The Queensland Parliament should demonstrate its commitment to women’s health and equality by passing a bill to modernise the state’s woefully outdated abortion laws the Human Right Law Centre said in a submission to a parliamentary committee today.
Read MoreLaws that protect the dignity, safety and privacy of women seeking reproductive healthcare should be upheld, the Human Rights Law Centre has argued in submissions accepted this week by the High Court.
Read MoreTen faith-based family violence services have made a public pledge to provide inclusive and non-discriminatory services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender diverse and intersex (LGBTI) people in Victoria. Anna Brown, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, welcomed the pledge and its significance.
Read MoreAustralian governments must put in place life-saving Custody Notification Services in every state and territory to address one of the most significant human rights issues in Australia – the preventable deaths in custody of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Read MoreThe Government’s new modern slavery legislation will not be effective in combating forced labour unless stronger compliance measures are implemented, the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
Read MoreThe Queensland Parliament should demonstrate its commitment to women’s health and equality by passing a bill that would update the state’s woefully outdated abortion laws.
Read MoreNew laws proposed by the Department of Home Affairs would create a massive database of photos of millions of ordinary Australians, including children, from passports, state and territory drivers’ licences and more.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre believes in a future where human rights are universally understood, upheld and protected. We secure law and policy change that eliminates inequality, abuse and injustice and builds a society grounded in decency, compassion and respect. We are currently recruiting for two people to join our diverse team who have a strong, shared commitment to creating a better, fairer Australia.
Read MoreHuman rights lawyers are calling on WA Corrective Services Minister, Francis Logan, to categorically prohibit solitary confinement for children, in the wake of a report by the Independent Inspector of Custodial Services into alleged ill-treatment at the notorious Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre.
Read MoreA new nationwide campaign “My ID, My Identity” is calling on states and territories to support trans and gender diverse people to be recognised as who they are. Currently in some states, people can only change the gender on their birth certificate if they are unmarried, if they’ve had invasive surgery on their reproductive organs and are over 18.
Read More“The Australian government’s refugee policies have been internationally condemned as putting lives at risk. Businesses, including airlines, that actively facilitate and profit from this system are complicit in abuse and risk exposing themselves to serious reputational liability.”
Read MoreYoung people, who are most likely to feel the long-term effects of today’s political decisions, should be allowed to vote from the age of 16, the Human Right Law Centre said today in a submission to the Australian Parliament’s electoral committee.
Read MoreStronger oversight and compliance measures are needed to ensure the Australian Government’s modern slavery legislation is effective in combating forced labour, the Human Rights Law Centre told a Senate Inquiry today.
Read MoreThe Queensland Coroner has found that the death of Hamid Khazaei, a 24 year old man indefinitely detained by the Australian Government on Manus Island, was “preventable” and that if he was evacuated to Australia for medical treatment sooner he would have survived.
Read MoreThis week marks the two year anniversary since the horrific images of child abuse in Don Dale youth prison were beamed across the nation, leading to the Northern Territory Royal Commission.
Read MoreEthan and his mum Sarah outside South Australian Parliament to support the passage of birth certificate reforms.
Read MoreThe Australian Government has been urged to improve its track record on women’s rights overnight by an expert UN Committee on women’s rights.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women made its criticism after a robust review earlier this month to assess Australia’s progress on ending discrimination against women.
Read MoreThe Victorian Government will today introduce chilling new laws to restrict the ability of Victorians to freely spend time together.
Read MorePeople in Queensland who have convictions for historic consensual same-sex activity can now apply to have their criminals records removed through the LGBTI Legal Service.
Read MoreThursday 19 July will mark five years of limbo and suffering for over 1650 men, women and children indefinitely imprisoned in the Turnbull Government’s refugee camps on Manus Island and Nauru.
Read MoreThe Queensland Parliament has the historic opportunity to bring its woefully outdated abortion laws into the 21st Century with the Queensland Premier today proposing welcome new laws to remove abortion from the criminal code.
Read MoreThe UN’s expert committee on discrimination against women has raised a series of concerns about the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer women and girls in Australia.
