Rights and Freedoms
THE proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act provide the basis for correcting the legal limits of free speech, promoting pluralism, opposing reprehensible racism and highlighting the importance of responsibility. Arguably the most important change is assessing an 18C violation based on...
Disability Rights
Maria has cerebral palsy and little speech. She wanted to tell police about a sexual assault, but there was no communication support worker to help with the statement. The police relied on Maria's parents to provide communication support. Maria was uncomfortable giving personal details of the...
Rights and Freedoms
Responsibility, anti-discrimination laws, human rights and freedoms - these words have been at the center of an ideological debate about how to protect fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom from detention without trial. But if we are serious about...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
A comment on the current human rights issues faced by Australia in the processing of refugees and asylum seekers
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Mick Gooda addresses lateral violence at Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS) Gala Dinner
Rights and Freedoms
Freedom of speech is alive and well in Australia but, with respect to Voltaire, we will not defend to the death those who abuse this right by vilifying others in public on the ground of race.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Whadjuk Noongar people and I want to thank them, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, for allowing us to gather on their country.
Commission – General
Predictably, opponents of a human rights act reacted swiftly to Mr McHugh's comments, misrepresenting concerns about specific aspects of one model of a human rights act as a reason to reject any such act.
Disability Rights
FOR BABY boomers who have kids, part of summer holiday long drives is the time for telling exaggerated stories of derring-do from one's youth. One such story popped into my head as we drove past the dog sitting on the tucker box at Gundagai on our way home from the Snowy Mountains several weeks ago.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
In 1994, phone numbers had seven digits, we listened to Crowded House, and it was legal to own a semi-automatic rifle. Mother And Son and A Country Practice disappeared from television screens, and The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert and Muriel's Wedding showed off our magnificent country and sense of humour while touching on tough issues such as marginalisation, sexuality and racism.
Rights and Freedoms
Five years ago I began my term as the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, confident in the ability of the common law and a robust democracy to protect human rights. I leave convinced we need a major legal and cultural overhaul in order to deal with the human rights challenges of the 21st century.
LGBTIQ+
Federal laws prohibit discrimination against women, older people, people with disability and people of different races. However, there are 60-plus pieces of federal legislation which specifically deny financial and work-related benefits to same-sex couples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
From the moment Australia was colonised Indigenous peoples have suffered discrimination at the hands of a legal system imported into this land. Not only were our own laws cast aside, but the new laws discriminated against us - and did so because of our race. In 1997, while there has been movement away from former policies of assimilation, removal and protection, the dominant legal system still discriminates against us.
Disability Rights
This Representative Complaints workshop aims to develop a document on representative complaints to be used by the DDA Legal Advocacy Services, other legal services and other representatives and advocates in making representative complaints and to assist them in if the representative complaints procedure is appropriate in any particular case.
Disability Rights
Can I also acknowledge Blake Dawson Waldron lawyers for providing the venue and facilities, and the NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Service for their initiative in organising this forum.
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