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Commission – General
14 December 2012SpeechH R Law Masterclass: Federal Anti-discrimination Law in an Employment Context: recent developments, likely future directions and the lessons from the past
To some of you the role of The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) in the industrial relations scene in Australia will be well known, others of you may be wondering why a representative of a human rights body would be speaking on this occasion. I propose therefore to briefly summarise HREOC's role in the administration of federal anti-discrimination law, including its complaint… -
Legal
14 December 2012WebpageSubmission to the Law Reform Commission
"Not every disturbance or catastrophe qualifies as a public emergency which threatens the life of the nation, as required by article 4, paragraph 1. The Covenant requires that even during an armed conflict measures derogating from the Covenant are allowed only if and to the extent that the situation constitutes a threat to the life of the nation. If States parties consider invoking article 4… -
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… -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
ASIO, ASIS and DSD
I regret to say that international human rights experts, including those of the UN system, are unanimous in finding that many measures which States are currently adopting to counter terrorism infringe on human rights and fundamental freedoms. -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Submission: Anti-Terrorism Bill (No 2) 2005
Recommendation 1: The Bill should be amended to include additional sub-clauses (in s105.4(4) and (6)), which require the issuing authority to be satisfied that the purpose for which the order is made cannot be achieved by a less restrictive means. -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Launch of the Supreme Court Equal Treatment Benchbook
When I first entered the law 'benchbooks' were closely guarded, leather bound books into which judges carefully entered notes as a case progressed - usually I thought adverse comments and exclamation marks about one's arguments or less than flattering remarks about one's principal witness. These books seemed to be some kind of secret code to the outcome of cases and never saw the light of day. -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 3 - Introduction: Social Justice Report 2009
When I commenced writing this chapter in 2008, Australia did not have a national Indigenous languages policy. However in August 2009, for the first time in Australia’s history, the Commonwealth Government launched a strategy for preserving Indigenous languages: Indigenous Languages - A National Approach 2009 (National Approach). The National Approach sets out the Commonwealth Government&… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Presentation at the Governor’s Leadership Foundation Forum
HREOC is a statutory body independent of government. While our main function is to promote an understanding and acceptance of human rights in Australia, we are also charged with the responsibilities of investigating, and attempting to conciliate complaints of unlawful discrimination under the federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Disability Discrimination… -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012Speech"The local face of global justice policy": Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM (2004)
Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand and by so doing remind ourselves that Australia's cultural traditions stretch back many thousands of years and express our aspirations for Australians of the future to be socially just and inclusive. -
14 December 2012Book page
Report No. 40: Complaints by immigration detainees against the Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, formerly the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs) and GSL (Australia) Pty Ltd (2008)
Pursuant to section 11(1)(f)(ii) of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth), I attach a report of an inquiry by the former President of the Commission into complaints made by immigration detainees against the Commonwealth of Australia. The former President found that the Commonwealth had breached the human rights of the complainants pursuant to articles 10(1) and 17(1) of… -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Submission: National Security
1. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (the Commission) is established by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (HREOC Act). The Commission is Australia's National Human Rights Institution. -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Commission Submission - Amicus Curiae - Jacomb v Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical And Services Union
General Recommendation No 5 Seventh Session, 1988 (Attachment Ten) General Recommendation No 23 Sixteenth Session, 1997 (Attachment Eleven) General Recommendation No 25 Thirtieth Session, 30 January 2004 (Attachment Twelve) -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
14 December 2012SpeechSite navigation
It is a very great honour for me to be invited to give this third lecture in commemoration of the great Aboriginal mathematician and scientist, David Unaipon. -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Address to Tri-State Country Conference, Broken Hill
I also want to make mention of the fact that we are 130kn south west of an area of great significance to the Aboriginal communities of western NSW, which is now called Mutawintji National Park - the first park to be handed back to its Traditional Owners under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act in 1998. [1] The caves and overhangs in the park have been transformed into expansive galleries of… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
The empowered citizen: the importance of education and equality for a modern democracy (2011)
I would like to begin this evening by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Awabakal People. I pay my respects to their elders past and present. -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Inquiry into the effectiveness of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) in eliminating discrimination and promoting gender equality (2008)
(1) Support a two-stage inquiry process for the SDA, with some amendments made now to the existing law (Recommendations), and the rest completed within three (3) years (Options for Reform) -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Minister for Immigration v Ah Hin Teoh
1. On 20 November 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Child ("the Convention") (ATS 1991 No 4) was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations and opened for signature, ratification and accession (see Cth Gaz No GN I, 13 January 1993, p 85). On 22 August 1990 the Convention was signed for Australia (see ATS 1991 No 4, P 35, n 1). On 2 September 1990, pursuant to Article… -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Workplace Relations Amendment (WorkChoices) Bill 2005
Mr John Carter, Secretary Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Committee Department of the Senate Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 By email: eet.sen@aph.gov.au -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
REJECTION OF APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION: Lourdes Hill College
By this instrument, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (‘the Commission’) declines to grant to the Lourdes Hill College (‘the College’) a temporary exemption pursuant to s 44(1) of the Sex Discrimination Act (Cth) 1984 (‘the SDA’). -
Sex Discrimination
14 December 2012SpeechPeeling the inequality onion
This paper considers national and international legislative and other provisions regarding equality for women in the labour market. Australia ranks second to Sweden in terms of pay equity. It is argued that over the last two decades of global shifts to labour market decentralism and deregulation, Australian women have fared relatively well. Three fundamental reasons stand out: