Yesterday, the Western Australian Governement pardoned and apologised to the Yamatji family of a baby who was brutally murdered in 2013. After domestic violence left Tamica Mullaley naked and bleeding in a Broome street, police were called and she was arrested.

Police left baby Mullaley’s 10-month-old baby, Charlie, at the crime scene. The man who assaulted Mullaley returned to the scene and kidnapped the child. Police were told several times that he had threatened to kill the baby, but took nine hours to act on the information.

The Bringing them Home Report was released 25 years ago today. The Greens are renewing calls for a national compensation scheme: a $200 000 payment plus additional $7000 for funeral expenses to compensate for the harm inflicted by successive Australian Governments.

“They stole our children to break our people. No Government has ever brought peace to survivors of the stolen generation.” Said The Greens spokesperson for Justice and First Nations: Gunnai, Gunditjmara and DjabWurrung Senator Lidia Thorpe.

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.

The Greens will today announce an investment in culturally appropriate healthcare for First Nations parents and babies, from pregnancy to early childhood, with a $144 million plan to fund five dedicated Birthing on Country/Birthing in our Community (BiOC) hubs across Australia.  

BiOC models integrate midwifery services and cultural knowledge, allowing First Nations women to give birth on Country, acknowledge connection to Country, and access healthcare that meets their social, emotional, cultural and health needs.

“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

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.