{"id":784601,"date":"2022-09-01T05:37:54","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T05:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/castancentre.com\/?p=5937"},"modified":"2022-09-01T05:37:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T05:37:54","slug":"theres-never-been-a-better-time-enhancing-the-protection-of-human-rights-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/09\/01\/theres-never-been-a-better-time-enhancing-the-protection-of-human-rights-in-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s never been a better time: Enhancing the protection of human rights in Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Professor Paula Gerber<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many factors which point to now being the right time to focus on improving human rights in Australia, including,<\/p>\n

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  1. a change of government at the federal level<\/a>, from one that was largely hostile to human rights to one that has made many commitments to enhancing respect for human rights;<\/li>\n
  2. the COVID pandemic<\/a> which saw far-reaching restrictions on human rights and stimulated greater awareness of, and debate about, human rights generally; <\/li>\n
  3. the US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/em><\/a> <\/em>overturning Roe v Wade <\/em>which has made women in Australia feel vulnerable to similar regressive steps regarding reproductive rights; <\/li>\n
  4. the frequency of floods and fires<\/a>, and the devasting impact they are having on many communities, has led to an increased interest in climate change as a human rights issue; and<\/li>\n
  5. the public\u2019s strong rejection<\/a> of politicians and political candidates attacking transgender women.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Given that the Australian landscape appears ripe for increased protection of human rights, the question becomes: What are the human rights priorities in Australia? Professor Paula Gerber and Professor Michael Mintrom discussed this with ABC host Paul Barclay, in a\u00a0recent episode of Radio National Big Ideas<\/em><\/a> they identified the following reforms of being of critical importance.<\/p>\n

    A Federal Charter of Human Rights<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Australia is an outlier when it comes to national protection of human rights, at least within the West. We are the only western democracy that does not have human rights legislation that applies to the whole country. Some Australian states and territories have decided that they are no longer going to wait for the federal government to take the lead, and have enacted their own human rights legislation. The result is that people living in the ACT, Victoria and Queensland enjoy rights protection pursuant to legislation that gives effect to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), while people in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania have no such protection. This patchwork quilt approach to human rights is unacceptable and the enactment of a federal statutory charter of human rights is long overdue. <\/p>\n

    Human Rights Education<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The absence of a national Human Rights Act<\/em>, is one of the barriers to comprehensive school based human rights education. Research<\/a> demonstrates that having a national human rights instrument, increases education and awareness raising about human rights. Currently our national curriculum mandates that students learn about the Constitution<\/em>, but in the absence of a federal Charter of Rights, they do not learn about human rights. This is in stark contrast with countries like the United States, where all students learn about the American Bill of Rights.<\/p>\n

    A key aspect of having a society that respects and protects human rights, is having a population that knows and understands human rights. This requires ensuring that children learn about human rights from an early age, so that they grow up knowing about their rights and the rights of others and understand them as an inherent part of coexisting in a harmonious and peaceful community, both locally and globally. <\/p>\n

    Respecting the rights of LGBTIQA+<\/sup> People<\/strong><\/p>\n

    There is no denying that the rights of LGBTIQA+<\/sup> people <\/strong>took a significant battering under previous coalition governments. The postal survey that preceded the attainment of marriage equality in 2017, was unnecessary, divisive and sanctioned homophobic and transphobic hate speech under the guise of \u201ccivilised debate\u201d. This was closely followed by further attacks and regression, including the defunding of the Safe Schools program and Scott Morrison\u2019s relentless (unsuccessful) efforts to pass his Religious Discrimination Bills, that were described as a sword rather than a shield, and legislation that would have given people of faith license to be bigot<\/a>s.<\/p>\n

    Repairing the harm done to LGBTIQA+<\/sup> people by this sustained persecution requires the Albanese to implement a variety of reforms including, <\/p>\n