Opinion Pieces Archive
Commission – General
Opinion Pieces Archive
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.
Catherine Branson QC - President, Australian Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Commissioner
- Security rethink can protect refugee rights
Published in Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 18 May 2012 - Treating asylum seekers well is in all our interests
Published in The National Times, Thursday 23 June 2011 - Foundation for prosperous, peaceful nation - The Multiculturalism Debate
Published in The Australian, Saturday 19 February 2011
- The lives of far too many Australians are blighted by violence, harassment and bullying
Published in Online Opinion, Monday, 13 December 2010 - All people have a fundamental human right to seek asylum from persecution
Published in Online Opinion, Tuesday, 2 November 2010 - Why doing the ‘rights’ thing is good for business
Published in Ethical Investor magazine, Oct/Nov 2009 - Everyone needs a safety net at some point in their lives
Published in The Age, 17 June 2009 - Stand on your rights, or see them trampled
Published in The West Australian, 08 May 2009 - Take judges out of human rights process
Published in The Australian, 08 May 2009 - Preventing injustice before it can happen – Let’s bring human rights home
Published in Sydney Morning Herald, 10 December 2008 - Don Dunstan Oration - Opinion piece
Human rights: creating a society we can be proud of
Published in The Advertiser, 28 November 2008
Mr Tom Calma, Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner & Race Discrimination Commissioner
- National Congress will be more representative than all previous models
Published in ABC Unleashed, 11 January 2010 - Our future in our hands
Published in ABC Unleashed, 27 November 2009 - Indigenous health is a matter of human rights
Published in National Times, 27 October 2009
- Juvenile justice continues to focus on locking up kids rather than providing services that curb crime
Published in The Adelaide Advertiser, 30 September 2009 - Let's finally give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a voice
Published in National Times, 21 September 2009 - New solutions, new hope
Published in The Australian, 29 August 2009 - Global efforts help to combat racism are essential for local responses
Published in Human Rights E-Bulletin Vol 38, 26 May 2009 - Now might be the right moment for native title
Published in Koori Mail, 14 January 2009 - Act closed wounds but not the gap
Published in Sydney Morning Herald, 07 January 2009 - Implementing Change
Published in ABC's new Indigenous Portal, 24 October 2008 - Australia needs to declare support for Indigenous Peoples in words and actions
Published in Koori Mail, 24 September 2008 - Racial equality re-examined
Published in On Line Opinion on 24 April 2008 & Published in Lawyers Weekly on 9 May 2008 - Overcoming the native title gridlock
Published in the Australian Financial Review, 11 April 2008 - Our first commitment must be to ensure that children and women can live without fear for their safety, 12 December 2007
- Dealing with a national tragedy - failure is not an option
Published in Arena Publications, 15 August 2007 - Reinvigorating multiculturalism is not just an option, it is a necessity for a healthy, functioning democracy.
16 August 2007 - Close the gap in Indigneous and non-Indegenous health
4 April 2007 - Sick lives cut short
Published in Herald Sun, 12 December 2006 - Options for indigenous economic development
Published in The Canberra Times, 11
May 2005
John von Doussa QC - President,
Australian Human Rights Commission (2003 - 2008)
- Bill of rights is essential to best serve human rights
Published in The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 October 2008 and On Line Opinion, 15 October 2008 - The right to live free from violence
Published in On Line Opinion, 8 July 2007 - It's About Time: Women, men, work and family
9 March 2007 - No
need to abandon human rights to be tough on terror
Published in The Canberra Times, 20 September 2006 - Australia’s
human rights obligations as part of the “coalition of the willing”
Published in The Canberra Times, 21 June 2004 - Excerpt
from the 2003 Mitchell Oration, delivered by John von Doussa, QC
Published in the Adelaide Advertiser, 24 November 2003
Pru Goward, Sex Discrimination
Commissioner and Commissioner Responsible
for Age Discrimination (2001 - 2007)
- Abortion and Sex Education
Published in The Age, 21 November 2004 - Employers
and Sexual Harassment
Published in the Australian Financial Review, 8 April 2004 - Leadership
and Sexual Harassment
Published in The Canberra Times, 31 March 2004 - The
Challenges Continue
Published in the The Australian, 24 March 2004 - House
of Representatives Committee into Child Custody Arrangements
Published in the Sydney Morning Herald, 31 December 2003 - Response
to ‘Family Income Versus Parenting Time: The Crux of the Total
Fertility Rate Problem’
Published in the The Australian, 3 December 2003 - Joint
Custody
Published in the Sydney Morning Herald/ The Age, 7 August 2003 - Research
Assistance for Mothers Returning to Work
Published in The
Australian – Higher Education Supplement, 11 June 2003 - Future
Challenges
Published in Business Review Weekly, 5 March 2003
Dr Sev Ozdowski, Human Rights
Commissioner & Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner (2000 - 2005)
- Mental health problem is clear, so is the solution
Publication: The Canberra Times, Fri 21 Oct 2005. - Letter to
the The Australian from Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM - 6 April 2005
Published in The
Australian, 6 April 2005. - A
last resort? Children in Immigration Detention
Published in the Courier Mail and the Newcastle Herald, 10 June 2004 - Human
Rights and the War Against Terrorism
Unpublished, November 2003