After a successful motion put forward by Senator Lidia Thorpe, the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs is accepting submissions for an inquiry on the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Australia.

“The UNDRIP is a mechanism for First Nations people to enact our Sovereign rights, which have been denied since 1788”, said Senator Lidia Thorpe, a DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman and the Greens Senator for Victoria.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt announced today that the Greens would preference Labor ahead of the Liberals across the country. Greens Local and State branches finalised preference recommendations for how-to-vote cards this week ahead of early voting polling booths opening on May 9.

Greens how-to-vote cards, that recommend preferences, will recommend a preference for Labor above the Coalition and place other right wing parties last. The Greens will also recommend a preference for climate independents in key Liberal held seats.

“First Nations people are the first knowledge holders. Caring for Country is our birthright,” said the Greens spokesperson for First Nations: Gunnai, Gunditjmara and DjabWurrung Senator Lidia Thorpe.

“Successive governments have undermined Aboriginal land rights and heritage protections to favour big corporations, who often make big donations to the Liberal and Labor parties. It’s time to hand decision-making about what happens on Country back to First Nations people.”

The Greens have announced a Caring for Country policy that will:

“We struggle to survive in this Country, and we can’t even rest in peace,” said Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe. This comes as funeral funds at Youpla Group went into liquidation last month, leaving up to 15 000 First Nations people out of pocket for funeral expenses.

“My nan, Edna Brown, founded the Aboriginal Funeral Benefits Fund to stop First Nations people being buried as paupers in unmarked graves. That was in the 1960s. In 2022, our family members are being left in morgues while community saves for sorry business, or they face being buried as paupers! It’s devastating.”

On the eve of the 31st anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handing down their recommendations, The Greens have today called for urgent end to torture and abuse in prisons and other places of detention, like police watch houses, and some aged care facilities.

The following lines are attributable to Gunnai, Gunditjmara and DjabWurrung Senator Lidia Thorpe, Greens spokesperson for Justice and First Nations:

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s status as a National Human Rights Institution is under threat because of the Morrison Government’s meddling with how it appoints Commissioners.

Lines attributable to Senator Lidia Thorpe, The Greens spokesperson for Justice

“We need to protect all athletes from CTE: chronic traumatic encephalopathy,” said The Greens spokesperson for Sport, Senator Lidia Thorpe. CTE is a neurodegenerative condition linked to repeated head traumas including concussion.

This comes as a leading researcher into concussion in sport has claimed the AFL hindered a two-year-study into the long-term health impacts on its players. Senator Thorpe has joined Associate Prof Alan Pearce’s call for the AFL to be more transparent over its research. 

Senator Lidia Thorpe, the Greens spokesperson for Justice and First Nations, has reiterated the call for the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) to be implemented across this Country.

Lines attributable to DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara Senator for Victoria Lidia Thorpe, the Greens spokesperson for Justice and First Nations:

Last night, the Greens Senator for Victoria Lidia Thorpe successfully introduced a Private Senators Bill that will ensure this Country complies with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP.

This Bill is the first step towards implementing UNDRIP into our laws, policies and practice. The Senate also passed a motion, introduced by Senator Thorpe and Senator Cox, that will establish an inquiry into the application of the UNDRIP.

“The Closing the Gap Report tells us the same thing every year: treating the symptoms of
colonisation doesn’t work. We need to address the cause of the injustices we face through
Treaty,” said The Greens spokesperson for Justice and First Nations: Gunnai, Gunditjmara
and DjabWurrung Senator for Victoria Lidia Thorpe.