Celebrating our anniversary
The Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales celebrated and examined 30 years of Anti-Discrimination law in NSW in 2007 with a variety of events.
The formal celebration was an evening ceremony at NSW State Parliament on 25 October 2007 attended by ministers, judges and representatives of the social justice community in NSW.
The evening celebrated the historic achievement with speeches from Attorney General, John Hatzistergos, Magistrate Nancy Hennessy of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and President of the ADB, Stepan Kerkyasharian. Speakers analysed the history and progress of discrimination law in NSW and commended the Act and the work of the staff of the Board in helping protect people in NSW from discrimination.
There was a moving performance by young singers from Bankstown Council’s Talent Advancement Program and an exhibition featuring case studies, excerpts from the Act and entries in the 30th Anniversary of the Anti-Discrimination Act photo competition.
The second event held on 30 October was a forum on the history and future of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. The forum was co-hosted by the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board and the Koori Centre of Sydney University.
The Forum featured experts in discrimination law and Aboriginal issues who examined the impact of 30 years of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act.
The first part of the forum featured experts in law and human rights, and the second part of the program featured accounts of historical and contemporary racial discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people.
The Panelists included the first lawyer at the ADB in 1977, Chris Ronalds SC, as well as current and past Board members and Aboriginal leaders.
Speakers analysed the current Act, which was such a pivotal piece of watershed legislation in 1977. Some speakers expressed dismay that the Act has been overtaken by more progressive legislation in other states and countries and bemoaned the lack of progress in NSW in the past decade.
Chris Ronalds SC, barrister and the first lawyer at the ADB in 1977, gave the background of the original launch of the Act. Her anecdotes about the early days of the Board were a colourful reminder of how revolutionary the Act was in 1977. She said it was the first piece of legislation in the world to contain the term sexual harassment, and they had underestimated how much media attention the Act would receive. The Act made front page headlines in the tabloid press and drew the ire of conservative commentators.
President of the Pride History Group Ken Davis gave an entertaining account of NSW in the 70s and early 80s, when discrimination against homosexuals was an even larger problem than it is today. His involvement in the first Mardi Gras in Sydney, which was effectively a protest march, was a reminder of just how far NSW has come in homosexual rights, and a reminder to keep going.
Principal Solicitor of the NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre, Joanna Shulman, gave insights into working at the coalface of disability discrimination and discussed how far NSW still has to go, and issues for the future, especially an ageing population.
Former board member and Minister for Fair Trading, Youth and Volunteering, the Hon. Linda Burney, bemoaned the fact that Aboriginal women experience poorer health outcomes and shorter life expectancies than all other Australians.
Chief Executive Officer of the NSW Native Title Services Warren Mundine spoke of the discrimination his family had experienced. He explained how his father kept his dog tags (government issued identification tags) as a reminder of discrimination. Mr Mundine also spoke of his experience of being refused rental accommodation by a real estate agent when his wife took a university post in New England, NSW. Tony McAvoy, an Aboriginal barrister in NSW, gave a comparative analysis of South African apartheid and Australia’s treatment of Aboriginal people.
The Aboriginal segment of the forum illustrated how recently severe discrimination against Aboriginal people was a part of society. The Freedom Rides bus tour of northern NSW towns in 1965 helped raise awareness of discrimination against Aboriginal people but racial discrimination against Aboriginal people remains a problem today.
In our third event, a human rights theatre performance bought the community together in the centre of Sydney to commemorate 30 years of NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. The event in Martin Place on 23 October 2007 featured the Social Justice Theatre Troupe showcasing the story of human rights and equality.
The theatre troupe advocated a message of anti-discrimination through their performances, including Punch and Judy. Passers by enjoyed 300 servings of Anniversary chocolate mud cake served on anti-discrimination postcards while they chatted with Board staff and collected postcards and fact sheets.
President of the Anti-Discrimination Board, Stepan Kerkyasharian, delivered a speech on the importance of the Anti-Discrimination Act. He said the Anti-Discrimination Act was a groundbreaking piece of legislation when it was introduced in 1977 that had undergone major changes to enhance it since its enactment.
‘The Act today makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their sex, disability, race, pregnancy, age, homosexuality, transgender status, marital status or carer’s responsibilities,’ he said. ‘It remains crucial to addressing inequalities in society.’
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