About the ACTU Indigenous Committee

The ACTU Indigenous Committee assists the ACTU Executive and its affiliates address the important issues of Indigenous employment and social justice issues affecting the lives of Indigenous peoples.

The committee provides culturally appropriate and accountable leadership, support and advice to unions. It is also responsible for devising strategies to improve representation and rights, in the workplace and society, for Indigenous peoples. Read more…

Latest News

Standing Up for Indigenous Employment Rights - ACTU Indigenous Conference 2008

The ACTU Indigenous Conference is being held in Adelaide on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 May, 2008. The ACTU would welcome participation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous unionists in this event. In particular, the Committee would welcome read more...

Apology to Indigenous Australians

Tuesday, 12 February 2008

Saying sorry is long overdue. It is an essential bridge to a better future for Indigenous Australians. This is a formal acknowledgement of the real pain and suffering experienced by the ‘stolen generations’, their families read more...

Statement from Wayne Costelloe, Federal Aboriginal Education Officer, Australian Education Union

Tuesday, 12 February 2008

Wayne Costelloe is the Federal Aboriginal Education Officer. Here Wayne tells his family’s Stolen Generation story. Comrades, I want to tell you why the Apology to the Stolen Generations is important to me. read more...

National Civil Society Dialogue - Statement of Support

Tuesday, 12 February 2008

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT APOLOGY TO THE STOLEN GENERATIONS We welcome the apology to the stolen generations from the federal government. An apology to Indigenous Australians for the read more...

ACTU welcomes the report Education is the Key

Tuesday, 23 October 2007

The ACTU welcomes the report Education is the Key released today (23 October 2007) by the Australian Education Union (AEU). In the light of the Federal Government’s Intervention in the Northern Territory, this report read more...

Howard’s Intervention in NT Indigenous communities

Tuesday, 17 July 2007

Response from the ACTU Indigenous Committee “You know, the whole aim here is not to condemn people for their problems. The whole aim is to support them, to get back on their feet again and to take charge of their own families read more...

Koori tales from ETU Indigenous Project

Friday, 1 June 2007

Dean Rioli has a mate who can’t believe how comfortable the former Essendon star and now ETU indigenous project officer is talking to ‘white fella’ bosses. The average Aussie bloke doesn’t spend much time thinking about how read more...

40 years on and the Federal Government is still failing Indigenous Australians

Sunday, 27 May 2007

The Federal Government is still failing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples despite gaining power to make laws for indigenous Australians in a referendum forty years ago today, says the ACTU. After eleven years of office, the Howard read more...

Rioli joins the ranks - ETU

Friday, 1 December 2006

Retired Essendon footballer Dean Rioli doesn’t bat an eyelid when asked how he felt when former Collingwood captain Tony Shaw likened him to a ‘fat pig’ during a match in 2002. Born into a Tiwi Island family, with a Japanese read more...