Les Malezer Speaks at MABO ORATION 2013 at QPAC Today

Join speaker Les Malezer, co-chair of the National Congress of Australia's First People, to pay tribute to the work of Eddie Mabo and examine current issues facing Australia's First Nations' Peoples at the Mabo Oration 2013 in The Playhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) today 21 July.

The Mabo Oration 2013 at QPAC focuses on the topic of Aboriginal Sovereignty, looking at redefining native title as the inalienable right to hold and develop land, territory and resources.

Leading the conversation is Les Malezer, from the Butchulla/Gubbi Gubbi peoples in South East Queensland, who has extensive experience in campaigning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and has represented community interests at local, state, national and international levels.

In 2008 Les won the Australian Human Rights Award and his contribution to coordinating Indigenous Peoples' advocacy for the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly is well known and respected.

To comment on the Mabo Oration will be Frank Brennan OA, Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic, who has a longstanding reputation of advocacy in the areas of law, social justice, refugee protection and Aboriginal reconciliation.

Frank Brennan is also the son of Sir Francis Gerard Brennan who was senior counsel for the Northern Land Council in the Woodward Commission into Aboriginal Land Rights in the Northern Territory and was pivotal in the landmark High Court of Australia decision recognising native title in Australia for the first time.

The Mabo Oration 2013 will also include a performance by Brisbane local and Triple J Unearthed artist Thelma Plum.

The Anti Discrimination Commission Queensland has hosted the Mabo Oration in partnership with the Mabo family and QPAC on a biennial basis since 2005 to celebrate the High Court of Australia's landmark decision on native title rights and the overturning of the proposition of Terra Nullius.

The Mabo Oration 2013 will be held tonight 21 July, 2013 at 5.00pm (light refreshments from 4.30pm) at The Playhouse, QPAC, Cultural Centre, South Bank. Tickets*: $20. Bookings: www.qpac.com.au or 136 246. *Ticket price includes GST and Booking Fee. Please note transaction fees may apply.

Additional notes: Monday 3 June marks the anniversary of Mabo Day. The Mabo Oration allows for QBA Accreditation = 1.5 CPD points in non-allocated strand.

Photo Credit: Jim McEwan

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