News

Commission – General

President speech: The role of culture and human rights in promoting human development

[1] According to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) – or living heritage – is the mainspring of our cultural diversity and its maintenance a guarantee for continuing creativity. It is defined as follows: Intangible Cultural Heritage means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.

8 July, 2009

Disability Rights

Maguire: Telecommunications access and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2009)

Some of you ma have had an opportunity to attend one of the concerts by Leonard Cohen while he was on tour here recently. I've spoken with a number of people who attended one of his concerts, and without exception they say that they were some of the best concerts ever.

16 February, 2009

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Can the end ever justify the means?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and acting Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

18 September, 2007

Commission – General

Prevention of human rights abuses against irregular migrants: the role of National Institutions

In the age of globalisation there has been a massive increase in international migration and, as the number of international migrants has grown, so too has the problem of irregular migration. Many states have tried to stem irregular migration by introducing new border control measures and tougher criminal sanctions for people smugglers.[1] However, while effective border control is a legitimate objective of all sovereign states, state responses to the issue of irregular migration have often failed to protect the human rights of irregular migrants.[2]

24 October, 2006

Commission – General

Human rights education in a time of terrorism (2003)

In the newspapers of recent weeks we seem constantly confronted with similarly miserable and distressing events – a mortar attack on CARE Australia’s office in Baghdad; attacks on a synagogue and the British consulate in Istanbul; more suicide bombings in Israel.

5 December, 2003

Sex Discrimination

Peeling 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:

25 April, 1996

Disability Rights

Hastings: Transition

When I was discussing this event with Jenni Huon we talked about whether the theme should be "transition" or "transitions". At the time I thought it did not matter much, but as soon as I started to write this address I realised that I am going to talk about "transition". "Transitions" (plural) suggests one discrete thing after another, a beginning, middle and end before another beginning. It is a word describing things, separate events, bits of life that can be captured, have edges put round them.

5 March, 1996

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

'Still Riding for Freedom’ (2008)

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land where we are meeting tonight, the Gadigal peoples of the Eora nation. I pay my respects to your elders and to those who have come before us. And thank you to Chicka Madden for your generous welcome to country. Chicka and I spent a term together on the Board of Aboriginal Hostels.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

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I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of Cairns, the land where we meet today, and to pay my respects to their elders. I would also like to thank the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and Professor Ernest Hunter for organising this event and inviting me to open this very important conference.

Disability Rights

Copyright v Human Rights: Balancing the rights of authors and the interests of people with print disabilities

I want to tell you two stories about Greg. They cover different phases of his life, but illustrate the problems that face us as people with print disabilities.

Disability Rights

Pathways to Employment

Thanks for the opportunity to speak to this conference today. You are embarking on this topic, in my view, at just the right time. Unemployment is the lowest it has been for over a decade. Our economy is strong and needing more employees, and our population is ageing, reducing the relative size of the workforce. In coming years, there will be fewer of us to support more of us, so as many people as possible need to be working and paying taxes rather than receiving welfare benefits. What better time to introduce employees with disabilities in larger numbers.

Disability Rights

Don't Call Me 'Brave'! Breaking down images of disability

Today is International Day of People with Disabilities. It is a day for acknowledging those among us whose daily lives include the realities of a disability.

Commission – General

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Thank you Professor Lansbury, and thank you to Marian and the Women and Work Research Group for organising today’s forum. Thank you also to our panellists – Dr Lyn Craig, Petra Stirling, and John Murray.

Rights and Freedoms

Global to local: making human rights a reality in Australia today (2008)

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.