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Equality
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of Indigenous peoples, James Anaya, has released an advance copy of his Observations on the Northern Territory Emergency Response. The report follows Mr Anaya’s official visit to Australia in August last year.
While the Special Rapporteur acknowledges Australia’s efforts to address the conditions faced by many Aboriginal communities in the [...]
The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee is conducting an inquiry into legislation currently before Parliament that seeks to reinstate the operation of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and expand income management to apply across the whole of Australia.
The Centre has made a submission to the Inquiry that considers the human rights principles and standards that [...]
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Attorney General and Minister Macklin, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre has strongly urged the Rudd Government to immediately reinstate the operation of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) to apply to all measures of the Northern Territory Intervention. The letter has been endorsed by more than [...]
In a submission to the Indigenous Affairs Minister, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre has strongly urged the Minister not to exercise her discretionary power to compulsorily acquire Aboriginal town camps in Alice Springs.
In August this year, the Minister wrote to Alice Springs town camp residents giving notice of her proposal to [...]
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (’CERD’) has requested that the Australian Government take urgent action to ensure that the Northern Territory Intervention complies with Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
In an Urgent Action Letter to Australia dated 13 March 2009, the Committee [...]
In August 2009, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a Submission to the Alice Springs Town Council in relation to the draft Alice Springs (Management of Public Places) Bylaws 2009.
The HRLRC considers that the following provisions contained within the Proposed Bylaws raise serious human rights concerns for persons in the Alice Springs community:
the provision relating [...]
On 24 June 2009, the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009 was lodged in the Senate by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. The Bill seeks to amend the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) so that:
same-sex partners are able to marry; and
same-sex marriages legally entered into in other jurisdictions are recognised in Australia.
The Senate voted to send the Bill [...]
On 21 August 2009, the Centre made a short Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for its consideration in the drafting of a General Recommendation on the issue of ’special measures’, as provided in articles 1(4) and 2(2) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial [...]
In July 2009, the HRLRC prepared a Briefing Paper on Key Human Rights Issues in Australia for Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, in advance of her visit to Australia in July-August 2009.
The Briefing Paper considers a range of contemporary human rights issues in Australia, including:
the current legal and political context [...]
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 exceptions to [...]
The Victorian parliamentary Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into whether any amendments should be made to the permanent exceptions in the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic).
The Act prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of protected attributes, including age, religious belief or activity, sex, race, sexual orientation, political belief, impairment [...]
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 the [...]
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 [...]
On 3 December 2008, following a consultation process, the National Interest Analysis on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was tabled in Parliament. The National Interest Analysis supports and recommends that Australia accede to the Optional Protocol. The Centre previously made submissions to the National Interest Analysis supporting [...]
In January 2009, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a Submission to the Senate’s review of the Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 [Word] [PDF].
The submission commends the Australian Government on its commitment to improving the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), but states that the amendments do not go far [...]
In late 2008, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called for submissions on its draft General Comment 20 on Non-Discrimination.
The draft General Comment examines the various obligations contained in article 2(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It also analyses the prohibited grounds of discrimination and makes comments [...]
Just a few months after ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Australian Government has initiated a consultation on the Optional Protocol to the CRPD. In October, the HRLRC made a Submission to the National Interest Analysis in support of Australia’s ratification of the Optional Protocol.
The Optional Protocol establishes two procedures [...]
On 15 September 2008, the Centre made a Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws–General Law Reform) Bill 2008.
The purpose of the Bill is to eliminate discrimination against same-sex couples and the children of same-sex relationships in 68 Commonwealth laws. The Centre congratulates the [...]
On 26 June 2008, the Senate referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee the matter of the effectiveness of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SDA) in eliminating discrimination and promoting gender equality.
The Centre’s submission focuses on the extent to which the SDA implements the non-discrimination obligations contained in international human rights law.
The recommendations [...]
In August 2008, the Centre made a Submission to the Northern Territory Emergency Response Review Board in relation to the practical implications of the Northern Territory Emergency Response legislative package and related implementation measures.
The submission identifies particular human rights issues arising from the NTER and recommends that a human rights approach be taken in the [...]
In November 2007, the Attorney-General initiated an independent review to make recommendations in relation to particular aspects of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic).
As part of the Review, the Reviewer, Julian Gardner, prepared a Discussion Paper which outlines the key questions to be considered by the Review. The Discussion Paper invited responses to a series [...]
In February 2008, the HRLRC, together with the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Rights Australia, prepared a Briefing Paper on Key Human Rights Issues in Australia for Gay McDougall, UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues and Chair of the Coordinating Committee on UN Human Rights Council Special Procedures, in advance of her visit [...]
The Human Rights Law Resource Centre has made a submission to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department strongly supporting ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the Convention.
It is well recognized that people with disabilities are more vulnerable than the broader community to a range of deprivations [...]
On 30 November 2006, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, on behalf of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Legal Services Network, the Castan Centre for Human Rights, the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research and Action, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, the National Association of Community Legal Centres Human Rights Network, the North [...]
In June 2006, the HRLRC made a submission to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s inquiry into discrimination in access to financial and work-related benefits and entitlements for same-sex couples.
The HRLRC submission considered a range of domestic legislation conferring such benefits and entitlements in the light of international human rights jurisprudence, and expressed concern [...]
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