The standard sort of speech that is often delivered by people in my sort of position at this sort of event is a combination of pep talk and pamphlet, with some bits of a law lecture thrown in: telling people with a disability and their advocates that they have rights under discrimination law, and telling employers that they have responsibilities, and attempting to set out the terms and the effect of the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (or "DDA").
I would also like to thank the HSA group for inviting me today to speak with you about a significant human rights issue – the right of people with disability to work and participate in the social and economic life of our community without discrimination and with appropriate support.
The voices of children and young people shape our work. By listening to you we can research important issues and make recommendations on behalf of children and young people in Australia.
Child justice and wellbeing
We heard from children and young people and families from across Australia about their experiences with criminal justice systems.
We looked at what could be done to stop children coming into contact with the police and the courts and ending up in detention. And how people in charge could treat young people in detention safely and respectfully and be held to account.
Children and young people told the National Children's Commissioner they need 'help way earlier!'. She wrote a report about this. She also recorded this video to report back to children what she heard.
We will soon survey people aged 14 – 18 years about their experiences of, and attitudes towards, consent, respectful relationships, and sex education. This will help the government improve consent education across Australia.
Our project 'Do things with the information we tell you': Supporting Quality Engagement with Children (SQE) is about making sure the right people – the decision-makers in government – hear what children have to say and take action.
Australia has signed up to a UN treaty which protects children’s rights. The government reports on how it is upholding this law to a special committee every 5 years.
We also submit reports on how we think the government is tracking and what actions we think they should take.
You can also read our reports that have been written for kids
For more than two years, children and families in Australia have been living through the global COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2022, I asked children and their parents/guardians and grandparents, about their experiences during COVID-19, and what help they needed to recover.
This guide is intended to help children and young people understand child sexual abuse, how and where to get help, and how the National Strategy is improving Australia’s response to child sexual abuse. It is recommended for children aged 9 years and up.
Kids Helpline and the Australian Human Rights Commission have co-authored a report on the impacts of COVID-19 on children and young people who contact Kids Helpline.
The report tells the Australian Government how it can do better in looking out for children and young people. This version is for children and young people.
Thanks for the opportunity to speak to this conference today. You are embarking on this topic, in my view, at just the right time. Unemployment is the lowest it has been for over a decade. Our economy is strong and needing more employees, and our population is ageing, reducing the relative size of the workforce. In coming years, there will be fewer of us to support more of us, so as many people as possible need to be working and paying taxes rather than receiving welfare benefits. What better time to introduce employees with disabilities in larger numbers.
You might have noticed that somehow governments never seem to want the same long term commitment from Human Rights Commissioners. In fact, they often seem quite happy to see us arrive at the end of a term of office ... .
I want to talk today about the relationship between the lofty principles of international law on human rights and the practical realities for people with a disability in Australia.
I would like to thank ACROD for inviting me to deliver the Kenneth Jenkins Oration; both because I regard it as a privilege and because it gives me the opportunity to address a gathering of the key people in the disability field at an important time in the work of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
1. " ... there are 106,000 poor single women over 65 as compared with 40,000 men in this group in 2000" Senate Community Affairs References Committee A Hand up not a hand out: Renewing the fight against poverty: Report on poverty and financial hardship, Commonwealth of Australia 2004, p211. 2. C Brown- Conference Paper- Retirement Income Modeling Task Force- Joint project Treasury , Dept Finance and Dept Social Security, 1997 3. www.gradsonline.edu.au:- 2003 Graduate Destination Survey of graduates who completed their courses in 2002. 4.
Homelessness has, I'm sure, been on your agendas for many years. More recently, both Parity and the Rudd federal government (if I can put you both in the same league) has given it a much increased focus. Today, I want to identify the many human rights issues raised in the context of homelessness, and suggest how a human rights framework would help address what is an ever-increasing problem in our society.
1. Introduction 2. Emergence of International Human Rights 3. Impact of international human rights law on federal law 4. Moving forward on human rights protection
Families, and those who support them, play a vital role in the protection of human rights. Accordingly, I am very pleased to address this conference, and I commend all of you for your work in preserving and strengthening families.
I am honoured to have been invited to address you this evening on this beautiful campus of the Flinders University of South Australia. Let me begin my address by recalling that, long before the establishment of this prestigious place of learning in the European tradition, there was learning of another tradition here; the learning of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.I would like to acknowledge the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and pay my respect to their elders, past and present.
It is now 12 months since the introduction of WorkChoices radically restructured Australia’s industrial relations system. Today, I propose to reflect on the implications of WorkChoices for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and to outline reforms HREOC believes are necessary to safeguard fairness and equality in the workplace.
Today, on its 125th anniversary, we celebrate the very considerable achievements of the Law Society of South Australia. This is an occasion to reflect on these past successes, to consider their present significance, and to think about the future.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal People, the traditional owners and custodians of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to their elders past and present.