16 March 2012 Baillieu Government retains Human Rights Charter After being deeply split on the future of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights, the Baillieu Government has finally decided to retain and possibly strengthen the Charter. The decision was announced on Wednesday in a statement tabled in response to the report by the Scrutiny of […]
8 March 2012 Australia’s Peak Public Health Body announces opposition to Stronger Futures Bill The Public Health Association of Australia has announced its opposition to the Federal Government’s Stronger Futures Bill. The Bill proposes to introduce compulsory income management on social security allowances and penalties for possessing alcohol in order to tackle issues related to […]
1 March 2012 Commonwealth Attorney-General moves to increase oversight of places of detention The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed Australia’s progress towards ratifying and implementing the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). The Optional Protocol aims to prevent ill treatment and promote humane conditions in places of detention by establishing a system […]
24 February 2012 ASIO accused of bullying and harassment towards members of Muslim community ASIO have been accused of using heavy-handed tactics to communicate with young Muslims from Preston Mosque. The tactics have been described as bullying and harassment and according to a Muslim leader, have created fear and disquiet among the community. It is […]
This article is part of our February theme, which focuses on one of the great silences in the human rights conversation in Australia: Prisoners’ Rights. Read our Editorial for more on this theme. What challenges do prisoners with mental or cognitive impairments face when they are released back into society? Securing suitable employment has emerged as […]
17 February 2012 Report detailing raid that killed five Afghani children is suppressed by Defence Department The Age has reported that Australia’s Defence Minister, Stephen Smith, has suppressed the report of an army inquiry into a raid that killed an Afgan man and five of his children. It is reported that the man and his […]
9 February 2012 Australian Lawyer’s Alliance warns of risk of increase in Indigenous incarceration rates The Australian Lawyers alliance has warned that high incarceration rates among Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders could get worse if the federal government pursues its plan to launch a second phase of the Northern Territory intervention. The legislation will expand […]
2 February 2012 Alarming increase in detention rates among young Indigenous people Yesterday, Greens Senator Penny Wright drew attention to the alarming increase in the number of Indigenous youth in detention. The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services 2012 showed that juvenile detention rates for Indigenous people aged between 10 and 17 years increased by […]
26 January 2012 Tent Embassy 40th Anniversary Demonstrations Australia Day this year marked the 40th Anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Tent embassy was founded on Australia Day in 1972 to protest the decision by the government to reject a proposal for Aboriginal Land rights. Today Tent embassy serves to represent the broader Indigenous Movement. […]
12 January 2012 Marlon Noble to be released from WA Prison Marlon Noble, a mentally impaired West Australian man, is to be released after spending 10 years behind bars without a trial. Mr Noble was charged with child sex assault offences but did not face trial because he was deemed to be intellectually disabled. Mr […]
5 January 2012 Record increase in number of women on company boards Australia has recently set a record for the number of women joining big company boards. The Australian Institute of Company Directors has released statistics which show that women now make up 13.5 per cent of directors of companies listed on the Australian Security Exchange, […]
24 December 2011 Robert Manne encourages self-scrutiny on asylum seeker policy The recent sinking of a fishing boat that was carrying asylum seekers to Australia from Indonesia has incited Robert Manne to assert that there is “probably no alternative to some form of offshore processing”. Manne has expressed that those on the left of politics […]