Disability Rights
I have called this paper "the right to belong", and it is with this idea that I wish to begin my address to you this afternoon, before discussing in more detail the current state of the law in relation to disability discrimination.
Legal
back to Human Rights Law Seminars THE HON ROBERT McCLELLAND MP Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Australia and International Human Right : Coming in from the Cold HREOC, The Hearing Room, Level 8, 133 Castlereagh St, Sydney 23 May 2008, 12.45pm First, may I acknowledge the traditional...
Rights and Freedoms
Scarlett Finney was only six when she saw the brochures for the Hills Grammar School, set in park-like grounds in Sydney's outer suburbs. She indicated her keenness to attend "the school in the bush". Her parents were prepared to pay the fees, and saw the setting and curriculum as providing her with a great education. But the school refused her enrolment due to the fact that she had spina bifida, and sometimes used a wheelchair [1].
Rights and Freedoms
I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand and by so doing remind ourselves that Australia’s cultural traditions stretch back many thousands of years.
Rights and Freedoms
I would like to thank the Royal Australian Planning Institute for inviting me to speak today at Planning in the Hothouse and in particular on this panel, 'Forgotten Communities'.
Commission – General
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land upon which we meet, the Gadigal peoples of the Eora nation, and pay my respects to their elders, past, present and future.
Commission – General
HREOC is a statutory body independent of government. While our main function is to promote an understanding and acceptance of human rights in Australia, we are also charged with the responsibilities of investigating, and attempting to conciliate complaints of unlawful discrimination under the federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Age Discrimination Act 2004.1 HREOC also has specific responsibilities to report annually to Parliament on the enjoyment of human rights of Indigenous Australians.
Commission – General
I also want to make mention of the fact that we are 130kn south west of an area of great significance to the Aboriginal communities of western NSW, which is now called Mutawintji National Park - the first park to be handed back to its Traditional Owners under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act in 1998. [1] The caves and overhangs in the park have been transformed into expansive galleries of Aboriginal rock art, and it comes as no surprise that they have formed the backdrop for ceremonies for at least 8,000 years.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Where: Australian College of Educators (the Boardroom) James Darling House 42 Geils Court Deakin, Canberra When: Saturday May 17 Time: 11.00am for 11.30am (see appendix 1)
Disability Rights
I'm honoured to give this address. I completed my law degree at this university, and well remember the December day in 1977 when I received it. It was the culmination of four years of hard work, experiencing the pleasures and trials of campus life, and acquiring - as well as a reasonable amount of legal knowledge - a much broader appreciation of the world around me, warts and all.
Commission – General
Amongst all this expertise, it is fair to ask why is the President of the national human rights commission – and particularly a President who has only fairly recently commenced in this role - here presenting the keynote speech to such a conference?
Disability Rights
Acknowledgment of where we stand and where we are is, it seems to me, an essential precondition to good decisions about where we want to go, and how we might get there.
Disability Rights
I also acknowledge Ministers with us here today; Ambassador Don Mackay joining us from New Zealand by video link; and many friends and colleagues from the disability and human rights community.
Disability Rights
Read a speech about the importance of access to mobile telecommunications for people with a disability given by the Commission at the TEDICORE Think Tank.
Disability Rights
It has been an extraordinary privilege to know Graeme and share in his work towards achieving a fair go for all members of Australian society and in particular for people with disabilities.
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