Read MoreOvernight, the UN expert on racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia delivered a major report condemning the rise of toxic and hate-filled refugee and migration politics around the world. The report makes specific reference to the cynical politics surrounding the treatment of refugees in Australia.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has today asked the High Court to review a decision by the Northern Territory Court of Appeal regarding an Aboriginal man who was charged 28 times for breaching misguided and discriminatory alcohol laws.
Read MoreIndigenous advocate, Keenan Mundine, a former youth prisoner and principal consultant of Inside Out Aboriginal Justice Consultancy, has travelled to Geneva to address the UN Human Rights Council about the Turnbull Government’s failure to stop ten year old children being sent to prison.
Read MoreThe Australian Government will face intense scrutiny of its treatment of women and girls in next week at the United Nations.
Read MoreNorthern Territory women have had 12 months of better quality healthcare since abortion laws were reformed last year, however the Northern Territory Government is yet to finish the job.
Read MoreAttorney-General Christian Porter has approved the criminal prosecution of a former Australian spy and his lawyer for their role revealing that the Australian Government had bugged the East Timorese cabinet room during sensitive negotiations about oil and gas revenue.
Read MoreFollowing the UN Human Rights Chief’s condemnation of Donald Trump’s brutality to children at the US border, the Turnbull Government’s indefinite detention of 134 refugee children has been called out at the UN Human Rights Council overnight.
Read MoreStronger oversight and compliance measures are needed to ensure the Government’s new modern slavery legislation is effective in combating forced labour, the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
Read MoreAustralian governments should respect a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body by removing abortion from criminal laws the Human Rights Law Centre told the UN Human Rights Council in a statement delivered in Geneva overnight.
Read MoreCharities and unions will largely be exempt from the foreign agent register if recommendations from a parliamentary committee’s inquiry into foreign influence are acted on.
Read MoreAustralian governments should end the routine strip searching of women in prison the Human Rights Law Centre has told the UN Human Rights Council in a statement delivered in Geneva overnight.
Read MoreThe Trump administration has announced that it will quit the UN Human Rights Council, effective immediately. Daniel Webb, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, who is in Geneva for the current session of the Human Rights Council, said the move was widely expected by advocates and diplomats and is the latest step in the United States’ retreat from human rights and multilateralism.
Read MoreFor the first time in 15 years, women attending the Surry Hill’s reproductive health clinic did so today without being harassed, intimidated or filmed.
Read MoreThe Australian Government has an opportunity to play a critical role in addressing the violence and discrimination lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people face across the globe, the Human Rights Law Centre told the UN Human Rights Council today.
Read MoreThe Turnbull Government’s second session as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN body responsible for protecting the rights and dignity of people all over the world, will begin in Geneva tomorrow.
Read MoreThe Queensland Government’s budget, which was handed down this week, features $2.3 million of funding over four years for the state’s Anti-Discrimination Commission to help it administer the Human Rights Act that the Government will soon be introducing.
Read MoreTransgender people in Queensland will have the dignity of living their true lives, following a significant birth certificate reform passed by the State Parliament tonight.
Read MoreWomen in NSW will no longer be forced to run a gauntlet of abuse and harassment just to see their doctor after the NSW Parliament today passed a bill to create safe access zones around abortion clinics.
Read MoreAustralia has a new espionage and secrecy regime, after the Parliament voted to pass the Turnbull Government’s proposals on Thursday evening. Over the last six months, civil society and lawyers’ groups, including the Human Rights Law Centre, raised serious concerns over impacts on freedom of expression.
Read MoreNew criminal offences will make it easier to charge and prosecute prejudice motivated threats or incitement of violence, under new laws tabled by New South Wales Parliament this week.
Read MoreTransgender people in New South Wales will now be able to stay married to the person they love when they change the gender on their birth certificate, with the Berejiklian Government passing new laws today.
