National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS)
MEDIA RELEASE
22 March 2012
NATSILS appoint a new Deputy Chairperson
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (NATSILS) today announced Priscilla Collins as their new Deputy Chairperson.
“Priscilla comes with over 25 years experience as a strong and passionate advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs in Australia, working in the public sector as well as on a number of boards, committees and councils”.
“Priscilla is the CEO of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. Her expertise in Aboriginal Legal Services makes her an invaluable member of the NATSILS”, said Acting Chairperson Gerry Moore.
“I would like to thank Gerry Moore for his work as the Deputy Chairperson over the last 2 years, and I am very much looking forward to working closely with our Chairperson Shane Duffy and members of NATSILS”.
“NATSILS will continue to be the national voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and law and justice reform in Australia”.
“As the NATSILS we are collectively committed to being the leader and principal representative on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law and justice reform”, said Ms Collins.
For more information please contact Rachel O’Brien, NATSILS Legal Secretariat on 07 3025 3888 or 0451047792.
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Congratulations to Wayne Bell!
Congratulations to Wayne Bell a long-term member of the VALS team who was awarded an Order of Australia medal last week. He is a client service officer based in Heywood and works tirelessly towards achieving justice and improving legal outcomes and experiences for the Koori community. Please see the great article attached for an overview of some of the fantastic work Wayne does.
Representatives from a coalition of key NGOs are set to meet with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Monday 10 October to discuss significant human rights issues affecting Australia’s children before the Government presents its case to the Committee in early 2012.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) have been working with the NGO coalition to provide the Committee with accurate information about human rights violations affecting Australia’s children, while also providing the Committee with a detailed supplementary report focusing on the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in contact with the justice and child protection systems.
See media release below for full details and comment from NATSILS Chairperson, Shane Duffy.
The Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC) tabled their report to the Victorian Government for the review of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 on 14 September 2011. Disappointed at the content and omissions of the report, VALS made a media release that can be downloaded below.
To view VALS' submission materials provided to SARC, please see our Submissions page.
The SARC report can be found here.
VALS media release concerning the review of the Victorian Charter. This media release coincides with VALS’ supplementary submission to the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee.
This week the Australian Government delivered its official response to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in relation to the numerous recommendations made during Australia’s Universal Periodic Review earlier this year. In it’s official response to a comprehensive United Nations human rights review, the Australian Government has again rejected calls to action in regards to some of the nation’s fundamental human rights issues, says the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS).
Please find attached the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service Co-operative Limited’s media release in response to the recent Victoria Auditor-General report regarding the Wannik education strategy.
The Sentencing Advisory Council (SAC) has been asked by Attorney-General Robert Clark for advice on mandatory sentencing of juveniles and adults for gross violence. The attached media release raises concerns about the proposal of mandatory sentencing, especially in the case of juveniles.
For further information in the Inquiry, go to the SAC website.