Indigenous Children’s Right to Participate in Law and Policy Development ‘Just Ask Us. Come and See Us' Routledge Research in Human Rights Law Series

This book presents a model for reforming and developing Indigenous related legislation and policy, not only in Australia, but also in other jurisdictions. The model provides guidance about how to seek, listen to and respond to the voices of Indigenous children and young people.

The participation of Indigenous children and young people, when carried out in a culturally and age-appropriate way and based on free, prior and informed consent, is an invaluable resource capable of empowering children and young people and informing Indigenous related legislation and policy. This project contributes to the emerging field of robust, ethically sound, participatory research with Indigenous children and young people and proposes ways in which Australian and international legislators and policymakers can implement the principle of children?s participation by involving Aboriginal children and young people in the development of law and policy pertaining to their lives.

This book provides accounts from Aboriginal children and young people detailing their views on how they can be involved in law and policy development in the future. It shows the latest state of knowledge on the topic and will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, legislators, and students in the fields of human rights law, children?s rights, participation rights, Indigenous peoples? law, and family, child and social welfare law.

1. Demanding Aboriginal Children’s Rights

2. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and Children’s Participation

3. Rethinking Childhood and Children’s Participation

4. Aboriginal Children and Young People’s Views about the Northern Territory Intervention

5. Aboriginal Children and Young People’s Views about Participating in Law and Policy Development

6. A Model for Indigenous Children and Young People’s Participation in Public Decision-Making

7. Advancing Participation: Involvement not Intervention

Holly Doel-Mackaway is a Senior Lecturer at the Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, Sydney.