Deafness Forum presentation to Princess Alexandra Hospital
I was particularly pleased to receive the invitation from Deafness Forum to participate in this event to recognise the access initiatives developed by Princess Alexandra Hospital .
I was particularly pleased to receive the invitation from Deafness Forum to participate in this event to recognise the access initiatives developed by Princess Alexandra Hospital .
A long, long time ago, I can still remember sitting down to write my first Roundtable speech.And I thought if I had a chance, then human rights I could advance And equal access wouldn't stay just out of reach And now I'm here again to give a Few thoughts and perhaps deliver Some good news on your doorsteps And talk about some next steps
I suppose we all have things we've passionate about - causes that we'd be prepared to die for, issues that give us the will to carry on in the face of criticism and ridicule.
Allow me to commence by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, and by so doing remind ourselves that Australia's cultural traditions stretch back many thousands of years. I acknowledge also people with disabilities here together with advocates and other conference participants.
I also acknowledge ACROD Chief Executive Ken Baker; my fellow editorial advisory board members; Felicity Purdy, who I am delighted to see being recognised this evening with life membership; other distinguished guests, and all of you my fellow Australians.
As you know, the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act, and equivalent laws in all States, make it unlawful to discriminate on the ground of a person's disability. One of the areas covered by the Act is access to premises. The only exception to this is where a building is already constructed not providing access, and alteration to provide access would cause unjustifiable hardship.
Can I begin by thanking and acknowledging the Ngunnawal Peoples, the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting and thank Aunty Agnes for her warm welcome.
For those of you unfamiliar with Australia’s Human Rights Commission, it’s an independent government body that protects and promotes human rights. My role as Human Rights Commissioner is to check that human rights in Australia are being respected including the human rights of children and young people.
In so doing however I am confronted with the classic dilemma of many, namely what fresh insight can I bring to bear on this subject that has not already been canvassed.
Speech by Dr Sev Ozdowski at the United Nations Association of Australia - Tasmanian Branch - Human Rights Seminar: Human Rights from the Perspective of Individual, Collective and Corporate Responsibilities, Saturday 17 November 2001
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri people, and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.
A little over a month ago, I started as the new President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, ending my time as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.
It is a great pleasure to be speaking today with Judge Clifford Wallace. I had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions at Judges' conferences in the Pacific. I was very sorry to miss him when he was in Adelaide in 2003.
Marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Fraser Oration Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM FAAL FRSA FACLM(Hon) Introduction Vice-Chancellor, Duncan Maskell, Dean Matthew Harding, Mrs Tamie Fraser and the Fraser family, Melbourne Law School staff, distinguished...
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