Qld: Indigenous alienated by society

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2004
Qld: Indigenous alienated by society

Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, SUSAN BOOTH, says conflict between Queensland
Police and Aborigines proves the need for a preamble recognising the state's traditional
landowners.

Speaking on World Human Rights Day, Ms BOOTH said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
currently feel isolated from the wider community, with no say in their own futures.

She says the recent death in custody of an Aboriginal man and the subsequent riot in
Palm Island have highlighted the frustration boiling under the community's surface.

A recent Queensland Constitutional Commission review recommended the addition of the
preamble, but the Queensland Parliament rejected the change.

Ms BOOTH says although it's only words, the preamble is a step in the right direction
to bringing pride back into the indigenous culture.

AAP RTV am/sc/rcg/rt

KEYWORD: PALM PREAMBLE (BRISBANE)

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