Recognition after Uluru: what next for First Nations? This project aims to examine the extent to which Australia’s system of government appropriately serves and represents the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Such improvements offer the potential to enhance programs in areas such as health and education, including the Closing the Gap initiative. Drawing on public law principles as well as comparative and international legal material, the project will develop a model of ....Recognition after Uluru: what next for First Nations? This project aims to examine the extent to which Australia’s system of government appropriately serves and represents the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Such improvements offer the potential to enhance programs in areas such as health and education, including the Closing the Gap initiative. Drawing on public law principles as well as comparative and international legal material, the project will develop a model of governance against which the Australian system can be assessed. An audit will then be conducted of how that system operates in comparison to this model, before drawing conclusions and identifying potential reforms. The outcome of this project will be original scholarship of domestic and international significance that will inform academic and policy debate during and beyond the proposed referendum to recognise Indigenous peoples in the Constitution.Read moreRead less
Indigenous knowledge, law, society and the state. Law reform initiatives seek to foster ways of including Indigenous knowledge to resolve matters that come before the law more effectively, as well as redress social disadvantage. This project assesses existing programs in the courts and builds institutional capacity providing for more positive engagement with Indigenous knowledges on law and society.
The effect of climate change on the biogeochemistry of estuarine soft soils. The Australian coastline is dotted with soft clays to a significant depth. These soft clay deposits display excessive settlement characteristics, affecting transport infrastructure. Understanding the couplings between the biogeochemical composition of the pore liquid and the mechanical behaviour of soft soils is essential, but current engineering practice is limited. Sea level rise in Australia will potentially place as ....The effect of climate change on the biogeochemistry of estuarine soft soils. The Australian coastline is dotted with soft clays to a significant depth. These soft clay deposits display excessive settlement characteristics, affecting transport infrastructure. Understanding the couplings between the biogeochemical composition of the pore liquid and the mechanical behaviour of soft soils is essential, but current engineering practice is limited. Sea level rise in Australia will potentially place as much as $67 billion in transport infrastructure at risk; consequently, this project aims to examine the impact of climate change on the biogeochemical processes of estuarine sediments in relation to: geotechnical properties; soft soil stability under sea level change; and soil carbon sequestration.Read moreRead less
Bringing Indigenous voices into judicial decision-making. This project aims to show how judgments can be written so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's voices and histories. This project will extend methodologies created by international scholars for correcting the absence of women’s voices, and produce the missing Indigenous judgment in twenty decisions of Australian superior courts. The gulf between judge-made law and the lived experience of Indigenous litigants will also be explored thr ....Bringing Indigenous voices into judicial decision-making. This project aims to show how judgments can be written so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's voices and histories. This project will extend methodologies created by international scholars for correcting the absence of women’s voices, and produce the missing Indigenous judgment in twenty decisions of Australian superior courts. The gulf between judge-made law and the lived experience of Indigenous litigants will also be explored through an in-depth examination of four test case exemplars. This project’s benefits include building a new relationship between Australian judges and Indigenous people and contributing to Australia's jurisprudence on Indigenous people and the law.Read moreRead less
Raising the Bar: Learning from the Life Stories of Indigenous Lawyers. It was not until the 1970s that individuals such as Mullanjeiwaka, Dr Pat O'Shane and Judge Bob Bellear became the first generation of Indigenous lawyers. Over six hundred Indigenous people have since followed in their footsteps. Today, Indigenous lawyers pursue test cases for the victims of stolen wages practices, represent native title claimants, and are leading the conversation on the proposed Indigenous Voice to the Par ....Raising the Bar: Learning from the Life Stories of Indigenous Lawyers. It was not until the 1970s that individuals such as Mullanjeiwaka, Dr Pat O'Shane and Judge Bob Bellear became the first generation of Indigenous lawyers. Over six hundred Indigenous people have since followed in their footsteps. Today, Indigenous lawyers pursue test cases for the victims of stolen wages practices, represent native title claimants, and are leading the conversation on the proposed Indigenous Voice to the Parliament. Despite such contributions, the stories of Indigenous lawyers have been overlooked by scholars. In an Australian first, the project will gather the life stories of Indigenous lawyers. It will generate new knowledge about their career motivations, and how they are changing law and the legal profession.Read moreRead less
The role of cultural factors in the sentencing of Indigenous sex offenders in the Northern Territory. This is a study of the impact of extra-legal factors about sexuality and Indigenous culture on the sentencing of Indigenous sex offenders in the Northern Territory. It will provide an empirical basis for future policy, legal practice and law reform relating to sentencing in sexual assault cases in the Northern Territory, with broader application to other Australian jurisdictions.