Read MoreA legal defence that discriminates against gay and bisexual men may soon be repealed after South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman expressed support for the removal of the so-called ‘gay panic defence’.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory Supreme Court has today held that the now repealed Alcohol Protection Order (APO) regime was valid and not in breach of the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is deeply committed to the realisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ human rights in Australia, as a vital component of our broader mission to protect and promote human rights in Australia and in Australian activities overseas.
Read MoreNew laws proposed by the Department of Home Affairs would authorise the creation of a “dragnet database”, compiling images of innocent Australians – including children – from their drivers’ licences, identification cards and passport photos.
Read MoreLaws that protect the dignity, safety and privacy of women seeking reproductive healthcare should be upheld the Human Rights Law Centre has argued in a submission to the High Court today.
Read MoreThe importance of a woman's right to safely and privately access reproductive health services has been recognised by the NSW Legislative Council with the passing of a bill that would guarantee safe access zones around abortion clinics.
Read MoreTransgender Victorians will now be able to stay married to the person they love when they change the gender on their birth certificate with the Andrews Government passing new laws overnight. A similar bill is being introduced in the NSW parliament today.
Read MoreHe has been denied his liberty, denied his personal security and denied his most fundamental of human rights. But he has defiantly refused to be denied his voice. We were honoured to have Behrouz Boochani deliver our Sydney Human Rights Dinner keynote address from Manus Island.
Read MoreThe Australian Government has the opportunity to ensure all Australians are treated with fairness and equality with the findings of the Religious Freedom Review presented to the Prime Minister today.
Read MoreThe Ian Potter Foundation has announced Ruth Barson, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, a recipient of their annual international study grant.
Read MoreThe Australian Government has told yet another group of up to 90 refugees and people seeking asylum that they will be evicted from their homes and will be cut off from all income support.
Read MoreThe safety, wellbeing and dignity of women seeking reproductive health services is a step closer to being protected in New South Wales through a bill that would guarantee safe access zones around abortion clinics.
Read MoreThe need for fair pay for work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has finally been acknowledged by the Federal Government but Budget measures outlined for its remote work for the dole scheme fall well-short of realising this in practice.
Read MoreChildren in the Northern Territory will be better protected from Don Dale-like abuse behind bars with the Gunner Government today passing landmark laws that will prohibit harm to children. The laws will solidify key recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory Government will today deliver a formal state apology to people convicted under historic laws against homosexual acts. Chief Minister Michael Gunner will issue the apology.
Read MoreThe growing threat to press freedom posed by laws that fail to properly protect journalists and their sources has been highlighted by a new report by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
Read MoreAfter a week of intense negotiations, the Western Australian Government has avoided urgent Supreme Court action by allowing a newborn Aboriginal baby to remain with her mother.
Read MoreOn the eve of the fifth anniversary of the tragic Rana Plaza factory collapse, twelve prominent Australian organisations have united to call on Australian brands that are lagging behind the rest of the industry to sign the 2018 Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord, developed in the wake of the building collapse that claimed the lives of more than 1100 workers in Bangladesh on 24 April 2013.
Read MoreAs of today, Australia has adoption equality.
All adult couples have an equal right to adopt children, after the adoption equality bill which passed a month ago in the Northern Territory finally became law today.
Read MoreStatistics released this week reveal the Gunner Government is sending more men and women to prison than ever before – a direct result of Chief Minister Gunner’s failure to repeal mandatory sentencing laws.
Read MoreA report released by the Independent Inspector of Custodial Services has detailed horrific conditions and treatment in Western Australia’s only youth jail, Banksia Hill. The Inspector has called on the McGowan Government to take urgent action.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed a Parliamentary Committee report which recognises major problems in the Turnbull Government’s foreign donations bill as it applies to third parties (individuals and organisations that do not stand for office).
Read MoreFrom today, the Tasmanian Parliament will provide a way for people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts to have these charges removed from their criminal records.
Read MoreAn avalanche of news stories from people who have experienced excessive force, racist policing or other police misconduct, and tried unsuccessfully to make complaints, provide a shocking glimpse into the failings of Victoria's police complaints system.
