Australian Human Rights Commission Australia and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Shadow report to the CERD Committee – 8 July 2010 freedoms of Indigenous people, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Correspondence to Australian Government regarding the Northern Territory Emergency response (10 October 2007); Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Australia, UN Doc E/C.12/AUS/CO/4 (2009), para 15 at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/AdvanceVersions/E-C12-AUS-CO-4.doc (viewed 20 January 2010); Human Rights Committee, Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee: Australia, UN Doc CCPR/C/AUS/CO/5 (2009), para 14, at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/co/CCPR-C-AUS-CO-5.doc (viewed 20 January 2010). The ICERD Committee requested the government to provide information in its report for the Australia’s forthcoming review on its efforts to bring the NTER measures into full compliance with CERD. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, ‘Correspondence to the Australian Government following up on the Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure on the issues raised before the Committee in relation to the Northern Territory Emergency Response’ (28 September 2009), at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/early_warning/Australia28092009.pdf (viewed 20 January 2010. 55 Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform and Reinstatement of Racial Discrimination Act) Bill 2009l; Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (2009 Measures) Bill 2009. 56 Australian Human Rights Commission, Submission to the Senate Committee on Community Affairs Inquiry on Welfare Reform and Reinstatement of Racial Discrimination Act Bill 2009 and other Bills (2010). At http://humanrights.gov.au/legal/submissions/sj_submissions/2010_welfare_reform.html (viewed 18 May 2010). 57 The RDA explicitly excludes from the ‘special measures’ exemption laws that authorise management of property without the consent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people or prevent them from terminating management by another of land owned by them (see ss 8(1), 10(3), RDA). 58 Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Addendum: Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Australia (2010), UN Doc A/HRC/15, para 27. At http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/rapporteur/countryreports.htm (viewed 18 May 2010). 59 Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Addendum: Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Australia (2010), UN Doc A/HRC/15. At http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/rapporteur/countryreports.htm (viewed 18 May 2010). 60 See Native Title Amendment Act 2007 (Cth) and the Native Title Amendment (Technical Amendments) Act 2007 (Cth). For further information, see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Native Title Report 2007 (2008), pp 24-27. 61 Yorta Yorta v Victoria (2002) 214 CLR 422. See also H McRae et al, Indigenous Legal Issues (4th ed, 2009), p 348. 62 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations: Australia, UN Doc CERD/C/AUS/CO/14 (2005), paras 16-18. At http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CERD.C.AUS.CO.14.En?Opendocument (viewed 4 May 2010). 63 See also the recommendations on native title by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people: Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people Addendum: Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Australia , UN Doc A/HRC/15 (2010). At http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/rapporteur/countryreports.htm (viewed 18 May 2010). 64 K G Rowley, K O’Dea, I Anderson, R McDermott, K Saraswati, R Tilmouth, I Roberts, J Fitz, Z Wang, A Jenkins, J D Best, Z Wang and A Brown, Lower than expected morbidity and mortality for an Australian Aboriginal population: 10-year follow-up in a decentralised community (2007). 65 In September 2007 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Australian Government and the Northern Territory (NT) Government, assigning responsibility for the delivery of municipal and essential services to Territory outstations to the NT Government, starting 1 July 2008. In response, the NT Government released its ‘Outstations/homelands policy’ in May 2009 (Northern Territory Government, Working Future – fresh ideas / real results: Outstations/ Homelands Policy 56