Reconciliation Action Plan

Transcription

1 1 Reconciliation Action Plan

2 2 3 Foreword LIV president Michael Holcroft The Law Institute of Victoria is pleased and proud to launch this Reconciliation Action Plan. For the LIV, and its more than 15,000-strong membership of lawyers, this RAP represents an important step for our profession in Victoria on the path towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respect, recognition and reconciliation. The LIV shares the vision of people from all walks of life who want to achieve equality and respect for diversity. We advocate justice for all people. We acknowledge diversity within our society and encourage a foundation of respect for people s differences. We seek to achieve a common unity, where differences are embraced. Our RAP has been carefully prepared in discussion and consultation with members of Victoria s Indigenous community to identify common reconciliation objectives. The actions contained in this document are a statement of commitment by the LIV, for action by LIV Council, members and staff. LIV CEO Michael Brett Young While our RAP looks forward it necessarily looks back and acknowledges the devastating impact of colonisation on Indigenous Australians. By learning from our history we understand better why there is a need for reconciliation and what reconciliation means. Looking to the future, the LIV s RAP gives members of the legal profession and Indigenous Australians a framework to achieve a respectful and rewarding pathway towards an improved legal profession and improved society. This document is intended as a starting point for ongoing conversations between members of the Victorian legal profession and the Indigenous community. In that sense, it is a living document, a foundation for meaningful relationships which will endure into the future. We look forward to continuing to work with the Victorian Indigenous community to reach common reconciliation objectives. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the RAP Working Group for their guidance and for sharing their perspectives on reconciliation with the LIV, in particular the hard-working co-chairs, Abigail Burchill and Richard Wilson. Note: In this RAP, the LIV uses the terms Indigenous, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal peoples interchangeably to refer to all people who identify as belonging to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. References to Indigenous organisation means an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation. LIV president Michael Holcroft LIV CEO Michael Brett Young

3 4 5 Message from the RAP Working Group Co-chairs Our Reconciliation Vision In 2010, the LIV demonstrated its commitment to reconciliation by developing a unique Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The LIV RAP has at its foundation the important historical truth about the effect of colonisation over more than 200 years on Australia s First People s and the ongoing effect of Australian laws and policies on Aboriginal people. Only through recognising this can the process of reconciliation and what needs to be done be fully understood. The LIV RAP is built from the ideas and initiatives of Aboriginal People. It identifies those things that we, as a profession, can do in three core areas Education to Qualification, Access to Justice and Cultural Awareness. These core areas are expressed in Reconciliation Australia s pillars of Respect, Relationships and Opportunity. This structure is unique and significant because the core areas for action by the LIV are built from two years of consultation with Aboriginal people in Victoria traditional owners, peak bodies, community groups, education bodies and government agencies. The LIV s plan embraces the thoughts and wishes of Aboriginal people. It carries through a guiding principle adopted by the LIV in establishing a RAP for our legal profession: that the very development of the plan would be a two-way process with actions put forward in the plan being matters that Aboriginal people identified as being beneficial for the profession to do. The process itself served to start new conversations and begin new relationships founded on respect and opportunity. Only like this could knowledge and understanding be shared equally. Development of the RAP could not have happened without the commitment of the LIV s Executive that allowed and encouraged this process. The Executive was deeply motivated to achieve change and embraced the challenge of developing enduring initiatives even though they might be difficult or take time. That they might be difficult only makes them more important. The following people deserve particular acknowledgement because of their efforts to materialise this RAP: Brendan Loizou (Aboriginal Barrister, LIV IIARC Chair and founding Chair LIV RAP Working Group), Michael Brett-Young (LIV CEO), Danny Barlow (LIV Past President), Steven Stevens (LIV Past President), Caroline Counsel (LIV Past President), Michael Holcroft (Current LIV President), Reynah Tang (Current LIV Vice-President) and Laura Helm (Lawyer, LIV Administrative Law and Human Rights, Elder and Succession Law Sections). This plan is a living document that will continue to grow and produce positive outcomes because of its strong foundation and the values behind it. Abigail Burchill Aboriginal Barrister, Co-chair LIV RAP Working Group Richard Wilson LIV IIARC Acting Chair, Co-chair LIV RAP Working Group The Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) is the peak body for lawyers in Victoria. The LIV has a history of over 150 years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have a history of thousands of generations. Our vision for reconciliation is to have a legal profession that recognises, respects and values Indigenous culture and actively includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ranks of the profession. This vision is reflected in our Reconciliation Action Plan ( RAP ). Our vision acknowledges the devastating impact of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It also recognises that colonisation has created a diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture that has traditional and non-traditional aspects and also rural, remote and urban aspects. This recognition is essential to avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes that marginalise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today. Our vision recognises diversity to achieve common unity between the legal and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Like the Indigenous community, the LIV s membership is diverse. Our membership includes many different cultures and is represented by women and men of all abilities and disabilities. Like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, our members are located in remote, rural and urban areas. Our membership provides legal services covering all areas of law, in practices ranging from community legal centres to large corporate firms. Like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the LIV values the importance of history. The LIV s successful commitment to justice and reform is directly as a result of remembering and learning from the past. This unity of values and our shared diversity places the LIV in a unique position of reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this state. Law serves the whole community. The role of lawyers is to provide legal services to their clients under the law. All lawyers owe a distinct duty to the law as part of their professional responsibilities. Lawyers serve as custodians of the law and they act to protect their clients rights under the law. In Victoria (as in the rest of the country) there remains an ongoing need for realisation of the foundational human right to equality before the law and to equal protection of the law. The LIV will support and encourage its members to remember this in the fields of law in which they practise. The initiatives contained in the RAP are designed to be practical. Many of the actions are internal to the LIV as an organisation. However, most are initiatives that lawyers and law firms can incorporate into their own activities. Many actions are also things that individuals within firms can personally achieve. The RAP is also a framework that law firms can use to assist them in framing their own RAPs.