Read MoreAustralian governments must work together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations to address one of the most significant human rights issues in Australia – the over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Read MoreThe Australian Government has joined 44 other nations in delivering a scathing statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council overnight on the rapid deterioration of Cambodia’s human rights situation, expressing "deep concern about the recent serious decline of civil and political rights in Cambodia".
Read MoreToday the Northern Territory Attorney-General, Natasha Fyles, introduced a bill to allow people charged under unjust laws against homosexual acts to remove the convictions from their criminal records.
Read MoreIn a submission to the Queensland Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into abortion laws, the Human Rights Law Centre has called for the decriminalisation of abortion and for new laws that respect women’s right to choose what happens to their bodies.
Read MoreProposed amendments to the Turnbull Government’s secrecy laws are a step in the right direction but don’t go far enough, the Human Rights Law Centre told a parliamentary committee this morning.
Read MoreIn a statement delivered in the United Nations overnight, the Human Rights Law Centre has called on the UN Human Rights Council to hold the Turnbull Government accountable for the continued suffering of 1800 refugees still languishing on Manus and Nauru after almost five years.
Read MoreAs the United Nations debates Eritrea’s troubled human rights record, an Australian mining company has taken the extraordinary step of appearing with the Eritrean regime to help it defend its actions.
Read MoreNew adoption equality laws allowing same-sex couples to adopt children passed the Northern Territory parliament. Until today, the NT was the only remaining Australian state or territory that prevented same-sex and unmarried couples from adopting children. Previously, couples were required to be married for two years before they could adopt.
Read More"Time and time again we see our Government getting all mealy-mouthed about global humanitarian emergencies when the country in question has some connection with its own refugee policies" - Our Daniel Webb reports from last night's important session of the UN Human Rights Council focusing on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.
Read MoreIn a statement to the United Nations, Human Rights Law Centre has called on the Turnbull Government to hold companies to account for human rights violations overseas.
Read MoreOvernight the Australian Government delivered a major 'incoming members pledge' to the UN Human Rights Council, promising to approach it’s three year term on the Council "in a spirit of self-reflection with a view to improving our own human rights situation" and to "make progress in the promotion, protection and realisation of human rights", "including through implementation of [UN] recommendations and resolutions."
Read MoreA damning Victorian Parliamentary report into youth justice released yesterday shows the Andrews Government is harming children in its care by forcing them into solitary confinement.Ruth Barson, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said that starving a child of human contact is one of the most damaging things we can do and the Government should prohibit it outright.
Read MoreToday the Queensland Government introduced a bill that will allow people to stay married to the person they love when they change the gender marker on their birth certificate, removing an unnecessary and unfair hurdle preventing trans people from living their true lives.
Read MoreIn response to serious concerns about the harshness and breadth of the Government’s proposed secrecy laws, the Commonwealth Attorney-General, Christian Porter, has unveiled amendments to improve the protections available to journalists who publish potentially sensitive government information.
Read MoreThe Turnbull Government is trying to pass laws that will lock charities and community groups out of public policy debates. We need your help to push back.
Read More
One day after the Northern Territory Government gave an in principle promise to raise the age of criminal responsibility, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has released data painting a diabolical picture of punitive and out-of-date youth justice systems across Australia.
Read MoreThe Turnbull Government’s anti-democratic slide has been criticised at the United Nations Human Rights Council overnight, with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders delivering a major report on Australian democracy.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory today became the first government to commit to raising the age at which children can be charged and sent to prison.
Read MoreThe Turnbull Government will tonight begin Australia’s first ever session as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN body responsible for protecting the rights and dignity of people all over the world.
Read MoreOutdated laws allowing religious organisations to discriminate against single mothers, pregnant women or LGBTI people should be repealed, the Human Rights Law Centre today told the Religious Freedom Review’s Expert Panel.
Read MoreThe closure of the NT's notorious Don Dale youth prison couldn’t come soon enough, but the Turnbull Government needs to help fund the creation of safe, home-like facilities built for children to replace it.
