A senior United Nations human rights expert yesterday challenged the Federal Government's inaction on mandatory sentencing, saying it was obliged to override the controversial laws in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Mrs Gay McDougall, a Washington-based lawyer who monitors race relations in Australia on behalf of a UN committee, said she believed Federal legislation was necessary because Australia had signed the 30-year-old international convention on the elimination of racial discrimination.

Referring to the "astonishing" high rates of jailing of Aborigines, especially juveniles, she fired questions at the Immigration Minister, Mr Ruddock, who was appearing before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the UN's Geneva headquarters.

"Does [the Government] hold the view that these mandatory sentencing laws are consistent with its obligations under the treaty?

"Is there the confidence in the Parliament and the Federal Government to override these laws passed by the States and Territories, and why is that power not being used?

"I come from a country with a federal system and I do understand the political difficulties in federal systems and overriding [state laws], but I think in terms of human rights there is, in fact, an obligation to do so."

The committee has combined the presentation of Australia's two-yearly report on anti-discrimination efforts with a continuing investigation into the Government's 1997 native title amendments and other indigenous issues. It recently added mandatory sentencing to its checklist.

Mr Ruddock, in earlier introductory remarks to the report, told the committee Australia was making strides in improving the quality of Aboriginal lives.

More than $2 billion was being spent on Aboriginal programs annually - the equivalent of $A21,000 for each black household.

As well, a range of other indicators - including mortality, school retention, home ownership and employment - were showing positive trends.

Mr Ruddock said indigenous Australians now owned or controlled 15 per cent of Australia's land mass - the "size of Spain and France combined" - as a result of native title claims.

But with Australia again facing international scrutiny, Mrs McDougall also asked Mr Ruddock why the Government found it so difficult to say "sorry" for past injustices to Aborigines and invited the minister and senior bureaucrats to demonstrate their commitment to reconciliation.

"Is your Government showing sufficient leadership? I'd like to learn why it is so difficult for a government, not individuals in person, to take full responsibility for past government actions. Why would it be so difficult to fully admit and apologise for past wrongs?

"And I'm also interested how you see this process of reconciliation [unfolding]. What are the benchmarks? What actually is taking place in addition to public education programs?

"How will you know when reconciliation has been achieved? What are the criteria and is it going to be achieved with the full consent and agreement of the people on the other side of the table, the indigenous people?"

Mr Ruddock, who advises the Prime Minister on reconciliation, said: "It is impossible to undo the wrongs of the past.

"The Australian Government, however, has continued its efforts to address what it sees as an unacceptable level of disadvantage suffered by our indigenous people."

In a forerunner to almost certain censure by the UN committee of Australia's recent record on Aboriginal matters, other committee members also questioned Mr Ruddock on a variety of issues including the "stolen generation", native title laws, uranium mining on traditional Aboriginal lands, deaths in custody and the Government's attitude to the role of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).

One Chinese delegate also asked why United States members of the Ku Klux Klan had been allowed to visit Australia. "I'm sure they are not going just for the tourism," Mrs Deci Zou said.

Mr Ruddock replied: "I can assure you that no Ku Klux Klan member has been given a visa by me to enter Australia."

Last year, the UN committee put Australia "on notice" because of concerns that Canberra was breaching its international treaty obligations on human rights - making it the first Western signatory to be called before the committee to explain itself.

Yesterday's session was preceded by a meeting hosted by indigenous leaders - in Geneva as observers - at which the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Dr Bill Jonas, strongly condemned Australia, saying it continued to breach its obligations under the 1969 racial discrimination convention.

Raising concerns over mandatory sentencing, native title laws and widespread injustices, Dr Jonas added:

"The ultimate message I am delivering to you today - and while I have a responsibility to deliver it, I am still saddened to deliver it - is that the issues that I have focused on demonstrate a genuine lack of equality for indigenous people within Australia.

"In terms of the convention, they expose serious deficiencies in Australia's compliance."

The Sydney Morning Herald

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