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Commission – General
14 December 2012SpeechINCORPORATING HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLES INTO NATIONAL SECURITY MEASURES
Since the terrorist attacks on September 11 2001, Governments around the world have created a raft of new counter-terrorism laws. In Australia alone, over 40 new laws have created new criminal offences, new detention and questioning powers for police and security apparatus, new powers for the Attorney-General to proscribe terrorist organisations, new ways to control people’s movement and… -
Legal
14 December 2012WebpageWeb accessibility and Government 2.0 (2009)
The Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) makes this submission to the Government 2.0 Taskforce - Towards Government 2.0: An issues paper. -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Federal Discrimination Law: Chapter 3 - The Race Discrimination Act
The RDA was the first Commonwealth unlawful discrimination statute to be enacted and is different in a number of ways from the SDA, DDA and ADA. This is because it is based to a large extent on, and takes important parts of its statutory language from, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
President Speech: Conservation, Participation and Human Rights
First, may I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and pay my respects to their elders, both past and present. -
29 January 2013Book page
1. ADFA: Description of Current Culture
The Terms of Reference required the Review to make recommendations on initiatives to drive cultural change at ADFA regarding the treatment of women. To properly identify these initiatives, the Review needed to assess the culture as it currently exists. Part of this process involved examining the notion of military culture generally and, more specifically, the culture for women at ADFA. The… -
29 January 2013Book page
1. ADFA: Description of Current Culture
The Terms of Reference required the Review to make recommendations on initiatives to drive cultural change at ADFA regarding the treatment of women. To properly identify these initiatives, the Review needed to assess the culture as it currently exists. Part of this process involved examining the notion of military culture generally and, more specifically, the culture for women at ADFA. The… -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 1: Towards a reconciled Australia: An agenda of hope - Social Justice Report 2010
I could tell you of heartbreak, hatred blind I could tell of crimes that shame mankind Of brutal wrongs and deeds malign Of rape and murder son of mine -
Legal
14 December 2012Speech
Response to Lord Bingham’s speech: “Do Human Rights Acts Make a Difference?” - David Kinley
Conspicuously active in retirement! Perhaps most notably his Grotius Lecture in London last month in which he raised serious doubts as to the legality under international law of Britain’s invasion of Iraq. This is hardly the path of a man seeking a quiet retirement. -
14 December 2012Book page
2 Biomedical markers and the assessment of chronological age
Since 2001, the primary method of assessing whether an individual is under the age of 18 years in the context of criminal proceedings in Australia has been through the analysis of an x-ray of the young person’s wrist. As this Inquiry is considering the treatment of young Indonesian males suspected of people smuggling who say that they are children, it is important to consider the… -
Children's Rights
24 April 2013SpeechPrivileging the voice of children in family law
I want to start by sharing with you the views of 14-year-old Rani who was – as part of a custody case – the subject of a lengthy dispute about contact. Rani had an independent children’s lawyer and a family report to present ‘her best interests’ to the judge. However she still felt totally excluded from the decision-making process. -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Submission: Covert Search Warrants (2009)
The Hon John Hatzistergos MP Attorney-General Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000 And by email: office@hatzistergos.minister.nsw.gov.au -
Legal
26 February 2016Submission
Submission to Inquiry into the Regulatory and Legislative Aspects of Surrogacy Arrangements (2016)
Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Summary 3 Recommendations 4 Surrogacy and human rights 4.1 What is surrogacy? 4.2 Human rights issues in surrogacy arrangements 5 Current regulation of domestic surrogacy in Australia 6 Options for future domestic regulation: increase consistency and certainty domestically 6.1 Previous attempts at national consistency 6.2 Identifying people willing to enter… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
President speeches: Development, Security and Human Rights
This paper addresses one of the Forum themes: ‘Security and Human Rights’. Since 11 September 2001 governments around the world have responded to the threat of terrorism with tough measures to protect the lives and security of their communities – to protect their fundamental human rights. New security measures give government authorities unprecedented powers, which can seriously infringe the… -
14 December 2012Book page
Seminar on implementing the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) (Nov 2009)
Catherine Branson welcomed guests, in particular international guests and acknowledged the traditional owners of the land. She thanked the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions for co-hosting the seminar. She acknowledged the importance of the right to be free from torture, and congratulated the Australian Government for recognising the rights of those deprived of their liberty… -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2003: Chapter 2: Reconciliation and government accountability
In the Social Justice Report 1999, my first report as Social Justice Commissioner, I identified four key themes and challenges that existed in the approach of the federal government to Indigenous policy making at the time. These were moving beyond welfare dependency, accountability, participation and reconciliation.[1] Since the release of that report approximately four years ago, the key themes… -
Race Discrimination
14 December 2012Opinion pieceStill judged by skin colour (2010)
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published. -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012PublicationImplementing the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture : Options for Australia
A report to the Australian Human Rights Commission by Professors Richard Harding and Neil Morgan (Centre for Law and Public Policy, The University of Western Australia) -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 2: Constitutional reform: Creating a nation for all of us - Social Justice Report 2010
A century ago, the Australian people engaged in a debate about creating a nation. They held meetings...They wrote articles and letters in newspapers. Many views were canvassed and voices were heard. The separate colonies, having divided up the land between them, discussed ways of sharing powers in order to achieve a vision of a united Australia. The result was the Australian Constitution,… -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Independent Interim Report on CEDAW
Para 29: The Committee encourages the State party to continue its efforts to tackle the persistent problem of violence against women and urges the State party to adopt national legislation and adopt, implement and adequately fund as a matter of urgency the National Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Their Children, including a mechanism for independent monitoring. -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 1: A cause for cautious optimism: The year in review - Social Justice Report 2011
As I reflect on the events that have taken place during the reporting period from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011, I see cause for optimism whilst also acknowledging there are still some areas that remain a concern. Over the last year we have reached some major milestones. For instance, we have seen the election of the two co-chairs and a board to the National Congress of Australia’s First…