Summary of the report

Scott McDougall is the Director of Caxton Legal Centre Inc. and was granted leave to undertake
this project as a consultant to the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy.

The purpose of this report is to assist the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council, the Palm Island community and the government to establish a process for fi nding practical solutions to some of the outstanding issues which have hampered their ability to improve living conditions on Palm Island.

By Scott McDougall
January 2006

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Summary of the paper

The article examines issues concerning indigenous housing on Palm Island.

By Professor Steffen Lehmann, Chair of Architect at QUT
October 2005

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Summary of the paper

This paper was presented at the Australian National University . It seeks to update an earlier paper entitled “Something is wrong” published in February 2005. The assistance of Paula Morreau LLB (Hons), Louisa Pink LLM (QUT) and Renée Cobb LLB (Hons) in the preparation of these papers is acknowledged.

By Andrew Boe
28 September 2005

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Summary of the paper

The article examines issues concerning Palm Island following the recent death in police custody. Andrew Boe is a Brisbane based lawyer whose firm has been assisting and advising the Palm Island Aboriginal Council in its engagement with the Queensland Government since December 2004.

By Andrew Boe
February 2005

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Christmas Greetings Ceremony and Presentation of Senior Counsel

Summary of the paper

This is an edited excerpt of the Queensland Chief Justice's annual Christmas speech which focused on the plight of indigenous Australians and the growing awareness within the Queensland judiciary of the complex issues surrounding justice for indigenous Australians.

By The Hon. P. de Jersey, AC, Chief Justice of Queensland
10 December 2003

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Summary of the paper

This comparative essay attempts to delineate efforts to integrate indigenous knowledge into mainstream natural resource management as a part of larger legal and political debate over land tenure, the locus of control, indigenous self-governance, and holistic ecosystems management.

By Anne Ross and Kathleen Pickering
15 August 2002

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Summary of the paper

Marcia Langton reflects on the personal dimensions of being a member of an oppressed people. This paper, presented at the 2001 Overland Lecture, explores some key events and policies on this topic.

By Marcia Langton
13 August 2002

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Summary of the paper

This article examines the Queensland Government's response to the "Palm Island" decision that involved several complaints alleging racial discrimination by the Queensland Government for underpaying Aboriginal workers.

By Scott McDougall
3 June 2002

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Summary of the paper

This is an edited excerpt of an oral presentation by Mr Ruska, a traditional owner of lands and seas in Moreton Bay, including Stradbroke and Moreton Islands, to academics from the School of Justice Studies, QUT. His perspective on justice in the context of his people's - the Gurumpul peoples - history is a discerning and instructive one.

By Dale Ruska
19 April 2002

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Summary of the paper

The following article explores some of the issues confronting aboriginal communities. It critiques what the responses have been to some of these issues and concludes by outlining some of the more obvious challenges in this area.

By Andrew Boe
17 April 2002

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Summary of the paper

Brisbane lawyer Andrew Boe provides a personal glimpse of the systemic injustice practised against aboriginal defendants in some north-western townships. The article concludes with the author suggesting key matters that must be implemented to stop this problem.

By Andrew Boe
17 April 2002

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Summary of the paper

In an address to the Queensland magistrate’s conference, Noel Pearson, discusses two key problems of the most strategic importance in Cape York. These are passive welfare dependency and substance abuse epidemics.

By Noel Pearson
16 April 2002

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Summary of the paper

This paper furnishes some reasons as to the overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system. A number of issues are discussed in an attempt to explain this problem.

By Paul Alsbury
2 April 2002

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Summary of the paper

The author contends that aboriginal citizens are not equal before the law. From this premise the article analyses the utilisation of aboriginal customary law in the western legal system.

By Christine Zorzi
2 April 2002

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