbent on winding the clock back by ARBITARILY, forcefully and unilaterally imposing its political will on this section of the Australian community
for its own political reasons. Note the US style spin, the looming election, the Howard Government’s unpopularity, the militaristic aggenda and enforcement, land grab, so on.

Joel
17 September 2007, 10:31AM

Let’s stop this cultural imperialism! Indigenous Rights NOW!!

GrahamW
15 September 2007, 01:52PM

Has there been a response from the Australian Government explaining why they voted against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?

Jessica Dowdell
14 September 2007, 08:59PM

Mr Prime Minister, I find it hard to understand how you can lead a country filled with such diversity within its population and still appose a Declaration such as this. Can you not understand that unless our contury unites, unless we start to accept and respect the diffrent traditions of our indigenous people the issue of rasism and violence with in the community will continue. Don’t you understand that as the leader of this nation you have the obligation to begin this by accepting the declaration and put in to action its recomendations.