Aboriginal Law Bulletin --- "Update Part One February 1994: Obituary -- Huw Crispin Davies; World Conference on Human Rights; Conferences 1994; Editorial - the Survival of the AboriginalLB; Native Title Update; New Publications" [1994] AboriginalLawB 1; (1994) 3(66) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 2

• Update-Part One February 1994
• Obituary – Huw Crispin Davies
• 1955-1994
• Notes From The World Conference On Human Rights
• 18 June 1993
• Conferences 1994
• Editorial-The Survival Of The Alb
• Native Title Update
• Mabo Education Project
• National Native Title Tribunal
• New Publications

---

Update - Part One

February 1994

Obituary – Huw Crispin Davies

1955 - 1994

As close brother and solid friend, Huw Davies reflected his high ideals of social justice and honesty in his photography, teaching and community arts work. Tragically, Huw took his own life on 11th January, aged 39.

Huw was a great networker. All whose lives he linked knew only some parts of Huw's life. Welsh by birth, Huw inherited a deep commitment to peoples' rights and to freedom in cultural and political expression. He travelled widely as a younger man and was well versed in the practicalities of developing and maintaining friendships across cultural boundaries. While an ecological education at Canberra CAE in the early 1980s led him into environmental activism, his outlook remained centred on people. Through his photography he documented the context and expression of peoples' lives, their politics, their work, their pain, their joy and their humour, and his own.

Huw continually explored the basis of representation. He questioned the implications of the everyday language of photography, rejecting phrases such as 'taking' and 'shooting' photographs and pictures, which convey intrusive and unauthorised appropriation. Rather, he worked to' make' images which reflected what people wished to share with him and with a broader audience. His work is held in the collections of the Australian National Gallery and Artbank.

A few years ago I shared something of Huw's explorations of the world of Redfern Kooris through his cover artwork for the AboriginalLB. His photographs of the Invasion Day demonstrations in Sydney, 1988, developed into the monumental justice, Freedom and Hope Mural as he worked with many others at the EORA Centre. The fact that the mural remains unfinished is surely an opportunity for Aboriginal organisations and artists to now develop the project in ways they determine appropriate.

In recent years Huw worked with young people of many cultural backgrounds at youth centres and with prisoners in Long Bay Hospital. Exhibitions, videos and murals witness the triumph of love, caring and humour over alienation and despair. He leaves us with the wish, "Live well, love each other well, remember the good times we have shared and rejoice that my soul is set free."

by Jocelyn Davies

Jocelyn Davies is a PhD student in the Department of Geography and Oceanography at the University College, UNSW, ADFA, Canberra. Her research is on Aboriginal community planning.)

Notes from the World Conference on Human Rights

18 June 1993

Professor Erica-lrene Does, Chairperson-Rapporteur for the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations...

“I would like to focus your attention on the future role of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations. Since 1982, it has been the only UN body devoted specifically to the concerns of Indigenous Peoples. While the Working Group has given priority to the drafting of standards, it has also served many other functions, such as elaborating [on] studies, [including]... the important study on 'Treaties, Agreements and other Constructive Arrangements, between States and Indigenous Peoples'... Further, the Working Group constitutes a democratic and liberal forum for a growing constructive dialogue between Indigenous Peoples and governments and creates the opportunity for Indigenous Peoples themselves to meet and exchange ideas on a regular basis. It is fair to say that, for most Indigenous Peoples, it is their inain gateway to the United Nations and the rest of the world.

If this Conference does nothing else then for Indigenous Peoples, it should resolve to strengthen the Working Group, to provide the Indigenous Peoples with a solid platform on which to build their future place in the United Nations system...

In concluding, I would like to refer to a symbol which is shared by Indigenous Peoples everywhere: the circle. Indigenous Peoples view all life as a circle; an endless circle of species, of life and death. It represents equality, equal participation, and equal respect, among parts that may be quite different. It is long [overldue for Indigenous Peoples to regain their place in the global circle of nations and peoples, as equals.”

Conferences 1994

The Australian Institute of Criminology program of conferences for 1994 includes Aboriginal Justice Issues II, scheduled for June 15-17 in Townsville. The precursor to this was the Aboriginal Justice Issues conference in 1992. Subjects for the June Conference include a follow-up on implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and practical consequences of the Mabo decision.

