Commission – General
I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional country of the Girringun people and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Business and Human Rights
At ‘Raising the Bar: Leading Sustainable Business in 2008’ Annual National Conference of the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility
Rights and Freedoms
Let me start by saying that Australia is a culturally diverse society with 23% of Australians being born overseas. Amongst others, there is a sizeable Japanese community and, as you may hear from my accent, I myself was born in Poland.
Commission – General
Human rights are said to be universal and indivisible. This paper explores how far that universality introduces human rights principles into the functions and work of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The answer, I think, could be “further than you realise”.
Commission – General
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Commission – General
Let me preface my remarks today with the assertion that, generally speaking, Australia has a strong and proud record on human rights. The Australian Government is formally committed to supporting the universal observance of human rights both at home and abroad saying that this policy helps to achieve a more stable and just international order, which benefits the security and prosperity of everyone. In this statement, the Government links peace to the observance of human rights, a topic to which I shall return.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land we are meeting on tonight. I pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
In his introduction to the announcement of the 2020 summit the Prime Minister was succinct in his diagnosis of the challenges we face as a nation in today’s global community. He says and I quote
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I would also like to thank the Law Council of Australia and its Advisory Committee on Indigenous Legal Issues for inviting me to deliver this address, and to take part in the customary law panel discussion later today.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Just over a month ago I wrote an opinion piece on reconciliation that was published in The Australian newspaper. That article was published on the eve of Corroborree 2000 and the handing over to the people of Australia of the declaration towards reconciliation by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. In that article, I posed the following question:
Disability Rights
Thank you Attorney General, and Minister Carr, and Parliamentary Secretary Shorten, for the invitation to participate in this launch of the Premises Standards. And thank you Ms Rein for your support of this important event. And its appropriate that the launch takes place in this building- one of the few in Australia with braille on its walls. Sadly, though, Qantas wouldn't let me bring my ladder on the plane, so I still haven't been able to read what it says. However, Google tells me that some quite subversive messages were put there.
Disability Rights
Introduction Distinctive features of the DDA Definition of disability Standards Limits of standards Action plans Focus of legislation on long term and large scale change Exemptions Complaint processes Courts and the role of anti-discrimination agencies
Sex Discrimination
Thank you for the invitation to speak today. How wonderful it is to see so many men here to support something that has for too long been placed in the "women"s issues" basket, as if violence against women is our problem.
Rights and Freedoms
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. The acknowledgement also expresses our aspiration for a just and inclusive Australia for all.
Rights and Freedoms
Despite its rather grand title, this presentation will be a relatively modest attempt to set out the key challenges for human rights in Australia as I see them at the outset of my term as Human Rights Commissioner. Let us begin with a quick survey of the state of human rights internationally and in Australia today.
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