Search results

Everyone has a fundamental right to feel safe from all forms of violence, in all parts of their lives. Each year, however, too many Australians encounter violence, harassment and bullying because of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation or age. Addressing these forms of violence is the second of the Commission’s two priority areas of work.

1. The Committee considered the tenth, eleventh and twelfth periodic reports of Australia, submitted as one document (CERD/C/335/Add.2), at its 1393rd, 1394th and 1395th meetings (CERD/C/SR.1393, 1394 and 1395), held on 21 and 22 March 2000. At its 1398th meeting, held on 24 March 2000, it adopted the following concluding observations.

Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his [sic] dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and must be recognised by it. They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority; by flouting them, or refusing to recognise them in its positive legislation, a society undermines its own moral legitimacy … Catechism of the Catholic Church,…

The commitment to close the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and life expectancy gap by 2030 was a watershed moment for the nation. Politicians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous health sector, and human rights organisations, made a public stand in committing to this agenda. And so did the Australian public. To date almost 200,000 Australians have…

HREOC's release of its interim paper, Valuing Parenthood: Options for paid maternity leave sparked an extraordinary community debate about the difficulties of combining work and family responsibilities in modern Australia.

In the Social Justice Report 1999, my first report as Social Justice Commissioner, I identified four key themes and challenges that existed in the approach of the federal government to Indigenous policy making at the time. These were moving beyond welfare dependency, accountability, participation and reconciliation.[1] Since the release of that report approximately four years ago, the key themes…

In 2006 the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet made a revealing statement about Indigenous affairs. He argued that his own government’s policy performance in the Indigenous portfolio had been a failure. He went further to say that while well intentioned, the policies and approaches of the past 30 years had contributed to poor outcomes for Indigenous people.