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.
The Report, which was commissioned by the Tasmanian Government, recommends that a legislative Charter of Human Rights be enacted in Tasmania. S imilarly to the Victorian Charter, it is recommended that this instrument promote a ‘human rights dialogue across the three branches of government while ultimately maintaining parliamentary sovereignty’. Unlike the Victorian Charter and ACT Human Rights Act, however, the Institute recommends that a Tasmanian Charter incorporate economic, social and cultural rights (as well as civil and political rights), confer a free standing cause of action, and entitle victims to such remedies as are ‘just and appropriate’, including damages. The Report was informed by a record 407 submissions – the largest number of submissions received on any project undertaken by the Institute – of which the vast majority (94.1%) supported the enactment of a Charter of Human Rights. Having regard to these submissions, the Institute concluded that a Tasmanian Charter would:
- ‘provide a single, comprehensible statement of the fundamental rights applicable in Tasmania’;
- ‘foster community awareness of human rights’; and
- ‘encourage the systematic development and observance across all arms of government of processes responsive to human rights’.
The Centre’s submission to the Institute, which was prepared with the very substantial assistance of Allens Arthur Robinson, is cited extensively and approvingly throughout the report. It is referred to as ‘clear and forceful’.
The Tasmanian Government has not yet formally responded to the Report or committed to the enactment of a Charter of Rights. The Human Rights Law Resource Centre urges the Tasmanian Government to endorse the Report and implement its recommendations.
Support for a Tasmanian Charter should be addressed to the Premier of Tasmania, the Hon Paul Lennon, and the Attorney-General for Tasmania, the Hon Steven Kons, both at Department of Premier and Cabinet, 11th Floor, 15 Murray St, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001.
