Profile
Ruth McCausland is a Senior Research Fellow in Jumbunna's Research Unit, with a focus on the areas of Indigenous policy, criminal justice, human rights, development and the media. She has a background in human rights research, policy and advocacy, with a particular focus on the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women and young people. She was a research and policy officer at the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and NSW Anti-Discrimination Board. She is the author of the ADB report on racism in the media, Race for the Headlines.
Ruth has a Masters of International Social Development and a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) from the University of New South Wales. She is currently undertaking a PhD on the relevance of capabilities theory to Aboriginal women leaving prison.
ruth.mccausland@uts.edu.au
Current research areas:
Factors affecting rates of crime in Indigenous communities in NSW
Indigenous welfare policy
Development, Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples
Publications:
'The linking of welfare payments to school attendance in Indigenous communities: an analysis', Issues Paper, August 2008.
'A hard way to learn simple lessons: the linking of educational outcomes to welfare reform', National Indigenous Times, 29 May 2008.
* 'Indigenous trauma, grief and loss', (eds.) Andrew Day, Martin Nakata and Kevin Howells, Anger and Indigenous Men: Understanding and responding to violent behaviour, Federation Press, 2008.
'Sorry, What About the Stolen Generations?', New Matilda, 29 February 2008.
with Larissa Behrendt, Submission to NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues Inquiry into Closing the Gap: overcoming Indigenous disadvantage, February 2008.
'International human rights principles and the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Legislation', Issues Paper, December 2007.
*with Alex Reilly, Larissa Behrendt, George Williams and Mark McMillan, 'The promise of regional governance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities', Ngiya: talk the law, Vol. 1, June 2007, pp. 126-166.
*with Marc Levy, 'Indigenous Policy and Mutual Obligation: Shared or Shifting Responsibility Agreements?', Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol. 41, 2006, pp. 277 -294.
*'Agreement-Making under the New Arrangements in Indigenous Policy', Australian Indigenous Law Reporter, vol. 10, 2006, pp. 3 -13.
*'Trickle Down or Rights Way Up? Development, Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples', Balayi: Culture, Law and Colonialism, 2006, vol. 9, pp. 26 -57.
Shared Responsibility Agreements: progress to date, 18 December 2005.
Ngiya Institute for Indigenous Law, Policy and Practice, Paper 7, Negotiating Shared Responsibility Agreements: A Toolkit, December 2005.
Ngiya Institute for Indigenous Law, Policy and Practice, Paper 3, The New Mainstreaming of Indigenous Affairs, December 2005.
'Shared Responsibility Agreeements: practical reconciliation or paternalistic rhetoric?' Indigenous Law Bulletin, July 2005, volume 6, issue 12, pp. 9-11.
'Chin up cobbers, don't you worry about that: national security and human rights' in New Matilda, 25 May 2005.
Editor, Balayi: Culture, Law and Colonialism, Treaty edition, Volume 7, May 2005.
'So just who is sharing the responsibility in Indigenous policy?', New Matilda, 9 March 2005.
Submission to Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Building on Success: CDEP Discussion Paper 2005.
Ngiya Institute of Law, Policy and Practice: Briefing Paper No. 1, 'Shared Responsibility Agreements', February 2005.
Ngiya Institute of Law, Policy and Practice: Briefing Paper No. 2: 'CDEP', February 2005.
Co-editor, Balayi: Culture, Law and Colonialism, Volume 6, August 2004.
'Special Treatment: the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the media', Journal of Indigenous Policy, Volume 4, 2004.
Co-editor, Journal of Indigenous Policy, Volume 2, April 2004.
'Racism and media discourse: the impact on human rights', Equal Time No. 56, May 2003, p. 3.
Race for the Headlines: racism and media discourse, Anti-Discrimination Board, 2003.
'Carers' responsibilities: the legal and policy framework for work and family balance in NSW', Issues Paper, Anti-Discrimination Board, 2002.
'Demographic shifts highlight carers' responsibilities', Equal Time No. 53, August 2002, p. 1.
Anti-Discrimination Board submission to the NSW Attorney General's Department Discussion Paper on the Pilot Program for Community Justice Conferencing for Young Adult Offenders, 2002.
Anti-Discrimination Board submission to the NSW Law Reform Commission's Review of sentencing of young offenders, 2002.
'Bilingual education and human rights', Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner's Social Justice Report 1999, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 2000, pp. 101-131.
'Non-Indigenous Community Responses to Bringing them home', Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner's Social Justice Report 1998, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1999, pp. 53-84.
'1967-1997: Politics and Indigenous Australia Timeline', 'Statistics', Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner's Fifth Report 1997, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1998, pp. 21-55, pp. 184-225.
* refereed articles
Speeches/Papers:
with Professor Larissa Behrendt, 'Why is it that some Aboriginal communities have lower crime rates and others have higher crime rates?' Presentation to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research 40th Anniversary Symposium, 18-19 February 2009, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.
‘How does the Government’s social inclusion agenda fit with its mutual obligation approach in Indigenous policy?’, paper given at Social Inclusion: An Agenda for All Australians? conference, Catholic Social Services Australia, 13-14 October 2008, Brisbane.
'Issues raised by the shared responsibility agreement framework - reflecting on current agreements', IQPC Indigenous Service Delivery conference: Achieving sustainable outcomes through collaboration and capacity building, 22-23 March 2006, Darwin.
'Petrol bowsers for washing kids faces': a 'new conversation' in Indigenous policy' at the Australian Social Policy Conference on 21st July 2005.
'Shared Responsibility Agreements: practical reconciliation or paternalistic rhetoric?' at Social Policy in the City seminar held by Mission Australia, Smith Family and Social Policy Research Centre, Thursday 16 June 2005.
