Why Australia needs a National Human Rights Act
Australia is the only democracy without an enshrined Human Rights Act.
Bill of Rights
The environmental rule of law is fraying
To many observers who increasingly despair at the limp efforts by governments and corporations to address the climate emergency, environmental law can seem like one of the most viable strategies to meaningfully and swiftly address the crisis. Environmental law, given that it’s concerned with the protection of environmental ‘public goods’ or ‘commons’
Does an Implied Right to a Healthy Environment already exist in the Constitution?
The Right to a Healthy Environment may be implied in the Australian Constitution. I argue this position based on existing precedent regarding constitutional implications: the High Court recognises that rights may be implied in the Constitution if ‘necessary’ to protect the Constitution itself: Lange (1997)
Watching Australia’s Terror Watch List
In early March, then Minister of Home Affairs Peter Dutton signalled his intention to proscribe British Neo-Nazi group Sonnenkrieg Division (SKD), a terrorist organisation. This represented a significant, if contextually alarming, moment in Australian history.
Human Rights Should be at the Heart of Australia’s COVID Response
This sidelining of human rights makes it easier to subordinate human rights as less important than economic interests, writes Lee Carnie.
Protection Against Unemployment is a Human Right
It is clear, now more than ever, that the Federal Government’s policy approach towards unemployment benefits — as a social good and a human right — warrants public scrutiny.
Julian Burnside on injustice within Australia’s legal system
Noted barrister and human rights advocate Julian Burnside calls for a fairer legal system in his latest book, Watching Out: Reflections on Justice and Injustice.
Don Dale abuses illustrate why Australia needs a bill of rights
Parliament shouldn’t use the NT Royal Commission as a reason to sit on its hands.
New Bench Book will help bolster human rights in Victoria
The new Charter of Human Rights Bench Book aims to boost application, and understanding, of Victoria’s key human rights legislation.
A more humane Australian foreign policy
Advancing human rights protections should be a more central component of Australian foreign policy.
A Human Rights Act: What it is and why we need one in Queensland
Dan Rogers and Emma Phillips explain the reasons behind the push for a human rights Act in Queensland.