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AAP
AAP
Politics
Cassandra Morgan

Inquiry to hear of education, health, housing injustice

Education, health and housing will be in the spotlight at the Yoorrook Justice Commission. (Con Chronis/AAP PHOTOS)

Indigenous people will share their experiences of injustice in schools, universities, hospitals and housing at Victoria's first truth-telling inquiry.

The Yoorrook Justice Commission on Thursday announced it would shift its focus to secondary and tertiary education, health and housing after investigating systemic injustice in the child protection and criminal justice systems.

Deputy commission chair Sue-Anne Hunter, who will lead Yoorrook's health inquiry, said colonial systems often pipelined children from one injustice to the next.

Children who dealt with insecure housing at an early age were less likely to go to school, more likely to have poor health, and more likely to end up in the child protection and criminal justice systems, she said.

Commissioners called on First Peoples to make submissions about their experiences to the inquiry as they released four issues papers on the topics.

"Everyone should have a safe home, quality education and healthcare that responds to their needs," Professor Hunter said.

"But for many First Peoples in Victoria, these basics are out of reach."

Sue-Anne Hunter (file image)
Sue-Anne Hunter says colonial systems often push Indigenous children from one injustice to the next. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Education inquiry lead, commissioner Maggie Walter, said Victorian reviews of Aboriginal education over the past two decades consistently showed barriers to educational justice persisted at the school and tertiary level.

A significant proportion - or 40 per cent - of Aboriginal children were assessed as vulnerable against Australian Early Development Census measures, and Indigenous tertiary enrolments remained stubbornly low.

Yoorrook housing inquiry lead, commissioner Travis Lovett, said having a safe home was the foundation to addressing many challenges First Peoples faced.

He urged people who had to confront injustice to have their say in the inquiry.

"Homelessness wasn't an experience of First Peoples before colonisation. Country and family were home," Mr Lovett said.

"Yet today, First Peoples in Victoria face some of the highest rates of housing instability and homelessness in the country - a country we have occupied for thousands of years.

"To be homeless in our own home is a true example of injustice."

All Victorians have until November 22 next year to file a submission to Yoorrook about past or ongoing systemic injustice faced by Indigenous people.

The commission is due to deliver its final report in early 2025.

Legal and wellbeing support is available for people who wish to make a submission to Yoorrook.

13YARN 13 92 76

Aboriginal Counselling Services 0410 539 905

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