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Race Discrimination
16 March 2015Opinion pieceFree thinking?
Many say freedom of expression means nothing if it doesn’t entail a freedom to offend others. Enjoying such freedom means that you may also have to tolerate hurtful or distasteful speech. But what if the burden of tolerance is not borne equally? What if some forms of speech wound not merely sensibilities but also another person’s dignity? How should a liberal democracy treat forms of speech… -
Commission – General
25 February 2015SpeechStatement to Senate Estimates, 24 February 2015
(Check against delivery, 24 February 2015) The Report of the Commission’s Inquiry into the impact of immigration detention on children, The Forgotten Children, has now been tabled in Parliament and is available to the public– more than three months after it was provided to the Government. The Inquiry took place from January 2013 to October 2014, covering the periods of both the former and… -
Sex Discrimination
8 November 2019SpeechInvisible women in sport
Kate Jenkins Australian Institute of Sport Conference 6 November 2019 Thank you very much for joining me here today. I will start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people, and pay my respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. Every time I make that acknowledgement, I make it genuinely and from the heart. I'm really proud to live in a… -
Children's Rights
20 November 2014SpeechPrivileging the Voice of Children
Megan MitchellNational Children's Commissioner Early Childhood Australia Riverina Dinner Evening25 August 2014 Check Against Delivery IntroductionGood evening everyone and thank you for having me here. Thank you in particular to Julia Ham, Riverina Early Childhood Australia, for inviting me to attend and speak this evening.Before I begin I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of… -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012SpeechUSING THE LAW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Graeme Innes AM (2007)
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… -
14 December 2012Book page
Bringing them Home - Chapter 2
Every morning our people would crush charcoal and mix that with animal fat and smother that all over us, so that when the police came they could only see black children in the distance. We were told always to be on the alert and, if white people came, to run into the bush or run and stand behind the trees as stiff as a poker, or else hide behind logs or run into culverts and hide. Often the white… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Seventh International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions
Torture and various forms of terrorism have been practiced throughout history, though never on the scale we are now confronted with. The first visual records of police interrogation were discovered in a four thousand year old tomb in ancient Egypt. Since the pharaohs there have been many refinements in methods of inducing physical pain and gathering intelligence, most notably during the Spanish… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
President speeches: Development, Security and Human Rights
This paper addresses one of the Forum themes: ‘Security and Human Rights’. Since 11 September 2001 governments around the world have responded to the threat of terrorism with tough measures to protect the lives and security of their communities – to protect their fundamental human rights. New security measures give government authorities unprecedented powers, which can seriously infringe the… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
14 December 2012SpeechAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples access to services 2010
I would like to start today by acknowledging the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji people on whose land we are on today and pay my respect to your elders both past and present. Thank you to Seith for your welcome to country. I pay my respects as a Gangulu man from Central Queensland. -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 1: Towards a reconciled Australia: An agenda of hope - Social Justice Report 2010
I could tell you of heartbreak, hatred blind I could tell of crimes that shame mankind Of brutal wrongs and deeds malign Of rape and murder son of mine -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012Speech
Launch of Human Rights Week, Tasmania
I’d also thank the Human Rights Week Organising Committee here in Tasmania, and congratulate them on their 20th Anniversary. Human Rights Week has been successfully and continuously marked with a number of events each year over the past 20 years in Tasmania. And that in itself, is a remarkable achievement. -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Site navigation
As the world awaits the birth of the new millenium with a level of anxiety we come to associate with expecting parents, I am pleased to note that the United Nations, in nominating 1999 the International Year of Older Persons, has not, at the last, forgotten the grandparents. -
Legal
14 December 2012WebpageSubmission to the Review of Government Compensation Payments (2010)
The Australian Human Rights Commission is grateful for the opportunity to provide a submission for the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee’s Review of Government Compensation Payments. -
Disability Rights
14 December 2012SpeechWorkshop on using the Disability Discrimination Act effectively
Let me first pass on regrets from Sev Ozdowski that he was not able to be here as planned. He very much wanted to attend this as the first major disability conference since he commenced duty as Disability Discrimination Commissioner at the end of last year - but he had surgery this week that meant he could not travel. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
14 December 2012Speech
LAUNCH OF THE NATIVE TITLE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE REPORTS
The two reports launched in Adelaide today provide a scorecard on how Australian governments are meeting their obligations to ensure that Australia's Indigenous peoples can fully exercise their rights and interests. -
31 January 2013Webpage
2001 Human Rights Medal and Awards Winners
The 2001 Medal and Awards presentation ceremony was held on 9 December 2001 at Star Court, Darling Harbour in Sydney. The guest speaker was Professor Gillian Triggs. The judges were: Rt Hon. Ian Sinclair AC, Justice Elizabeth Evatt AC, Jackie Huggins AM, Nicholas Cowdery QC, Justice Catherine Branson, Ruth McColl SC, Mark Davis, Dr David McKnight, Vivian Schenker, Dr Peter O'Brien, Nick… -
14 December 2012Book page
Overview: African Australians - Compendium (2010)
As Professor Graeme Hugo's background paper indicates, there is a long history of migration between African and Australia - however in recent years, it has accelerated. -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
Thank you for the opportunity to address an issue, which I believe, is another stain on Australian history. The systematic neglect and abuse of children in our IDCs is shameful and must end. It is intolerable that our senior politicians claim that a simple majority gives them the mandate to practise policies that ignore established standards for the care and nurturing of children. -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
SJU: Submission to Inquiry into Aboriginal Customary Law in NT
To access the Executive Summary of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner's Submission to the Northern Territory Law Reform Committee Inquiry into Aboriginal Customary law in the Northern Territory click here. -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Submission - Proposed minor native title amendments (2009)
You are all aware of the cultural, linguistic and historical factors that impact upon Indigenous people’s interaction with the legal system. Such factors that include: