Director of the NT Aboriginal Justice Unit Leanne Liddle will deliver the keynote address for Flinders University’s Elliott Johnston AO QC Oration at Flinders Victoria Square from 5.30pm on Thursday 1 September.

Ms Liddle, the 2022 Northern Territory Australian of the Year and Flinders Distinguished Alumni Awardee, will present her talk ‘Red Silk, Black Voices,’ paying homage to founding Flinders academic Elliott Johnston, a founding partner of Johnston Withers Lawyers who was a champion of human rights, legal rights for Indigenous Australians, the disadvantaged and the oppressed.

Mr Johnston is also remembered as the second and final Commissioner of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1989–91), which provides the focus this year’s oration.

As Director of the Aboriginal Justice Unit,  Ms Liddle has travelled thousands of kilometres to meet and listen to Aboriginal communities across the Northern Territory. She is the driving force behind the Northern Territory Aboriginal Justice Agreement, which, in partnership with Aboriginal people, aims to reduce imprisonment rates, increase Aboriginal leadership and improve justice outcomes for Aboriginal Territorians.

For more information about the Elliott Johnston Oration and to register for your attendance at the event, click here.