4 6 7 Our Business Our Reconciliation Journey Our RAP Consultations The LIV is the state s peak professional body for lawyers and those who work with them in the legal sector, representing over 16,600 members. The LIV s purposes are: to be a dynamic leader and innovator of the legal profession; to support and inform members; to provide professional development to lawyers; to raise the profile and standing of the legal profession; and to advocate justice for all. The LIV provides goods, facilities and services to its members and the general public. The LIV also undertakes delegated regulatory functions under the Legal Profession Act 2004 (Vic) and interacts with a range of stakeholders including government, parliament, courts and other legal and non-legal organisations. The LIV reconciliation journey began well before our commitment in 2010 to develop a RAP. In 2006, the LIV established the Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee (IIARC) and issued its Policy Statement on Indigenous Australians in the legal profession and justice system, in which the LIV committed to: pursuing its goals of supporting, educating, training and empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and other Australians in the spirit of reconciliation; and encouraging the legal profession to develop strategies towards the recruitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. In 2007 and 2008, the Law Institute Journal published a series of comprehensive investigations into the status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lawyers in Victoria. In 2008, the LIV announced an annual scholarship to be awarded to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander law student to fund their Practical Legal Training (PLT) with the College of Law. In 2009, the LIV introduced Australia s first equal opportunity briefing policy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander barristers. The LIV also provides support to Tarwirri, formerly the Indigenous Law Students and Lawyers Association of Victoria, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary. On 27 October 2010, the LIV hosted a consultation meeting with a number of Victorian traditional owners and elders and representatives from Indigenous organisations. The purpose of the consultation for the LIV was: to begin building meaningful relationships with the Victorian Indigenous community; to listen to Victorian Indigenous voices on issues significant to the LIV and reconciliation; and to respond to the views of Indigenous Victorians about an LIV Reconciliation Action Plan and, if there was support, to develop the plan in partnership with them. The overriding message was that the LIV must work with, and not for, Victorian Indigenous people to ensure meaningful actions and projects are pursued and are therefore more likely to have longlasting positive outcomes. Following the consultation meeting, on 1 December 2010, the LIV publicly committed to developing a RAP. A RAP Working Group was convened, with members of the LIV s Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee, other interested members and Indigenous stakeholders. The LIV RAP Working Group developed a draft statement of vision and framework for the LIV s RAP and held discussions with Aboriginal organisations, including the Board of Native Title Services Victoria, the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention & Legal Service (Victoria), the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Tarwirri, Indigenous members of the Victorian Bar and the Koorie Heritage Trust. Discussions were also held with organisations and members of the profession that are involved in reconciliation activities, including the Victorian Bar and members of the recently formed Legal Profession Reconciliation Network, many of whom have their own RAPs. The draft statement of vision and framework were posted on the LIV website and comments were invited from LIV members through Friday Facts. The final draft RAP was circulated to the Aboriginal organisations listed above and comments were sought from Reconciliation Australia, prior to the RAP s adoption by LIV Council. The LIV s RAP seeks to implement the concurrent RAP initiative of the Law Council of Australia, of which the LIV is a constituent body.

