“Recognition of Aboriginal Economy“,
speech given by Joan Gibbs (University of South Australia)
on International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2007
Equal Opportunity Commission (SA)
Wodlianni Reconciliation and Healing Event
“Care for what we share”
The future of our identity as caring South Australians is interwoven with the respect we are willing to create, maintain and develop amongst ourselves for the real human dignity, human feelings, human freedom, human equality, and fellow human identity we share in common with the Indigenous Aboriginal descendants as our human rights.
Without the introduction of new policy to be adopted by mainstream South Australian institutions that formulates a first unifying identification of what it is we all care about in our common humanity, South Australia will lack the capacity to offer every South Australian, including every dispossessed Indigenous Aboriginal descendant, the same equal opportunity to enjoy the prosperous and happy life being shared together by the majority of South Australians, but which is not equally being enjoyed today by all of the Indigenous Aboriginal descendants who have been dispossessed in their own land.
South Australia was founded on an express intention to maintain the liberties that are encapsulated in a commitment to respect and uphold human freedom, human dignity, and human equality, in a society based on a common recognition of the fellow human feelings needed to establish South Australia within a human identity based on justice.
When the institution of an English authority to pursue these aspirations for justice in South Australia was originally established, the original Indigenous inhabitants were granted for the future, and this was expressed to be granted lawfully right down to all their Indigenous Aboriginal descendants today, the unreserved entitlement to continue to occupy the lands which they inhabited and to continue to enjoy their lands for ever.
Shamefully, all of the mainstream institutions of South Australia, including the courts, parliament and the government have not yet fulfilled their lawful obligation to uphold the honour of South Australia by enforcing a basic recognition of these fellow human feelings needed to maintain South Australia with our human identity based on justice.
Given the inhumane state of health suffered by the Indigenous Aboriginal descendants when South Australia has not met its obligation to maintain their secured entitlements to continue occupying and enjoying their traditionally inhabited lands, our community has a duty to redress the impacts South Australia has on Aboriginal South Australians.
For caring South Australians effectively to get mainstream institutions to take up the fulfillment of their unaddressed lawful public duty to enforce within themselves that respect required to uphold a basic recognition of the fellow human feelings needed to maintain South Australia with our human identity based on justice, we need to begin a movement to work together by joining a coalition with caring Aboriginal descendants.
To institute further community action for discussion, and to assist the establishment of a foundation that first needs to be planned, set down, and then secured to inaugurate a coalition with the goal, aim, and steadiness successfully to take on the task, consider: CAIHR - Coalition Advocating Indigenous Human Rights - “Care for what we share”.
To advocate for the respect and recognition due to Indigenous Aboriginal descendants because it is a shared human entitlement still being overridden by an indifferent South Australia, South Australians need to acquire a culture of caring about Indigenous life.