The long-awaited release of the Senate Inquiry report on murdered and missing Indigenous women and children has seen mixed reactions, ranging from optimism to outright dismay.
To be frank, the Inquiry was never going to be able to deliver in a similar manner to the Canadian inquiry to which it has been compared. The Canadian inquiry was established and resourced in a manner like an Australian royal commission and undertook significant engagement as such.
Nevertheless, the Canadian inquiry also faced strong criticisms from Indigenous families that resulted in an Indigenous Commissioner standing down. Even today, the Canadian Commission's recommendations remain largely unimplemented.
In contrast, Australian Senate inquiries are relatively low-key affairs, but they can still result in important reforms and that is why I also supported the Motion of the Inquiry tabled and supported by the Greens and Labor Party.
It was clear that Aboriginal women had no chance of a Royal Commission, our Voices had been ignored for too long. The Senate Inquiry kept this issue on the national agenda. Of course, it didn't have powers as a Royal Commission and criticisms of the Inquiry's final report as 'toothless' don't make much sense; Senate inquiries are not binding and never have been, but the same is true of Royal Commissions. These issues were obvious at the hearing I attended in Perth, sessions snubbed by the WA Police.
Of course, a Royal Commission has powers to compel witnesses to attend and answer evidence, but to my mind, the conduct of the WA Police evidenced their own long standing and systemic failures to treat Aboriginal women equally before the law.
The Inquiry did not pick up suggested reforms concerning data collection and it's not clear why it failed to do so, particularly given the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, in their review of the country compliance with the convention (CEDAW), has also raised this matter with the Australian government.
However, some important recommendations have been made, especially for the front-line services, particularly the Family Violence Prevention Legal Service (FVPLS) which supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women across Australia.
The FVPLS services have been stretched beyond their capacity and saw no increase in funding from the Department of Social Services (DSS) under Minister Rishworth. In comparison, Aboriginal men's request for 'Men's wellness centres' resulted in a $44.1 million allocation. This is concerning as Aboriginal family violence experts have long argued for Healing centres to support the family and address family violence. Does this mean we'll see Aboriginal men, even perpetrators, receiving support when none may be available to women victims? That would be a shocking outcome, and I suggest the Australian government look at the Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander Healing Foundation's work on Aboriginal Healing Centres which have been trialled and included FDV responses.
The Inquiry also highlighted the former Inquiry, Wiyi Yani Yu Thungani, led by then Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar and following some years of consultation across Australia with First Nations women. The report was groundbreaking in terms of its exposure of systemic and structural violence and discrimination that Aboriginal women are experiencing – yet we haven't seen significant progress towards the implementation of the report, apart from a commitment to a Gender Justice Institute from Linda Burney.
Aboriginal women are still struggling to be heard and the defeat of the Referendum puts us all at disadvantage. The PM has not moved to establish a legislative Voice or a Makaratta Commission, at least until after the next election. Meanwhile the removals of children from their mothers and women's incarceration continue to grow across the country. And Australia has yet to face its violent past to Indigenous women and children, the official intent to destroy Aboriginal cultures including through systemic sexual violence and rape of women and girls by settlers condoned by colonial governments.
The Inquiry also told government they must appoint a federal Aboriginal Family Violence Commissioner. This is long overdue, and the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission will never be able to deliver on its promise of holding government accountable without the leadership of senior First Nations women.
The decision of the Commissioner to appoint a Rapid Review expert panel this year excluding Aboriginal women stands in stark contrast to Australia's official commitments, including at the UN, to working in partnership with Indigenous women.
There's still some light on the horizon. We're developing the first stand-alone action plan to address violence against First Nations women and children. This commitment has come about from our hard work and advocacy, supported by several UN treaty bodies and experts. We made this happen.
We have so much more work to do. The Australian state will never truly recognise the violence still being inflicted on Indigenous women. We know this violence is genocidal, and that Indigenous femicide is a feature of contemporary settler state and Indigenous relations globally, underlined by the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous peoples from land for capitalist exploitation and gain.
The importance of Aboriginal self-determination and leadership in addressing violence against First Nations women and children can never be underestimated and remains critical to the safety and survival of our families and communities.
Dr Hannah McGlade is a Kurin Minang human rights expert, law academic and member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
