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Submissions – Charter of Rights
The Tasmanian Government’s decision to shelve the introduction of a Charter of Human Rights because of budgetary constraints is misconceived and fails to understand the substantial economic and social benefits of human rights protections, according to a leading human rights organisation. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Ben Schokman said a Charter of Human Rights is [...]
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 [...]
Reform of the regulation, training and monitoring of police use of force is necessary to enhance community safety and ensure Victoria Police comply with human rights. Victoria Police use force, on average, every 2.5 hours. Almost three quarters of these incidents involve the use of capsicum spray. There have been at least 12 people shot [...]
The HRLC has made a further submission to the review of the Victorian Charter in response to issues raised in other public submissions to the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee. The further submission addresses some of the views expressed in relation to the operation of the Victorian Charter that are unfounded in evidence or [...]
About the Review The Victorian Attorney-General recently announced a review of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Victorian Charter) after four years of its operation. The review is to be conducted by the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC), which is due to report to Parliament by 1 October 2011. Further [...]
The HRLC has made a submission to the review of the Victorian Charter, which is being undertaken by the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee. Using an evidence-based approach, the HRLC has emphasised that the review should be used as an opportunity to strengthen the Charter and certainly not, in any way, to limit or [...]
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 Australian Government has a legal obligation to implement key human rights reforms, according to a new submission from the Human Rights Law Centre [submission and annexure]. The submission to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department considers each of 145 recommendations made to Australia by the international community during Australia’s Universal Periodic Review before the UN Human [...]
A new approach is needed for how Victoria Police handle confrontation with young people in crisis and investigations into serious police violence need to be independently conducted, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre said.
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 [...]
On 10 December 2010, a coalition of over 70 human rights NGOs, community organisations, corporations and religious groups wrote to the new Victorian Attorney-General, the Hon Robert Clark MP, calling on him to strengthen the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act. The signatories wrote that, overall, the Charter has had a positive impact on: [...]
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 2 December 2010, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, wrote to the Hon Robert Clark MP, Attorney-General for Victoria in the new Baillieu Government, setting out ten policies which the Centre considers the Victorian Government should implement as a matter of priority for a stronger, fairer and safer Victoria. Respect for human rights is one of 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 24 September 2010, the HRLRC and the PILCH Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic made a joint submission to the President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on the important role that the Tribunal plays in protecting the right to a fair hearing and facilitating access to justice in Victoria. VCAT President, Justice Iain Ross AO, [...]
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, [...]
Australia is to be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review process in January 2011. A coalition of 68 NGOs - coordinated by the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Kingsford Legal Centre and the National Association of Community Legal Centres - has submitted a 5 page Report to the UN Human Rights Council [...]
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 18 June 2010, the Centre made a Submission to the Office of Police Integrity inquiry into the investigation of deaths associated with police contact. The HRLRC submitted that in order to discharge its obligations under the Victorian Charter, the Government needs to establish a human rights-compliant framework for the investigation of deaths associated with [...]
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 excessive use of force by police or inhumane treatment of persons in police custody undermines the integrity of a State’s operations. It also breaches the right to life and the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (ill-treatment) which are protected by ss 9 and 10 of the Victorian Charter. [...]
The legal obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights applies to all arms of government – legislative, executive and judicial – and directly engages the parliament. Notwithstanding Australia’s international legal obligations, however, the Commonwealth has not established formal domestic mechanisms to ensure comprehensive parliamentary scrutiny of human rights. On 5 March 2010, therefore, the [...]
The Severe Substance Dependence Treatment Bill 2009 (Vic), currently before Victorian Parliament, proposes to introduce short-term involuntary detention and treatment for persons with severe substance dependence in circumstances where it is necessary as a matter of urgency to save a person’s life or prevent serious damage to a person’s health. The Human Rights Law Resource [...]
On 15 December 2009, the Victorian Government passed new Regulations that declare the Adult Parole Board, the Youth Residential Board, and the Youth Parole Board (the Parole Boards) not to be “public authorities” for the purposes of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (the Victorian Charter). The effect of the Regulations is to allow [...]
On 8 October 2009 the National Human Rights Consultation Committee recommended that Australia enact a Human Rights Act. However, although the Consultation clearly demonstrated the right to adequate housing, health care and education are the ‘rights that matter most’ to Australians, the Committee further recommended that, if an Australian Human Rights Act enshrines social and [...]