5 8 9 The LIV Reconciliation Pathways The LIV s RAP consultations have identified that as a membership organisation of lawyers, the three Reconciliation Australia pillars of respect, relationships and opportunities present three distinct reconciliation pathways for the legal profession in Victoria. Using these reconciliation pathways, the RAP Working Group developed a reconciliation framework (below in Figure 1) to provide a basis for dialogue with the Victoria Aboriginal community. The LIV s reconciliation framework requires ongoing involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations in RAP actions and activities, to ensure that the LIV is working with, and not for, Victoria s Indigenous community. The LIV s RAP therefore includes measures to increase Aboriginal participation in the LIV s activities, including through membership of the Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee, other relevant committees and the ongoing RAP Working Group, and by working with Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations to deliver a number of RAP initiatives. Access to justice Consultation participants emphasised the role of lawyers in achieving access to justice and protecting rights in collaboration with Indigenous people; in particular, acknowledging the impact of past and present laws and policies on Indigenous people. In consultations, we identified areas of legal need and how the LIV could facilitate partnerships between legal service providers and Aboriginal organisations seeking assistance. We also committed to continue law reform and policy work on issues affecting the rights of Indigenous people. EDUCATION TO QUALIFICATION ACCESS TO JUSTICE CULTURAL AWARENESS Figure 1 University Legal industry and community partnerships Employment Community development Access to law Policy and law reform Education Professional development Consultation Reconciliation Australia themes RESPECT Education to qualification Consultation participants emphasised the importance of education and employment pathways into law for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to promote not only equal opportunity but also self-determination for communities. People talked to us about the need to focus on opportunities for young Indigenous people and to reform the law curricula to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and the impact of laws on Indigenous peoples. Cultural awareness Consultation participants identified that awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, culture and history and awareness of the devastating impact of colonisation were a crucial foundation for true reconciliation. We discussed the potential for the LIV to play an important role in facilitating the sharing of knowledge and perspectives between the Aboriginal and legal communities, recognising that reconciliation is a two-way process. OPPORTUNITY RELATIONSHIPS

6 10 11 Education to qualification In , we commit to improving Indigenous participation in the law through actions that will contribute to achieving five objectives focussing on universities, legal industry and community partnerships and employment. Key CPD Continuing Professional Development Department HR Human Resources Department IIARC Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee Legal Policy and Practice Department Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations includes Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Legal Service, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, Tarwirri and Native Title Services Victoria. Improving indigenous participation in the law Objective Action Person Responsible Time Frame RESPECT 1. Improve awareness of Aboriginal law and perspectives in the Australian legal system by: Promoting Indigenous curriculum content as part of law degrees Promoting Indigenous subject-matter as part of admission requirements Contact Victorian law school deans to discuss their RAPs (if any) and details of existing or proposed Indigenous content Write to the Council of Legal Education seeking amendments to admission requirements Promote the National Indigenous Legal Conference to LIV members / IIARC / Executive Publications When details become available RELATIONSHIPS 2. Develop partnerships with community and legal organisations to increase opportunities for Indigenous participation in the law Continue to support Tarwirri by providing office space and in-kind support through meeting-room use, IT and marketing support Provide full Tarwirri members with LIV membership Invite Victorian Aboriginal Legal legal organisations to participate in relevant LIV committees Maintain at least three ex officio positions for Aboriginal legal organisations on the Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee Establish working group jointly with the Victorian Bar to promote the LIV/ Victorian Bar Indigenous Barristers Equal Opportunities Briefing Policy Finance Membership IIARC / Working group July 2012 Sept 2012 Sept 2012 July Support increased participation of Indigenous people in the legal profession by: Providing access to solicitor mentors for Indigenous law students and new lawyers Providing scholarships Providing discounted continuing professional development (CPD) for Indigenous lawyers Promoting alternative pathways into law Lobbying government for extension of funding for tutoring In consultation with Tarwirri, facilitate access to solicitor mentors for Indigenous law students and new lawyers Review Indigenous PLT scholarship to investigate whether it should be provided for a broader range of pathways into law Provide community rates for full Tarwirri members to LIV CPD activities Investigate and publicise current alternative pathways into law Write to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations asking it to extend federal government tutoring funding to PLT/graduate law courses Executive CPD / Executive Jan 2013 Sept Promote the benefits of RAPs to law firms Provide information on RAPs on the LIV website Provide guidance to law firms developing RAPs Participate in and promote membership of the Legal Profession Reconciliation Network / emarketing OPPORTUNITY 5. Increase opportunities at the LIV for Indigenous job candidates Provide an annual Indigenous 20-day internship in the Legal Policy and Practice department Work with Indigenous recruitment agencies to place Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates in LIV vacancies Promote LIV employment opportunities through Indigenous media outlets and job boards Include a statement encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates to apply in all LIV job advertisements HR HR HR

