Australian Indigenous

This section contains information on recent conferences. If you are aware of any conferences that would be appropriate for inclusion in this section please contact us.

• 7th World Congress of Bioethics added 1 July 2005
• Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes: Assessing Recent Evidence added 8 September 2005
• National Reconciliation Planning Workshop added 2 August 2005

You may require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view documents from the following conferences. Click on the image to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe's Internet site.

7th World Congress of Bioethics
9 – 12 November 2004, Sydney, New South Wales

The International Association of Bioethics and the University of NSW were the hosts of the 7th World Congress of Bioethics. The theme, Deep Listening: bridging divides in local and global ethics, originated from the Aboriginal word ‘dadirri’ - meaning inner deep listening and quiet still awareness, which is used in the language of the Ngangikurungkurr tribe of the Daly River, in far north Australia. The theme was incorporated into the sub-themes: Indigenous Health Ethics; Public Health Ethics from Local and Global Perspectives; and Refiguring the Body.

The book of abstracts (view abstracts PDF 2.06MB - large file warning!) is available from the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales website (view website).

Presentations associated with Indigenous health include:

• Dodds S. Research ethics policy and oppressed groups: listening to Indigenous voices in Australia and Canada
• Dunbar T. Ethical assessment of Indigenous health research in Australia: case studies of human research ethics committee approaches to decision-making
• Smye V. Policy decision-making and the ‘politics of difference’
• Langton M. Listening to a different beat: ethics in the Aboriginal world and beyond
• Aldrich R. Politically incorrect: the ethics of political discourse and health policy decision-making
• Boddington P, Clarke A, Chadwick R, Kitzinger J, Sarangi S, Bekkers M, Raisanen U. Attributions of causality in complex disorders: explanation, policy and responsibility
• Pollard I. Thoughts on bridging the socio-economic and health gap in Australian society from the bioscience-bioethical perspective

Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes: Assessing Recent Evidence
11 - 12 August 2005, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

The Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research organised this conference, which presented recent evidence on Indigenous economic status, social status, and family and community life in Australia and included discussion on the implications for government policy and research.

Information provided during the conference aimed to assist policy makers and researchers in making the best use of the results of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics Census and social surveys, in particular the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS).

The presentations are available as PowerPoint documents on the conference webpage (view webpage).
Conference abstracts are also available (view abstracts - PDF 131KB).

Presentations include:

• Altman, J. and Taylor, J. Statistical needs in Indigenous affairs: the role of NATSISS 2002
• Kinfu, Y. The 2002 NATSISS: What can it tell us about recent Indigenous demographic outcomes?
• Hunter, B. Income and social exclusion
• Gray, M., Weston, R. and Stanton, D. Family and community life
• Chapman, B. and Gray, M. Labour force issues
• Schwab, J. Education and training
• Ross, R. The evidence on health from NATSISS 2002
• Dodson, M. and Hunter, B. Crime and justice
• Kral, I., Morphy, F. and Peterson, N. Language and culture
• Arthur, B. Torres Strait Islanders
• Calma, T. Social justice issues

National Reconciliation Planning Workshop
30 - 31 May 2005, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

The National Reconciliation Planning Workshop was held in Canberra on 30 and 31 May 2005. Two hundred people attended the workshop, representing government and non-government organisations, education, business, media and faith groups.

The workshop had three goals:

• To clarify the major areas that need to be addressed to advance reconciliation.
• To build relationships, understanding, commitment and the capacity to work together.
• To establish a path forward for the reconciliation process.

The workshop included speeches by:

• Noel Pearson (Cape York Partnerships)
• Evonne Goolagong Cawley (Patron of Reconciliation Australia)
• Jackie Huggins (Co-Chair for Reconciliation Australia)
• Senator Amanda Vanstone (Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs)
• Mark Leibler (Co-Chair for Reconciliation Australia)
• Patrick Dodson

The proceedings report (view proceedings - PDF 184KB) is available on the Reconciliation Australia website (view website). Speeches and background papers are provided on the workshop page (view webpage).

Last updated: 20 October, 2005