This comes after an April 11-13 conference on Preventing Youth Crime addressing Aboriginal over-representation in the criminal justice system in a wider discussion of youth and crime.

Finally, Adelaide will host the International Symposium on Victimology from 21-26 August 1994.

As well as a series of conferences, the Australian Institute of Criminology has recently published a collection of Conference Proceedings (No. 21) from the 1992 Conference. Subjects covered included Law Reform and the Road to Independence (Michael Mansell), Aboriginal/Police Relations, juvenile justice, Aboriginal Women and the Law, and The Media.

Information on conferences and/or copies of the papers are available from
(Conference Unit) The Australian Institute of Criminology,
GPO Box 2944, Canberra, ACT 2601,
ph. [phone], or (Publications Program) [phone].

The Macquarie University Minerals and Energy Economics Centre, in conjunction with the Australian Minerals and Petroleum Law Association, is holding a seminar about Mabo in Sydney on 14 and 15 April 1994.

The purpose of the seminar is to survey the historical developments that led to the High Court decision, and to examine the implications of the Native Title legislation. The seminar will cover historical precedents, the legislation in practice, and implications of the Mabo decision and Native Title for the farming and mining industries.

For further details, contact:
Macquarie University Minerals and Energy Economics Centre on [phone] or fax [phone].

Editorial - the Survival of the AboriginalLB

Subscribers to the AboriginalLB may have noted our December issue appeal for funds (cleverly disguised as a subscription drive). Actually the new system - subscriptions running from January to January - will prove enormously beneficial to the general running of our subscription accounts, which were failing to ensure a continuation of funds.

What has most invigorated the staff of the AboriginalLB has been the response to a request for donations. A great many individuals and organisations appear to have welcomed the new subscription approach, but some have chosen to pay a much higher rate for subscriptions in order to support us through an increasingly difficult financial time. We would like to thank these organisations (the premium rate was quite steep, but necessity is the mother of audacity!) and we would also like to thank the innumerable subscribers who were already current but donated the amount they had in credit and chose to pay again. It was, we feel, an extraordinarily generous response from all, and one that may not only keep the AboriginalLB afloat for a little while to come, but allow it to continue its gratis policy to those most in need of such services.

Native Title Update

Mabo Education Project

The Aboriginal Law Centre is co-ordinating a Mabo Education Project in NSW. If you are interested in taking part in the organisation of this project or are willing to speak to community groups please contact Catherine Duff on [phone] or fax her on [phone].

A detailed knowledge of Mabo and the Native Title Act is not required.

National Native Title Tribunal

With the passage of the Commonwealth's Native Title legislation (see this issue pp4-5), the National Native Title Tribunal has apparently begun operation to help sort out native title claims. Offices of the Tribunal (NNTT) have been established in every capital city and were effective from 4 January 1994.

Applicants for determination of native title should seek out forms from the NNTT by either calling 008 640 501 or writing to GPO Box 9955 in the nearest capital city.

New Publications

The Human Rights Centre at UNSW is soliciting articles from a variety of sources for a new annual Australian Journal of Human Rights (AJHR). The AJHR will be the first of its kind in Australia exclusively devoted to articles, book reviews and commentary about human rights developments here and overseas.

The AJHR will deal with legal, philosophical, historical, sociological, economic and political aspects of human rights issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

Publishers are the Human Rights Centre, a non-government organisation committed to the promotion of human rights awareness.

Deadline for the first issue, August 1994, is 30 June. Any inquiries should be directed to:

Human Rights Centre
Faculty of Law
University of NSW
PO Box 1
Kensington, NSW, 2033.

Criminal Law News - a newsletter for NSW and ACT criminal law practitioners, providing commentary on recent cases and highlighting the effect of these decisions - is to be published eleven times per year by Butterworths. The newsletter will cover criminal law developments, decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of NSW and the ACT, and selected decisions of the High Court pertaining to NSW and the ACT.

Indexes will be published quarterly and a consolidated index annually. For more information, contact Butterworths on [phone].