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Focus Areas – Australia’s Human Rights Framework
Respect for human rights is the foundation of a community that is fair, just and inclusive. In our view, the promotion and protection of human rights should be a priority for the Australian Government and the office of the Attorney-General. Following Nicola Roxon’s appointment as Attorney-General on 15 December 2011, the Human Rights Law Centre prepared a Briefing Paper [...]
Australia’s new Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, was sworn in on 14 December 2011. We asked some of Australia’s leading human rights advocates, activists and academics to tell us, in less than 100 words, what the Attorney’s top human rights priority or initiative for 2012 should be. We’ll be sharing more of them with you in the coming [...]
The passage of important legislation which requires the Federal Parliament to consider international human rights obligations when passing new laws has been warmly welcomed by the Human Rights Law Centre. “The Federal Parliament has today taken a critical step in respecting and promoting human rights,” said Ben Schokman, the HRLC’s Director of International Human Rights [...]
The HRLC has made a Submission to the Expert Panel on the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. A national conversation about possible constitutional recognition presents an opportunity to strengthen the recognition, protection and promotion of the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. In its [...]
On 21 April 2010, the Federal Government launched ‘Australia’s Human Rights Framework’, setting out a number of measures the Government intends to take to protect and promote human rights in Australia, including the commitment to develop a new National Human Rights Action Plan which is intended to “outline future action for the promotion and protection [...]
The HRLC has made a submission to the Queensland Parliament’s review of its ‘fundamental legislative principles’. At various stages of the lawmaking process in Queensland, proposed Bills and subordinate legislation are assessed for consistency with the fundamental legislative principles, which are defined under section 4 of the Legislative Standards Act 1992 (Qld). The HRLC has [...]
The Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee is currently inquiring into its future role and direction. On 31 March 2011, the HRLC made a submission to the committee focusing on the appropriateness of the powers, processes and terms of references of the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, in light of the proposed new Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (the [...]
On 24 March 2011, an NGO delegation comprising the Human Rights Law Centre, Amnesty International Australia, the Australian Council for International Development, the Australian Forum of Human Rights Organisations and the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, met with the Foreign Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP, to discuss human rights and Australian foreign policy. [...]
On 21 April 2010, the Federal Government launched ‘Australia’s Human Rights Framework’, setting out a number of measures the Government intends to take to protect and promote human rights in Australia. Included in the Framework is the commitment to develop a new National Human Rights Action Plan which is intended to “outline future action for [...]
Australia has been called on to enact a Human Rights Act, recognise same-sex marriage, abolish mandatory immigration detention and entrench Indigenous rights in the Constitution following a major international review before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The review, known as the Universal Periodic Review, is a process which provides all 193 UN countries [...]
On 20 October 2010, the Tasmanian Government released a ‘Directions Paper’ proposing a Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities for Tasmania. The Government is seeking responses to the paper by 14 January 2011. The HRLRC has prepared a comprehensive submission, Towards a Tasmanian Charter of Human Rights, which recommends that a Tasmanian Charter have the [...]
On 20 October 2010, the Tasmanian Government released a ‘Directions Paper’ proposing a Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities for Tasmania. The Government is seeking responses to the paper by 14 January 2011. This is your chance to have your say on the promotion and protection of human rights and to learn from and build on [...]
The Australian Government has tasked the Australian Public Service Commission to revise the Australian Public Service Values (APS Values) to a ‘smaller set of core values that are meaningful, memorable and effective in driving change’. Among other considerations, this revision should seek to ‘affirm the importance of including consideration of human rights issues in policy [...]
The HRLRC has made a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 and the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2010. Notwithstanding gaps and deficiencies in the Government’s Human Rights Framework, the HRLRC welcomes the establishment of a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights [...]
On 14 September 2010, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre wrote to the Attorney-General, the Hon Rob McClelland, urging that the promotion and protection of human rights be a key aim and instrument of the Gillard Government. The Centre set out ten policies which the Government should commit to and implement as a matter of priority and [...]
Respect for human rights is the foundation of a community that is fair, just, cohesive and inclusive. The promotion and protection of human rights should be a key priority for the next Australian Government. On the international stage, Australia has a proud bipartisan history in the development of human rights laws and institutions. At home, [...]
On 2 April 2009, the UN Human Rights Committee adopted Concluding Observations in respect of Australia’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. On 6 July 2010, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a Follow-Up Submission on Implementation of the Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations on Australia. The submission [...]
On 2 June 2010, the Attorney-General introduced the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 and the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2010 in the House of Representatives. The Bills comprise key elements of the Government’s new ‘Human Rights Framework’ and have been referred by the Senate to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation [...]
On 2 June 2010, the Attorney-General introduced the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010, a key element of the Government’s new ‘Human Rights Framework’, in the House of Representatives. The Bill establishes a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, to be comprised of five members of the House of Representatives and five Senators, with two [...]
The 2010 Human Rights Dinner, presented jointly by the Human Rights Law Resource Centre and the Public Interest Law Clearing House, was held on 14 May 2010 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Dinner was addressed by Louise Arbour (President and CEO, International Crisis Group and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human [...]
Human rights education and parliamentary engagement with human rights will be enhanced under a new “Human Rights Framework” for Australia, announced by the Attorney-General on 21 April 2010 in response to the recommendations of the National Human Rights Consultation. However, the Rudd Government’s failure to commit to a comprehensive, national Human Rights Act — a key recommendation [...]
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