Read More"Last year Australians voted for equality and fairness, not new forms of discrimination. There is no price to be paid for equality, we reject outright that religious freedom is now under threat simply because two people who love each other can marry," said Anna Brown.
Read MoreQueenslanders are one step closer to having their human rights protected in law, following confirmation from the Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath that the Queensland Government is moving ahead with establishing a Human Rights Act.
Read MoreAfter nearly five years of fear, violence and limbo, 22 refugees yesterday left Nauru to fly to safety in the United States as part of the US refugee resettlement deal. However, over 1800 people - including 150 children - are still languishing in desperate and dangerous conditions across Manus and Nauru.
Read MoreThe Federal Government has completely failed to lead in its response to the Northern Territory Royal Commission’s report on how to fix failing youth justice and child protection systems.Shahleena Musk, a Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the Federal Government was trying to wash its hands of responsibility at the very time it needed to show leadership to fix broken youth justice systems across Australia.
Read MoreAustralian Governments must prohibit the solitary confinement of children in detention and closely regulate practices that can result in the forced isolation or segregation of a child. So what is solitary confinement?
Read MoreToday the International Commission of Jurists, Victoria announced Daniel Webb, Director of Legal Advocacy with the Human Rights Law Centre, as the winner of the 2018 John Gibson Award for his work defending the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory Government has an historic opportunity to overhaul outdated discrimination laws so that all Territorians are equally respected for who they are, said the Human Rights Law Centre in its submission to the NT Department of Justice review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 2015 (NT).
Read MoreThe Australian Government’s proposed legislation to overhaul Australia’s secrecy laws is excessive and poorly designed, the Human Rights Law Centre has told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
Read More“Charities have enormous expertise to contribute to public debates. Whether it’s running a homeless shelter or a community health service – charities are uniquely placed to understand how government policies impact on the people and communities they serve. The Government should be encouraging charities to participate in public discussions, not making it harder for them,” said Hugh de Kretser.
Read MoreAfter nearly five years of fear and violence on Manus Island approximately 40 men are today flying to safety to the United States as part of the US resettlement deal. For the people left behind, in the Australian Government’s offshore detention centres, hope is running out.
Read MoreWe currently have two roles available in the Human Rights Law Centre's (HRLC) Asylum Seeker and Refugee Rights Unit.
Read MoreThe Australian Government has ratified an important UN torture prevention treaty. The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) is a mechanism established to prevent cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in places of detention.
Read MoreCivil Voices, an initiative by Pro Bono Australia in partnership with the Human Rights Law Centre, has found Australian not-for-profit organisations are treading carefully in their advocacy work. This trend threatens to silence a sector that has much to contribute to Australian public debate and policy making.
Read MoreIn the lead up to Human Rights Day, we're delighted to launch the Human Rights Law Centre’s Annual Report for 2017. This report outlines the concrete steps we have taken towards realising our vision of an Australia where the human rights that belong to every single one of us are universally upheld, promoted and enforced.
Read MoreOvernight, a UN committee of independent human rights experts told Australia to end the indefinite limbo of the 2000 men, women and children being warehoused on Manus Island and Nauru by evacuating them to safety in Australia.
Read MoreThe tide of condemnation against Australia’s human rights record is rising, with the United Nations expert panel on racial discrimination, criticising Australia’s failure to combat racism in a report released overnight.
Read MoreThis is a historic day for the LGBTI community. A day where we saw equality, fairness and love win. A day when LGBTI couples in Australia were finally treated with the same dignity and respect when it comes to who they love.
Read MoreWomen in Victorian prisons are being regularly and routinely subjected to degrading strip-searches and the Government should end the practice. Speaking at the launch of a new report, the HRLC's Ruth Barson said being forced to remove every last item of clothing again and again, strips women of dignity and of hope.
Read MoreFour and a half years is a long time. I think about all the things that have happened in my life in four and a half years. I think about all of the things that have happened in the world in four and half years. And then I think about the innocent men on Manus, and the children and the families on Nauru.
Read MoreCharities in Australia will be silenced from speaking publicly on issues in an election, under law reforms announced by the Australian Government. The Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the Special Minister of State today outlined plans to ban international donations to charities that engage publicly in election issues.
