28 April, 2025
INTERVENTION by the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council at UNPFII 2025
Thank you, Madam/Mister Chairperson,
We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors, past and present, and thank the Indigenous experts and participants at this session.
I speak on behalf of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, the peak body for Aboriginal land rights in our state.
In today’s global climate of rising misinformation, culture wars, and economic pressures, States must recommit to the principles of UNDRIP. Yet in Australia, implementation remains partial and inconsistent. Symbolic gestures are not enough. The Australian Government must move beyond rhetoric and deliver real structural change.
We call on Australia to:
1. Co-design a national UNDRIP implementation plan with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, embedding the Declaration into laws, policies, and governance structures.
2. Provide sustained funding for Indigenous-led initiatives that strengthen self-determination and community control.
3. Improve engagement with UN mechanisms to align national action with international human rights standards.
4. Ensure transparency and accountability through regular, measurable reporting on UNDRIP implementation.
UNDRIP sets out minimum standards for Indigenous peoples’ survival, dignity, and wellbeing. Yet in Australia, Aboriginal communities continue to face systemic barriers to land rights, economic participation, and decision-making.
Despite some progress, the Australian Government has failed to fully integrate UNDRIP into domestic frameworks. Aboriginal governance bodies—including NSWALC and our network of Local Aboriginal Land Councils—are often sidelined from key decisions affecting our communities.
This is unacceptable.
True implementation means embedding First Nations leadership in every level of policy and program design—not selective consultation, not symbolic acknowledgments, but shared power and genuine partnership.
NSWALC’s work proves that when Aboriginal organisations lead, outcomes improve. But we need governments to invest in building Indigenous capacity, while also building their own capacity to engage with us respectfully and effectively.
The Australian Government has both an obligation and an opportunity to lead globally on UNDRIP implementation—but leadership starts at home.
We call on Australia to act decisively, in full partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, to advance our rights and futures.
Always Was, Always Will Be.