Women and Labour Conference speaks out for indigenous rights The 400 women who attended the 6th National Women and Labour Conference in Geelong last November repeatedly highlighted and endorsed the importance of indigenous rights. The priority given to indigenous issues was reflected in the strong support for the following recommendations:

1. The conference recognises and acknowledges the part all non-indigenous Australians have played and continue to play in the oppression of indigenous Australians. We recognise and acknowledge the part all of us here who are non-indigenous Australians have played. This conference apologises to all indigenous Australians past, present and future for the stealing of children, culture, traditions, language and land. We call on the federal parliament to: affirm the Mabo and Wik High Court decisions, and to end the debate on the Wik Bill by both Houses rejecting that Bill; restore full funding levels to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services; implement fully and promptly all recommendations from the inquiry into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.
2. International Women's Day is an important event for the women's movement, linking us with previous generations of campaigns for women's rights, linking us with women around the world, and potentially acting as an organising point for future successful campaigns for women's rights. The conference supports marches and rallies across Australia on the occasion of IWD. We encourage individual women and women's organisations to participate in IWD, and we recommend that IWD 1998 takes up, either as a theme or demand, the issue of native title and justice for Aboriginal people.