The West Australian Government should release details of a policy that could see hundreds of remote Aboriginal families forced to leave their homes, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

After his colleague, former Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Milton Orkopoulos was charged with child sex offences in November 2006, NSW Premier, Morris Iemma, declared war on child abusers.

"If you are a pedophile, I am your enemy," he thundered in Parliament.

However, more than a year and a half later, it's apparent that when it comes to tackling child abuse, Morris Iemma is a man of bluster rather than substance.

The recommendations of the Senate Inquiry report into compensation for the Stolen Generations tabled today, fall short of what is needed to deliver justice to Australia's most disadvantaged people, according to ANTaR.

ANTaR has welcomed this afternoon’s announcement of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Review Board by Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin.

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson's decision to pull out of the bipartisan commission to improve housing in Aboriginal communities flies in the face of undertakings he gave in parliament during his apology to the Stolen Generations.

During his apology speech in Parliament on the 13th of February, Dr Nelson gave his "unconditional" support for the Prime Minister's proposal.

A significant portion of the $10 billion Nation Building Health Fund announced by the Treasurer last night should be earmarked for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

ANTaR National Director, Gary Highland said the lack of sufficient funding for Aboriginal primary health care in last night’s budget made it essential to draw on the new fund if the government was to achieve its aim of closing the 17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Mr Stephen Hall, the Chairperson of ANTaR Western Australia, said: "Today's ruling shows how difficult it is for Aboriginal people to prove their continuing connection to country."

Today the Federal Court assumed that in 1829 the laws and customs governing land throughout the claim area were those of a single community. However, it held that the 2006 decision failed to consider two matters that claimants were required to establish in order for their application to succeed. The first being whether there has been continuous acknowledgment and observance of the traditional laws and customs by the Single Noongar Society from 1829 until now. The second being whether claimants have a connection with the Perth Metropolitan Area. The Court therefore set aside the 2006 decision and has remitted it for future determination.

A new national campaign calling on all Australians to take action against racism and tackle the Indigenous health crisis will be launched today by ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) in collaboration with The Body Shop.

The Queensland Government’s amended Stolen Wages settlement to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers has come under attack from Indigenous rights organisation, ANTaR.

ANTaR Queensland President, Monique Bond said the changes announced by the government were mean spirited, insulting and racially discriminatory.

The commitment today between the Government of Australia and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia to work towards achieving equality in health status and life expectancy was a monumental development welcomed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous health representatives and Australian civil society, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma said today.

The Rudd Government's decision to rule out compensation for members of the Stolen Generations flies in the face of the policy platform it took to the recent federal election.

First published in the Sydney Morning Herald

CLARE MARTIN fought back tears yesterday as she told how tough her life had become under the Howard Government's indigenous intervention, before she resigned as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory's Labor Government.

Should he become Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd would need to sit down with critics of the Northern Territory intervention if he’s to have any hope of stamping out child abuse in Aboriginal communities, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) said today.

Gary Highland's opinion piece for ABC

My first reaction to news that the Prime Minister intended holding a referendum on recognising Indigenous Australians in the Constitution was one of suspicion and surprise.

After all, John Howard is the person who had pointedly refused to walk across the bridge for reconciliation, had hectored and insulted Aboriginal people at the 2000 Reconciliation Convention and only weeks ago tried to scuttle the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) said tonight it would welcome constitutional change that enshrines the distinctive rights of the first Australians, but the wording of any preamble would need to be developed on the basis of genuine negotiations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

ANTaR welcomes the passing of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples today. Below is a media release from Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner (HREOC).

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma today welcomed the decision of the United Nations General Assembly to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Legislation introduced into Federal Parliament today will do little to protect Northern Territory Aboriginal children from abuse, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

The Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments should establish a tribunal and process to compensate members of the Stolen Generations following yesterday’s landmark decision in the South Australian Supreme Court, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

Draconian measures announced by the Prime Minister today in response to the crisis of child abuse in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities would only add to the suffering of children, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

A commitment to provide home visits by health professionals to assist Aboriginal children was one glimmer of light in an otherwise bleak Federal Budget for Indigenous Australians, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) and GetUp! said tonight.

Olympic champions Catherine Freeman and Ian Thorpe returned to Sydney's Telstra Stadium today to launch Australia's largest ever campaign to improve Indigenous health.

Catherne and Ian became the first people to sign the online Sea of Hands developed by Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

They joined more than forty Indigenous and non-Indigenous organisations to urge the Federal, State and Territory governments to commit to closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation.

With the death of NSW Aboriginal Land Council Administrator, Murray Chapman last weekend, Australia lost a great champion for land rights and justice for Aboriginal people.

Amendments to the Native Title Act being debated in the House of Representatives today would increase the powers of the Minister and Native Title Tribunal at the expense of traditional owners, their representative bodies and the Federal Court, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

The decision by the Queensland Attorney-General to lay manslaughter charges over the death of Palm Island man, Mulrunji Doomadgee would help restore public confidence in Queensland's legal system but not its police force, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) said today.