Larissa Behrendt : achieving social justice : Indigenous rights and Australia's future

The purpose of this chapter is to examine what was happening around the time Larissa Behrendt (2003) published Achieving Social Justice: Indigenous Rights and Australia's Future. It takes the reader on a journey through the eyes of an Aboriginal scholar, whose research is in Criminology and Indigenous Justice. It is important to learn from the ways of Aboriginal scholars as the knowledge system of Aboriginal people date back to over 60,000 years. This chapter explores the main issues of policy and legislative changes that occurred within Behrendt's book and what has happened post the release of this publication. The rhetoric around government and Indigenous affairs will be examined with outcomes and purpose, uncovering the difficulties in achieving social justice. Although each policy, Royal Commission, and/or legislative amendments are discussed, the purpose of this chapter is to convey the frustration and hardship faced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around Australia, in the struggle for social justice.