elder

"When I heard that this was a Christian organisation - I’m an elder in the Presbyterian Church - I got hold of my pastor and we got hold of the Baptist Church Methodist Church and two other churches in the city and then I was instructed by those churches to investigate the matter," he said.

So he brought artists, executives and elder black American statesmen together for a secret summit in 1995, hoping it would be a turning point.

“Marriage gives spouses the benefit of many legal presumptions and protections with regards to each other’s property and affairs. An unmarried partner, on the other hand, is at a much worse position than even an estranged child or sibling in a situation where the other partner has died or has become incapacitated,” said Joseph Fresard, elder law attorney at Simasko Law in Mount Clements, Michigan.

Behind him, flanking a rolltop desk, were framed pictures of two sets of brothers: John F. and Robert F. Kennedy, and Schiff and his elder sibling, Dan.

"Our young people in Don Dale need to have opportunity for hope," said Aboriginal elder, Aunty Barb Nasir, addressing the demonstrators.