News

Disability Rights

Deafness Forum Hearing Access Seminar

I always like to begin my presentations with a humorous anecdote or joke of some kind. For one thing, it lets me know that someone is actually listening, and it also lulls the audience into a false sense of security for the dry parts to follow. So as part of my preparation for this morning's discussion of disability discrimination law in Australia, I decided to find an answer to the important question, "how many audiologists does it take to change a lightbulb". Fortunately there is a website devoted to lightbulb jokes, and so I duly consulted it.

Disability Rights

The elimination of disability discrimination in Australia

Graeme Innes AM Deputy Disability Discrimination Commissioner Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Physical Disability Council of Australia 20 November 2000

Commission – General

10th International Criminal Congress

The topic of this seminar is ‘Criminal Justice in a climate of fear’. The word terrorism is not mentioned and yet the subject invites discussion of the impact of terrorism on life and laws in Australia.

Legal

Law Seminar 2008: Housing and Homelessness – What’s Human Rights got to do with It? by Cassandra Goldie

Paper presented at the Homelessness and Human Rights Seminar Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 12.30 – 2pm, Monday 7 April 2008 133 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW

Rights and Freedoms

Don Chipp Foundation Defending Democracy Public Forum “What a Bill of Rights could deliver for Australia”: Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM (2005)

Many of you here would have read Tony Stephen’s SMH article ‘Stand up for your rights stuff’ of Saturday 8 October, where he gave an account of the launch by New Matilda of a campaign to install a Bill of Rights in Australia.

Rights and Freedoms

"THE REFUGEE CONVENTION - WHERE TO FROM HERE?": Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM (2001)

Thank you for inviting me to speak today. Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are now meeting, the Gadigal people.

Commission – General

President speech: How human rights can promote the wellbeing of children in Australia

I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.

Commission – General

The Death Penalty - a matter of principle

It is almost 40 years since the last man was hanged in Australia. Today, the death penalty has been abolished in every Australian jurisdiction. Opposition to the death penalty attracts bi-partisan political support. Yet in a region where many of our closest neighbours still maintain the death penalty, I believe Australia can - and should - take a stronger stand against state sanctioned execution.

Commission – General

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This session focuses primarily on relationships between National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI’s) and the Judiciary, but as well touches on their relationship with officers of the executive government such as the Attorney-General. One of the stated aims of this session is to assess how the independent institutions of the judiciary and NHRI’s can mutually and independently strengthen national protection systems for human rights.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

NSW Teachers Federation Council Meeting (2010)

With respect and gratitude I acknowledge that we sit on the lands of the Gadigal peoples of the Eora Nation, and I thank the Traditional Owners for allowing us to do so.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

'Still Riding for Freedom’ (2008)

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land where we are meeting tonight, the Gadigal peoples of the Eora nation. I pay my respects to your elders and to those who have come before us. And thank you to Chicka Madden for your generous welcome to country. Chicka and I spent a term together on the Board of Aboriginal Hostels.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

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I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land where we meet today and to pay my respects to their elders. I would also like to thank the University of NSW and Professor Daniel Tarantola for organising this event, and the Chair; and to acknowledge my eminent fellow speakers – Sofia Gruskin, Paul Hunt, Justice Michael Kirby and Daniel Tarantola again. It’s an honour to be speaking with such a distinguished group.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Collaborative Indigenous Policy Development Conference (2006)

There are many influences on government when it comes to Indigenous policy creation. Many have contrasting opinions, some are for pecuniary or self interest, some because they feel Indigenous people get too much, others because it is a power trip, others because of an academic interest and for others because they want to see an improvement in the quality of life of Indigenous people. This speech considers:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

LAUNCH - SOCIAL JUSTICE AND NATIVE TITLE REPORTS 2001

I'd like to welcome the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to Arrernte country. In particular, I welcome Dr William Jonas, the Social Justice Commissioner. We are here this afternoon to launch the Social Justice and Native Title Report 2001.

Disability Rights

“Access to the arts: Being Discriminating rather than Discriminatory"

Take a piece of canvas, some chicken wire, paint and plastic, and put them together so that they resemble a potato cooked in its jacket. Mount the whole thing on a block of wood, add a label that says "baked potato with butter" and what have you got? You've got a famous example of Pop Art. The collector who bought it is alleged to have remarked, "pop is the art of today, tomorrow and all the future". Human nature being what it is, I imagine they said much the same thing after they'd put the final touches to those prehistoric cave paintings.