• Tom Calma
• Australian Human Rights Commission

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08 February 2010 

The Social Justice Report 2009 focusses on three themes: justice reinvestment to reduce Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system; the protection of Indigenous languages; and sustaining Aboriginal homeland communities.

The first theme outlines a convincing argument for an alternative to incarceration offered by the ‘justice reinvestment’ model, which diverts a portion of the funds planned for prison expenditure to local communities where there is a high concentration of offenders.

The second theme provides vital reading for anyone interested in the perilous state of Indigenous languages in Australia and argues that without intervention, Indigenous language knowledge will cease to exist in Australia in the next 10 to 30 years.

The final theme of the Social Justice Report 2009 highlights the importance of ‘Homelands’ in providing social, spiritual, cultural, health and economic benefits to residents and outlines how policies that fail to support the ongoing development of Homelands will lead to social and economic problems in rural townships that could further entrench Indigenous disadvantage and poverty.

Along with the Native Title Report 2009, this report recognises a marked shift in the Indigenous policy landscape since the National Apology to the Stolen Generations and suggests a more inclusive and promising future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.