Senate accepting submissions for inquiry on the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Australia

2022-05-18

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.

“This is about First Nations people self-determining our own destiny. It’s about legislating our right to free, prior and informed consent when it comes to our Country, our Culture and our People.”

“We need as many voices as possible in this inquiry, to ensure that this Country applies the UNDRIP into the domestic laws of this Country.” Said Thorpe.

To implement the UNDRIP in this country, the inquiry needs to consider:

  1. Australian federal and state government’s adherence to the principles of the UNDRIP and the potential to enact the UNDRIP in Australia;
  2. key Australian legislation affected by adherence to the principles of the UNDRIP;
  3. legal issues relevant to ensure compliance with the UNDRIP, with or without enacting it;

They can be written submissions, visual representations, audio or video recordings. Submissions can be uploaded through the Committee website until June 2, 2022, at this link: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_an...