04 August 2020

ABORIGINAL CHILDREN SPEAK:
CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

TUESDAY 4 AUGUST,
6PM TO 7.15PM, ACST,
6.30PM TO 7.45PM, AEST

Online Panel Discussion
Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor: Aboriginal Leadership and Strategy and UniSA Justice and Society

Access Video HERE

The film In My Blood It Runs has launched worldwide with astounding engagement from all walks of life.  The film follows Dujuan Hoosan, a 10 year old Arrernte and Garrwa child from the Northern Territory. In My Blood It Runs is available through ABC iview until 4 August, access HERE.

In 2019, at the age of 12, Dujuan addressed the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child calling upon the Australian Government to treat kids like him better.  More specifically, he called for a First Nations-lead education system and support for restorative justice approaches to youth justice.  Dujuan’s speech has amplified the contemporary legal issue of raising the age of criminal responsibility and the rights of children.  There are complexities to the age of criminal responsibility for South Australia and indeed the Nation which are currently being discussed.    

Facilitated by Professor Stan Grant, our panel of experts will consider the issues explored in the film through discussion on the rights of Aboriginal children in relation to criminality and Australian and International laws. This panel discussion is an opportunity to hear about local and global issues of significance, and the extensive work of the Panellists to inform public knowledge and awareness.  

Please register your interest so that we can keep you up-to-date and to send you a link to view this online broadcast. This event coincides with National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day. Children's Day is celebrated across Australia, each year on 4 August.

Panellists include:

CHERYL AXLEBY  
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ABORIGINAL LEGAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Cheryl is a proud Narungga woman with family ties across South Australia.  Since 2012 Cheryl has held the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Incorporated.

In a career spanning 35 years, most of it working within the Aboriginal community controlled sector (with 10 working in SA Government), Cheryl is a strong advocate towards achieving Social Justice and equity for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples both within South Australia and at the National level. 

Cheryl continues to advocate for cultural inclusion across many Government and non-government services who deliver programs and services to South Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

DR SHARON H VENNE (NOTOKWEW MUSKWA MANITOKAN)
INDIGENOUS RIGHTS ATTORNEY, UNITED NATIONS RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Sharon H. Venne (Notokwew Muskwa Manitokan) is a Cree woman.  She has worked at the United Nations prior to the establishment of the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples in 1982.  The background research to the many clauses on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is included in her book: Our Elders Understand Our Rights: Evolving international law regarding Indigenous Peoples.  In addition, Sharon has written numerous articles and edited materials related to the rights of Indigenous Peoples. She has lectured on the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, France, Italy, Hawaii, United States and Canada.  Sharon worked to secure a UN Study on Treaties from the first introduction of the resolution in 1983 until the report was finalised in 1999. She worked to ensure that the report reflected Indigenous laws and norms. 

Sharon has written numerous articles on the Treaty Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Her most recent published article is “Manufactured Consent – how state governments manufacture consent and use it against Indigenous Nations at the domestic and international level” in a book edited by Dr. Irene Watson: Indigenous Peoples as subjects of international law. 

PROFESSOR IRENE WATSON
PRO VICE CHANCELLOR: ABORIGINAL LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Professor Irene Watson is the Pro Vice Chancellor: Aboriginal Leadership and Strategy, the David Unaipon Chair, and Professor of Law at the University of South Australia. She belongs to the Tanganekald, Meintangk Bunganditj First Nations peoples of the Coorong and the South-east of South Australia.

As Pro Vice Chancellor Irene is responsible for providing strategic advice and guidance on improving the recruitment, support and success of Aboriginal students and staff, both within and external to the University.  As Professor of Law, her research focuses upon Indigenous Peoples in domestic and international law. Over many years, Irene has worked with First Nation Peoples across Australia in advancing Aboriginal rights. 

FACILITATOR: PROFESSOR STAN GRANT
VICE CHANCELLOR'S CHAIR OF AUSTRALIAN/INDIGENOUS BELONGING, CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY

Stan Grant is an Australian journalist and writer whose career has taken him around the globe. He has reported on the great stories of our time from war and conflict to national disaster and the birth of new nations. He draws ancestry from the Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi people and an Irish convict banished from his homeland and transported to the colony of New South Wales, where he left an enduring legacy: a family both white and black.

He has written five books dealing with the history and politics of Indigenous People in Australia; all have been critically acclaimed best sellers and published internationally. He wrote the documentary The Australian Dream dealing with the nature of racism and discrimination in society today. 

Stan has won numerous international journalism awards including the Alfred I DuPont award, the Peabody, Asia TV award and is a three-time Walkley Award winner.