Read MoreAcross Australia, hundreds of primary school aged children are being arrested, hauled before the courts and locked away in concrete cells the size of a car parking space. Out of sight, out of mind. Will you stand with us to fix our broken youth justice systems?
Read MoreThere was a fleeting moment of hope and compassion for refugees stranded on Manus Island for the last four and a half years today when the Australian Parliament voted to support their safe resettlement in New Zealand, only for the Government to then block the motion by orchestrating a re-vote.
Read MoreThe Victorian Ombudsman has released a critical report highlighting ‘humiliating, degrading and undignified’ strip search practices in a Victorian women’s prison. The report shows Victoria is breaching human rights standards by subjecting women to routine strip searches, extended solitary confinement and excessive use of restraints.
Read MoreIn a landmark decision today the Full Court of the Family Court has ruled that young people who experience gender dysphoria and wish to undergo hormone treatment may now be able to do so without the approval of the Family Court.
Read MoreToday the Senate passed the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill. The Bill, to amend the Marriage Act, passed 43-12 following days of debate.
Read MoreOvernight UN experts slammed the Australian Government’s ongoing cruel and inhumane treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum.
Read MoreThe UN expert committee on racial discrimination has demanded to know why Australia is out of step with the rest of the world in criminalising primary school aged children. All Australian states and territories currently have laws that allow children as young as ten years to be charged, brought before the courts, sentenced and imprisoned.
Read MoreThe UN expert committee on racial discrimination issued a please explain to the Australian Government overnight, asking how it will eliminate racial discrimination in the remote ‘work for the dole’ program imposed on remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Read MoreAustralian companies need to be held to account for human rights abuses they commit overseas, but Australia’s complaints system is woefully inadequate and in desperate need of reform.
Read MoreA message from Daniel Webb, Director of Legal Advocacy of the Human Rights Law Centre to our supporters.
Last week I was in Ottawa, Canada, to receive the inaugural Global Pluralism Award for the Human Rights Law Centre’s work defending the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum. The award recognises the impact we have achieved so far, but it also recognises the gravity of the injustice we must continue to fight against.
Read MoreThis morning PNG armed forces have again stormed the Manus Island regional processing centre. Reports say they are beating the men and forcing them to leave. This follows yesterday’s actions where approximately 50 of the 400 men were forced to move to accommodation that two days earlier the UN had found was unsafe and unready.
Read MoreThe Australian Government is bracing for another round of intense scrutiny at the United Nations – this time focusing on its efforts to combat racial discrimination.
Read MoreFollowing Universal Children’s Day, doctors, lawyers, health and human rights experts from across Australia are calling for the age when children can be held criminally liable to be raised to at least 14 years so that primary school aged children are not entangled in the criminal justice system.
Read MoreToday governments across Australia were handed a comprehensive roadmap to fix our broken youth justice systems and stop the abuse of children in youth jails. Shahleena Musk, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, welcomed the Royal Commission’s recommendations and said now is the time for decisive action.
Read MoreAustralians have overwhelmingly voted Yes to the question of whether LGBTI Australians can marry the person they love. 61.6% of people who voted in the marriage equality postal survey voted Yes. 133 out of 150 electorates voted Yes.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has been working with the Equality Campaign and LGBTI community organisations to campaign for a Yes vote in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. There are currently two private member’s bills set to be tabled if there’s a Yes result on 15 November 2017. Find out what they mean.
(Photo credit: Roman Clarke)
Read More“If there is a Yes result on Wednesday, Australians will have voted for true equality for all Australians – not an unfettered right to discriminate for people who voted No,” said Ms Brown.
Read More“The Royal Commission laid bare the devastating cost of removing children from their families and locking them away behind bars. Prisons fail children," said Shahleena Musk.
Read MoreOvernight the United Nations Human Rights Committee called on the Australian Government to improve its track record on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) rights across the country.
Read MoreAustralia was condemned overnight by a UN Human Rights Committee for its human rights record on a range of issues including refugees, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ rights, youth justice and democratic freedoms.
