Rights and Freedoms
Salutation Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand and by so doing remind ourselves that Australia’s cultural traditions stretch back many thousands of years.
Rights and Freedoms
I would like to thank the Victorian Healthcare Association for inviting me to speak today. I hope that the Congress has been stimulating and has provided all of you with both an understanding of the problems facing healthcare in Australia, and some sense of optimism for what can be achieved to improve the health outcomes for all Australians.
Rights and Freedoms
Forty eight years ago this Tuesday, on December 10 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration was a response to the trauma that many of the worlds nations had experienced in World War II. The trauma was especially strong among the nations of Europe, particularly because of the Holocaust, but it was also evident in East Asia, South Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific.
Commission – General
I would also like to acknowledge the Victorian Governor Professor David de Krester, and his wife Mrs Jan de Krester; Chief Justice Hon Marilyn Warren; other senior representatives of each of the three branches of the Victorian government; the many community leaders present and also the many members of the legal profession present. I feel greatly honoured to have been invited to participate today in the opening of the legal year.
Commission – General
Thank you for inviting me here today to speak about human rights in Australia. I would like to use this opportunity to focus on how human rights are protected in Australia; and how you, as human rights educators, can help students to understand these protections. I will also seek to shed some light on the role of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and some of our responses to some current human rights issues.
Commission – General
In the second century AD, Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, thanked one of his brothers for teaching him to value "the conception of the state with one law for all, based upon individual equality and freedom of speech, and of a sovereignty which prizes above all things the liberty of the subject."1
Commission – General
In just one week the nations of the world will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is an historic occasion. The last 50 years has seen significant progress in the recognition and protection of human rights, both at an international level and within the borders of sovereign states.
Business and Human Rights
Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have required very quick action by governments. But those responses have also involved significant limitations on people’s rights and freedoms, especially freedom of movement, and implemented through executive power often with limited parliamentary involvement.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I begin today by paying my respects to the Ngunnawal peoples and their elders, whose land we meet on today. I acknowledge their graciousness in sharing their lands and their culture with all those who live and visit here.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I would normally begin my speech with an acknowledgement of the traditional owners – but today I need to first express my thanks to Jackie for stepping in to give me voice.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
The title of this session on the conference program is 'The history of human rights in Australian law'. I have chosen to slightly change the topic for a number of reasons. The main reason is because Indigenous peoples' struggle for recognition of their human rights remains to a large extent unfulfilled. Consequently, it is not, and has never been, well reflected in Australian law. Second, because human rights continue to be poorly and rather patchily implemented in our legal system.
Disability Rights
I congratulate the Probation and Parole Officers' Association for their initiative in organizing this conference on Mental Health, Criminal Justice and Corrections.
Disability Rights
I also acknowledge Ministers with us here today; Ambassador Don Mackay joining us from New Zealand by video link; and many friends and colleagues from the disability and human rights community.
Disability Rights
I would like to thank ACROD for inviting me to deliver the Kenneth Jenkins Oration; both because I regard it as a privilege and because it gives me the opportunity to address a gathering of the key people in the disability field at an important time in the work of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Rights and Freedoms
Homelessness has, I'm sure, been on your agendas for many years. More recently, both Parity and the Rudd federal government (if I can put you both in the same league) has given it a much increased focus. Today, I want to identify the many human rights issues raised in the context of homelessness, and suggest how a human rights framework would help address what is an ever-increasing problem in our society.
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