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This chapter focuses on discrimination regarding the entitlements available to veterans of the Australian Defence Forces who have a same-sex partner or children.

11.1 Refugees with adverse security assessments 11.2 Sydney Detention Centre 11.3 Findings in relation to children indefinitely detained As of August 2014 there were nine children in detention centres in Australia with parents who had received adverse security assessments from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). These children are indefinitely detained in Australia…

Many fundamental freedoms are guaranteed by international human rights law. They include the freedoms of expression, movement and choice of residence, peaceful assembly and association, and the freedom to manifest one's religion or belief.

When I commenced writing this chapter in 2008, Australia did not have a national Indigenous languages policy. However in August 2009, for the first time in Australia’s history, the Commonwealth Government launched a strategy for preserving Indigenous languages: Indigenous Languages - A National Approach 2009 (National Approach). The National Approach sets out the Commonwealth Government&…

As a place where the future leaders of the Australian Defence Force are trained, what happens at ADFA has profound significance for Defence and for our nation. It is now more than one year since the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Review made a series of recommendations to improve the treatment of women at ADFA. These wide-ranging recommendations targeted many aspects of life at ADFA as…

On 27 July 2000, the Commonwealth government and the Northern Territory Government signed an agreement for the establishment of a juvenile pre-court diversion scheme in the Northern Territory (NT). This agreement arose specifically as a response to the continued criticism of the NT’s mandatory minimum imprisonment laws and their impact on juveniles and Indigenous people. By establishing the…

This paper considers how the native title system might operate more effectively to assist traditional owner groups realise their goals for economic and social development. It relies on human rights principles to build a framework for economic and social development. This framework integrates ethical principles, such as equality and respect for Indigenous culture, with the economic and social…

There has been increased attention over the past year to the nature of the relationship between government and Indigenous peoples. There has been a lot of talk from governments about the need to change the way they interact with and provide services to Indigenous peoples and communities. This has largely occurred as a result of the significant policy focus of Indigenous peoples and governments on…

'In supporting the reunification of ATSIC and ATSIS, I support the retention of the conflict of interest directions within ATSIC by which ATSIC's elected representatives would continue to set policy priorities and to decide the broad program allocation of funding but not have any involvement in making individual funding decisions.

In 1966 the UN adopted the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which Australia ratified in 1975. Article 12(a) of ICESCR states,