7 12 13 Access to justice In , we commit to improving Indigenous access to justice through actions that will contribute to achieving seven objectives focussing on community development, access to law and policy and law reform. Key CPD HR Continuing Professional Development Department Human Resources Department IIARC Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee Legal Policy and Practice Department Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations includes Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Legal Service, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, Tarwirri and Native Title Services Victoria. Improving Indigenous Access To Justice Objective Action Person Responsible Time Frame 6. Promote development of culturally appropriate legal information Lobby government to provide resources for the creation, development, and ongoing review of culturally appropriate legal information resources Work with Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations to ascertain what further culturally appropriate legal information is required Promote existing culturally appropriate legal information resources to LIV members / Executive / IIARC Publications / March 2013 March 2013 RESPECT 7. Promote the rights of Indigenous people in law reform and policy work Continue to make submissions to government on issues affecting the rights of Indigenous people, in consultation with the LIV s Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee / IIARC / Executive On-going 8. Develop the capacity of legal practitioners to represent Indigenous clients Promote to LIV members and the legal profession activities that foster relationships with Aboriginal communities and organisations, for example on country visits and other community-based activities Publications On-going RELATIONSHIPS 9. Develop relationships with Indigenous groups, including traditional owners 10. Promote and facilitate partnerships between law firms and Indigenous community organisations Appoint a central contact person to liaise with Indigenous groups, including traditional owners, regarding further reconciliation initiatives Facilitate free community legal education for Indigenous groups by sourcing speakers on request Foster a relationship between the Koori Court, elders and the LIV Host an informal networking event with law firms, Indigenous lawyers and community organisations, in conjunction with Tarwirri Aug 2012 Executive Events May Develop business partnerships with Indigenous suppliers Develop an Indigenous procurement policy encouraging use of Indigenous suppliers for LIV events, CPD activities and meetings (including gifts and catering) Events / CPD / Facilities OPPORTUNITY 12. Provide Indigenous organisations with access to legal expertise Work with both Indigenous and non-indigenous legal services to develop pro bono referral pathways for Indigenous people and community organisations Investigate options to promote Indigenous Board legal vacancies to LIV members Promote services such as the Our Communities matching service to LIV members Provide contact details on the LIV website for Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV) for those looking for non-legal volunteering opportunities Promote Indigenous Community Volunteers opportunities to LIV members through, for example, Friday Facts / IIARC / emarketing / emarketing / emarketing / emarketing March 2012 Dec 2013