The Victorian Government has introduced the Summary Offences and Control of Weapons Acts Amendment Bill, which will provide police with broad new powers to randomly search people in designated areas without any requirement that police officers have a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing; to strip search people pre-arrest; and to move people on the basis of a [...]
The ACT Government conducted an inquiry into the operation of the ACT Human Rights Act (the HR Act), and particularly sought input into the debate on protecting economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights) within the HR Act. The HRLRC made a submission to the inquiry, arguing that all ESC rights in the International Covenant [...]
On 10 July 2009, the Centre and the Public Interest Law Clearing House made a joint submission to the Victorian Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee Inquiry into Exceptions and Exemptions under the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic), entitled Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Substantive Equality. Permanent Exceptions PILCH and the HRLRC submit that the permanent [...]
On 1 July 2009, the Centre made a submission to the Standing Committee on Procedure Inquiry into the effectiveness of House Committees, entitled Human Rights and Parliamentary Scrutiny. The submission focuses on the second and fourth of the Committee’s Terms of Reference namely, ‘the type of work being undertaken by committees’ and ‘the powers and [...]
On 29 June 2009, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a short submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into Surveillance in Public Places entitled Surveillance in Public Places: A Human Rights Perspective. Its primary recommendation is that the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s draft principles to guide public place surveillance be amended to [...]
On 15 May 2009, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a submission to the National Human Rights Consultation entitled, A Human Rights Act for All Australians [PDF] [Word]. The submission calls for the enactment of a comprehensive Human Rights Act to enhance our democracy and protect fundamental values such as freedom, respect, dignity and [...]
On 3 June 2009, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a supplementary submission to the National Human Rights Consultation. The submission is in the form of a Memorandum of Advice from Brian Walters SC and Alastair Pound of Counsel commissioned by the Centre in relation to the relationship between a national Human Rights Act and [...]
On 24 April 2009, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a submission to the National Human Rights Consultation entitled Engage, Educate, Empower: Measures to Promote and Protect Human Rights [PDF] [Word]. The Engage, Educate, Empower submission considers a range of measures to strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights in Australia and responds primarily to [...]
In February 2009, the HRLRC made a Submission in response to a Corrections Regulations Exposure Draft 2009 (Vic) released by Corrections Victoria. The current Corrections Regulations 1998 are due to sunset in May 2009. The Proposed Regulations, together with a Regulatory Impact Statement, were released for public comment on 22 January 2009. The submission addresses aspects [...]
The Victorian Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, recently announced that it was working on a national model Bill for a spent convictions scheme and invited the HRLRC to make a submission in relation to a draft Bill. The purpose of a spent convictions scheme is broadly to limit the [...]
In April 2008 the Victorian Parliament Law Reform Committee released an issues paper calling for public submissions into its inquiry on vexatious litigants. The terms of reference for this inquiry included an examination of the efficacy of current vexatious litigant legislation. Since 1928 only 14 people have been declared vexatious litigants in Victoria. The Centre, together [...]
On 1 August 2007, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a submission, entitled Fostering a Human Rights Culture, to the Consultation Committee for the Proposed Western Australian Human Rights Act. The submission was prepared with substantial input from Allens Arthur Robinson, one of Australia’s leading commercial law firms. On 20 December 2007, the Consultation [...]
On 21 December 2006, the Centre made a submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Civil Justice Review entitled, The Right to a Fair Hearing: The Relevance of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) to Civil Justice. The submission considers the impact that the Victorian Charter, specifically the right to a ‘fair [...]
In November 2006, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre and Blake Dawson Waldron made a joint submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Civil Justice Review, entitled ‘Why are Non-Parties Non-Starters? A Call for Clearer Procedures and Guidelines for Amicus Curiae Applications in Victoria’. The submission sets out: the distinction between amici curiae, interveners and [...]
On 29 November 2006, the HRLRC, with the substantial pro bono assistance of Allens Arthur Robinson, made a submission to the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute inquiry into the need for a Charter of Rights in Tasmania. On 12 October 2007, the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute published its Report on A Charter of Rights for Tasmania. [...]
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