Human Rights In Australia

Good afternoon, my name is Stephanie Jones and I am a currently a human rights lawyer. Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections that everyone is entitled to purely for simply just being a human being. Today I would like to use this opportunity to discuss with you the greatly debated issue of an Australian Bill of Rights. Australia currently does not have a Bill of Rights, but is the current legal system coping without one? The answer to that question in my opinion is no. Australia currently is not adequately protecting individual human rights without having a Bill of Rights. While many people would argue that yes, Australia protects individual rights well enough as it is, just as many people passionately argue that Australia does indeed need a Bill of Rights for a variety of reasons which will be talked about in greater depth later on. In my talk with you today, I would like to discuss with you all what exactly a Bill of Rights is and what it aims to achieve, how a Bill of Rights has worked in other countries and some of the more popular arguments for and against having one.

Human rights violations occur all around the world whether it's the genocide of millions because of beliefs or if it’s the fact that people are left with restrictions that others are not affected by, similar to the segregation that previously existed in the United States . One violation of human rights that occurred in Australia that has caused controversy was the sterilization of disabled women in Australia. This sterilization caused an uproar because of the violation of a woman’s right to produce offspring, regardless of her mental status. This forced sterilization on the mentally disabled women of Australia became a situation in which the UN became involved because of the violation of human rights. Globally, it it considered inhumane to

The Human Rights Act 1998, under which rights are to be 'brought home' (1), incorporates the rights guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights 1950 into domestic law. It appears to raise issues in the UK concerning the separation of power, as it seems to provide the courts news powers that dispute Parliament sovereignty and the executive on a certain level. This essay is going to discuss the scope of the judiciary power through the content of HRA 98, then through the competing rights concerning privacy and press freedom and finally through the ones concerning fair trial and freedom of expression.

Currently, human rights in Australia are protected in different ways. Unlike most other similar liberal democracies, Australia has no Bill of Rights to protect human rights in one single document. Instead, some rights can be found in the Constitution, our common law and legislation which includes acts passed by the Commonwealth Parliament or State or Territory Parliaments.

Despite the international prominence of human rights laws, Australia remains the only Western democracy without either a constitutionally entrenched or legislative bill of rights. Human rights can be defined as inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms that all individuals are inherently entitled to. Although human rights are protected to an extent through domestic legislation, the common law, the doctrine of the separation of powers, the rule of law, the Australian

In relation to the Charter, my advice is that Josh’s conduct is not protected and the cancellation of his parole by the Adult Parole Board was not in breach of the Charter. Moreover, the conduct of Dianne and Cary is initially protected by the Charter however due to the limitations placed upon human rights it can be argued that Dianne and Cary’s conduct are indeed in breach. Additionally Victoria police in partner with AX6 are in breach of numerous rights set out in the Charter, which will be discussed in further detail.

Human rights are the right that any individual is entitled under their government, and it can be provided in divergent forms. Thus in Australia, there are no set of ‘Bill of Rights’, comparable to many other western countries that share similar legal values and standards. The American ‘Bill of Rights’ states that the government ensures the freedom of speech and religion, protection from torture and punishment, and the fair procedures of law . There has always been a great debate on whether Australian government should acquire a constitutional Bill of Rights. I believe that it is not necessary to obtain a Bill of Rights as it is not necessary for Australian legal system, and further, it can bring confusion, greater debate and litigations. There are other forms of human rights law introduced into Australian legal system which sets boundaries for the government to respect individual rights. Consequently, it proves the unnecessity for a Bill of Rights in Australia.

All children have the right to feel safe and be free from harm and abuse. With this in mind there are guidelines and legislation which have been put in place which relate to the safeguarding of children and young people. The Children Act of 1989 and the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child also of 1989 were significant pieces of legislation and guidelines which were introduced nearly 30 years ago. However, it is only over the last 10-15 years where there has been a significant increase in legislation and guidelines which have been introduced to recognise the rights of children as individuals, protect vulnerable children and ensure that multi-agency teams work together. Tragically a lot of these have been introduced since there were a number of high profile cases of serious child neglect leading to the tragic and horrific deaths of children.

In Australia, present laws regulating human rights are protected in unlike most similar liberal democracies; Australia has no Bill of Rights to protect human rights in a single document. Rather rights may be found across the Constitution, common law and legislation – Acts passed by the Commonwealth Parliament or State or Territory Parliaments. This allows legislatures and judiciaries a complementary role in protecting rights. This is the most fluid and flexible system but the least secure in terms of protection as these laws are becoming increasingly inadequate with community values and expectations. This method places the legislature in the dominant position because its statutes can override common law. Therefore Australia needs a bill of

Currently the Australian Constitution identifies five explicit human rights which every Australian is entitled to. Section 51 (xxxi) expresses that property can only be taken from a State or person by the Commonwealth on just terms. Section 80 details that everyone has a right to a fair trial by a jury and section 116 implies freedom of religion in that no laws are to be made in order to define or prohibit any religion (Findlaw Australia, 2016). Section 41 of the Australian Constitution gives citizens the right to vote by stating that no person should be prevented from voting for representatives in the House of the Parliament of the Commonwealth (Commonwealth Consolidated Acts, unkown). Section 117 conveys that no Australian from one State

Therefore, the inability of the family to have their detention reviewed by a court violated article 9(4). The Human Rights Committee said that domestic review of the lawfulness of detention ought to include deliberation of Australia’s obligations under the ICCPR. The Human Rights Council found an added breach of article 2(3) (the right to an effective remedy), despite this breach not being affirmed explicitly by “A”. Australia rejected the Human Rights Committee’s interpretation of the Covenant and declined to compensate the “A” family. The Human Rights Council has deemed this response from the State Party unsatisfactory.

Imagine you’ve met someone. They’re smart. They’re kind. They’re beautiful and there’s nobody you’d rather spend the rest of your life with. They make you happy. You can be yourself around them and you trust them with your life. You love this person more then anyone but you cannot marry them. You watch others and their relationships and wonder why theirs is valid and yours is not. You watch others walk down the aisle together and wonder why you can’t do the same. You watch the rest of the world progress but feel left in the dust. Held in the dust by those who think they have a say in who you can and cannot love.

Over the years there have been many changes to how we view ‘human rights’. The United Nations of Human Rights define human rights as “rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status”(OHCHR 2015). The developments in human rights have lead to the introduction of new legislations and policies which aim to protect human rights. This change can be seen in the ‘100 national constitutions which now explicitly protect human rights’ (Neyroud and Beckley 2001, p. 53). The Queensland Police Service is just one example of a service group that works to ensure that these human rights are applied to everyone. This can be seen in their organisational

In conclusion, its indispensable that the Australian citizens be engaged in the content of the Bill of Rights, thus giving Australians the opportunity of greater outcomes, ownership, associations and human rights protection. The challenge for Australians is to take ownership of our constitutional arrangement and by doing so, an enactment of a Bill of Rights would provide a starting point to respect the rights of minorities and protect basic constitutional principles, such as the independence of judiciary and the rule of law.

The bill of rights protects a community’s human rights from the abuse of the government, in Australia, government can legislate in contradiction, often without much parliamentary debate or consideration. The Australian system lacks equality before law, having no laws in place to illegalize discrimination. In 1948, the United Nations adopted the universal declaration of human rights. Since adopted, there have been many human rights conventions and treaties. Most western democratic countries have adopted a national bill of rights, other than Australia. The Human Rights Act in Britain