8 14 15 Cultural awareness In , we commit to increasing cultural awareness in the legal profession through actions that will contribute to achieving six objectives focussing on education, professional development and consultation. Key CPD Continuing Professional Development Department HR Human Resources Department IIARC Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee Legal Policy and Practice Department Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations includes Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Legal Service, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, Tarwirri and Native Title Services Victoria. Increasing Cultural Awareness in the Legal Profession Objective Action Person Responsible Time Frame 13. Develop awareness about Aboriginal culture and identity among lawyers 1 Include practice area-specific Indigenous legal content in CPD activities and conferences Offer cultural awareness training for lawyers through the Essential Skills CPD program Host a Lawyers Koorie Walk with the Koorie Heritage Trust Work with Practical Legal Training (PLT) providers to provide and/or increase cultural awareness training as part of the PLT course Acknowledge traditional owners of the land on which the LIV is located at all LIV events and CPD activities, and on LIV letterhead and website Attend Section Executive meetings to promote the RAP Review Family Law and Property Law Accredited Specialisation Application Guidelines to ensure appropriate Indigenous topics for assessment and adequate recognition of cultural awareness, in consultation with relevant Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations CPD CPD Events / Executive Events / CPD / IT / Facilities / IIARC Specialisation July RESPECT 14. Promote NAIDOC Week to staff Invite Indigenous staff members to engage with their culture and community through NAIDOC week events CEO / HR July 2012 RELATIONSHIPS 15. Assist members to work with Indigenous communities Disseminate to LIV members the government s protocols for working with Indigenous communities IIARC / 16. Celebrate Reconciliation Week Host an event in Reconciliation Week 2013 / IIARC / Events June Provide cultural awareness training to LIV staff and Council members Develop a cultural awareness training strategy for staff and Council members, with input from Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations HR OPPORTUNITY 18. Provide opportunities to showcase Indigenous artists Display artwork for sale and incorporate meet the artist opportunities at large events including the Legal Symposium in partnership with the Koorie Heritage Trust CPD/Events 1 See also: 8. Develop the capacity of legal practitioners to represent Indigenous clients.

9 16 17 RAP in progress: Tracking and reporting Further information In , we commit to monitoring and reporting progress on implementing our RAP. The LIV RAP Working Group will oversee implementation of the RAP and will be responsible for involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians in LIV s RAP activities. This RAP is intended to operate from 4 September 2012 to 3 September For more information about this RAP and the LIV s reconciliation activities, or to get involved in the RAP Working Group or Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee, contact Laura Helm, lawyer for the Administrative Law & Human Rights Section on or lhelm@liv.asn.au. RAP in Progress: Tracking And Reporting Objective Action Person Responsible Time Frame 19. Review and monitor the LIV RAP Establish an ongoing RAP Working Group and invite Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations to participate / IIARC Sept 2012 Tracking & Recording 20. Report on the progress of the LIV RAP Hold working group meetings at least three times in the first year of operation of the RAP Complete the Reconciliation Australia RAP Impact Measurement Questionnaire Report on RAP progress through the LIV website, Friday Facts and the LIV Annual Report RAP Working Group / RAP Working Group / Publications Aug 2013 Key CPD HR Continuing Professional Development Department Human Resources Department IIARC Indigenous Issues and Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee Legal Policy and Practice Department Victorian Aboriginal legal organisations includes Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Legal Service, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, Tarwirri and Native Title Services Victoria.

10 18 Artwork Clans and Families meeting for Ceremony by Eileen Harrison I have painted many footprints all around the canvas for the people making a long communal journey. The travel lines indicate a ceremonial gathering with people coming together and connecting with different cultures. They camp together share food and stories to tell each other at night, over a campfire. Their stories are passed on from one to the other and are found in the constellation of the night sky. Eileen Harrison This artwork embodies traditional cultural knowledge of the Kurnai community. Eileen Harrison is a Kurnai woman of the Gippsland region of Victoria. The LIV gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Koorie Heritage Trust in sourcing the artwork.

11 The LIV acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which the LIV building is located the people of the Kulin nation the people of the Kulin nation 20 Law Institute of Victoria 470 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 DX 350 Melbourne GPO Box 263, Melbourne VIC 3001 P E members@liv.asn.au Authorised and published by the Law Institute of Victoria, September The Law Institute of Victoria Ltd. ABN The Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) has used its best endeavours to ensure that material contained in this publication was correct at the time of printing. The LIV gives no warranty and accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of information and the LIV reserves the right to make changes without notice at any time in its absolute discretion.