PFAS transport through landfill clay liners enhanced with proteins. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of environmentally persistent, man-made chemicals found likely to be carcinogenic in humans. Due to their non-stick, water and stain repellences, PFAS have long been used in everyday products (food wrappers, carpets, furniture etc.) which end up in landfills. As it is currently unknown how PFAS move through the various components of landfill barriers, their fate and transpor ....PFAS transport through landfill clay liners enhanced with proteins. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of environmentally persistent, man-made chemicals found likely to be carcinogenic in humans. Due to their non-stick, water and stain repellences, PFAS have long been used in everyday products (food wrappers, carpets, furniture etc.) which end up in landfills. As it is currently unknown how PFAS move through the various components of landfill barriers, their fate and transport has become a priority for the regulators of Australia’s landfill sites according to the Australian 2018 PFAS National Environmental Management Plan. This research will determine PFAS transport through common clay barriers enhanced with proteins which have been shown to be an excellent sorbent for PFAS.Read moreRead less
From illustration to evidence in native title: The potential of photographs. This project aims to test the evidentiary value of large photographic collections of Aboriginal people in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales. The project will seek to identify the photographed subjects and where and how they were photographed. Drawing on photographic theory, anthropology and Indigenous studies, the project should throw light on how photographs can reveal information about historical conti ....From illustration to evidence in native title: The potential of photographs. This project aims to test the evidentiary value of large photographic collections of Aboriginal people in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales. The project will seek to identify the photographed subjects and where and how they were photographed. Drawing on photographic theory, anthropology and Indigenous studies, the project should throw light on how photographs can reveal information about historical continuities and changes, regional mobility patterns and connections to country over time. The expected benefit of the project is to assist in demonstrating Indigenous connections with land and place in native title claims.Read moreRead less
The past, present and future of Indigenous ethnobotanical knowledge. This project aims to resolve the interrelated and compounding problems that Indigenous Australians face in relation to their ethnobotanical knowledge, such as biopiracy, loss of biodiversity, knowledge, and opportunity. This Indigenous-led project aims to build community-based databases to protect, preserve and facilitate community controlled use of ethnobotanical knowledge. This will support and promote Indigenous economic sel ....The past, present and future of Indigenous ethnobotanical knowledge. This project aims to resolve the interrelated and compounding problems that Indigenous Australians face in relation to their ethnobotanical knowledge, such as biopiracy, loss of biodiversity, knowledge, and opportunity. This Indigenous-led project aims to build community-based databases to protect, preserve and facilitate community controlled use of ethnobotanical knowledge. This will support and promote Indigenous economic self-sufficiency and sustainability which will be of direct benefit to the partner communities. In addition to providing direct benefits to the communities involved in the research, the project is designed to be replicated across Australia, bringing benefits to Indigenous communities throughout the country.Read moreRead less
Recirculating Indigenous traveling songs. This project aims to develop new understandings of how unrestricted Indigenous traveling songs have spread across vast geographic and linguistic boundaries in Australia, investigating ways these songs can contribute to greater social connectedness today. It intends to energise collaborative networks across Indigenous communities, language centres, and holding institutions around the world. Forging models to reinvigorate the performance of traveling songs ....Recirculating Indigenous traveling songs. This project aims to develop new understandings of how unrestricted Indigenous traveling songs have spread across vast geographic and linguistic boundaries in Australia, investigating ways these songs can contribute to greater social connectedness today. It intends to energise collaborative networks across Indigenous communities, language centres, and holding institutions around the world. Forging models to reinvigorate the performance of traveling songs across a wide and diverse range of interconnected localities, this project should advance the potential for Indigenous performance culture to contribute to language revitalisation, cultural identity, and the facilitation of cross-cultural diplomacy in national and international contexts.Read moreRead less