National: Forum Indigenous Health and the Treaty Debate

A national forum, Indigenous Health & the Treaty Debate: Rights Governance & Responsibility was held in Sydney on Saturday 11 September 2004. This event was organised as part of a project investigating the possibility of modern treaty-making between Indigenous people and Australian governments.

In keynote addresses and interactive panels, speakers explored the relationship between public law and health and whether a treaty has anything to do with improving Indigenous wellbeing. The keynote speakers were Ms Olga Havnen, NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Professor Stephen Cornell (Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (US)) and Ms Ria Earp (Deputy Director General-Maori Health, Ministry of Health (NZ)). Other speakers included Ms Pat Anderson, Professor Ian Anderson, Ms Dea Delaney Thiele, Professor Larissa Behrendt, the Hon Fred Chaney, the Hon Dr Carmen Lawrence MP, Dr Tamara Mackean, Mr Jeff McMullen, Dr Lisa Jackson Pulver and Senator Aden Ridgeway.

The event was organised by partners in a research project looking into the public law implications of a treaty or treaty-like agreements between Indigenous peoples and Australian governments: the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology, Sydney, the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at the UNSW Faculty of Law and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies. That project is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and, through Reconciliation Australia, by the Myer Foundation. This event was generously supported by: Reconciliation Australia, the UNSW Faculty of Law, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education & Quality Improvement) UNSW, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

Brochure (in PDF [701KB] and Word [63KB] ) which included the program, is available. A revised program is also available.