Why Australia needs a civil rights bill

By Dale Mills

"Australia is the only industrialised country without a human rights act or its equivalent. Despite being a founding member of the United Nations and a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, successive Australian governments have failed to legislate for human rights here.

"International human rights law does not translate automatically into Australian law. For example, when the UN Human Rights Committee held that the laws in Tasmania that prohibited gay sex were in breach of the right to privacy, the federal government had to pass the Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994 to give that human right legal force in Tasmania.

"After signing on to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Australia also joined 150 other countries supporting additional human rights protection, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yet successive Labor and Coalition governments have failed to ensure that the same rights can be effectively safeguarded within Australia. It’s ironic that PM John Howard supports legal human rights guarantees in Iraq, but not in Australia.

"The Australian Capital Territory has enacted its own Human Rights Act, the provisions of which include: protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief; the right to protest; the right to freedom of association and expression; and the right to a fair trial.

"The 'right' to demonstrate is written explicitly into the ACT law. The experience in Queensland under the Joh Bjelke-Petersen National Party government, where protests were outlawed, led to the Peaceful Assemblies Act in 1992. Short of those two examples, no other state or territory has an explicit right to protest.

"NewMatilda.com has launched a campaign to promote a draft human rights act, and its opening meeting at Sydney Town Hall attracted around 1000 people. (See ) ..."
Green Left Weekly

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SEDITION! - Tickets selling fast.

SEDITION! is a rally and show protesting against the new sedition laws.

Sunday 13 November, 5pm, Sydney Theatre Company, hosted by Wendy Harmer with Andrew Denton and starring Max Gillies, Gerry Connolly, Wil Anderson, Eddie Perfect, Wharf Revue (Johnathon Biggins, Phil Scott, Drew Forsythe, Genevieve Lemon), and the boys from the Chaser.

Speakers are: Tom Keneally, Chas Savage, Spencer Zifcak (New Matilda), Jose Borghino (New Matilda), Dave Madden and Jeremy Heimans (Get Up).

When: Sunday Nov 13 - 5pm
Where: Sydney Theatre Company
Price: $45
Box office: 02 9250 1980

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Tagged: progressive, civil+rights, human+rights, australia, activism, protest, fascism