Read MoreThis year, the annual Sydney Peace Prize awarded the honour to Black Lives Matter, the first time the award has been given to a movement, rather than an individual. While in Australia to accept the award, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, Patrisse Cullors and Canadian chapter leader Rodney Diverlus met with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and advocates. Senior Lawyer, Shahleena Musk, was part of a number of a number of those meetings, and helped coordinate a people of colour organising exchange.
Read MoreToday the Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan will deliver a formal state apology to people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts.
Read MoreThe UN’s top expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has included criticism of the Australian Government in a scathing global report condemning deterrence-based responses to people seeking asylum.
Read MoreOvernight PNG police issued an ominous media statement warning that the safety of refugees on Manus is “not to be taken for granted given the tension that is now being expressed by the locals on Manus Island.” Peter Dutton and Malcolm Turnbull can't just sit back and wait for further bloodshed. Every single man on Manus must be immediately evacuated to safety in Australia.
Photo credit: Matthew Abbott
Human Rights Watch (HRW) visited Manus in September this year, and spoke to dozens of men about their fears, including those who have been “stabbed, beaten, and robbed” when they’ve left the guarded centre. The latest report from HRW lays bare the fear, cruelty and danger the refugees and people seeking asylum face on Manus Island.
Photo credit: Matthew Abbott
Read MoreThe Department of Immigration revealed in Senate Estimates today that Australian engineering firm Canstruct was the only firm approached to tender for the contract to run Australia’s immigration detention centre on Nauru.
The UN Human Rights Committee has taken aim at the Australian Government’s treatment of sexual minorities. The comments came in the same week Australia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council. Anna Brown, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said Australia should be concerned about its international legitimacy so soon after its appointment to the UN Human Rights Council.
Read MoreA threatening notice posted inside the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (RPC) today has warned refugees detained there for the last four and a half years that from the 31 October, all food, water and electricity will be disconnected, the fences will come down and the facility will be handed over to the PNG Defence Forces.
Read MoreThe Australian Government was again grilled last night at the United Nations in Geneva with the Human Rights Committee taking aim at the failure to scrap the cruel fines laws that resulted in Ms Dhu’s tragic death in custody.
Read MoreJust one day after condemning the Australian Government’s “chronic non-compliance” with international human rights laws, in a further hearing overnight the expert Committee honed in on the Government’s cruelty to refugees and in particular its offshore detention regime. The Human Rights Committee described the policies as “shocking” and “disturbing”.
Read MoreAustralian engineering firm Canstruct will be complicit in serious human rights abuses if it takes over the contract to run the Australia’s immigration detention centre on Nauru. A leaked memo from Canstruct’s CEO overnight, shows the company will take over the contract to run the Nauru centre by the end of the month, and will be paid $8 million by the Australian Government.
Read MoreOvernight Australia was slammed by the UN Human Rights Committee for its “chronic non-compliance” with, and disengagement from, that Committee’s work. Australia’s record on human rights was found lacking as part of the Committee’s review into Australia’s protection of civil and political rights.
Read MoreThe Federal Government’s Welfare Reform Bill contains stigmatising and needlessly punishing measures, whilst giving too much power over the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities to an unelected bureaucrat.
Read MoreThe High Court of Australia has ruled that key provisions of Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest legislation are invalid because they violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution.The Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser, said the decision was a big win for democracy in Australia.
Read MoreForeign Minister Julie Bishop has come under strong criticism from members of an advisory group that the Minister established just this year. Members of the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group on the Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were disappointed that their recommendations have been dismissed outright by the Foreign Minister.
Read MoreMedia Alert: At 10:15am Wednesday 18 October the High Court of Australia will hand down its decision in a landmark case which argued that Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest laws violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution.
Read MoreHot on the heels of its appointment to the UN Human Rights Council, the Australian Government faced a grilling from UN experts about its own human rights performance. Our lawyers were in Geneva to help brief the Committee and present a report endorsed by 56 Australian organisations highlighting how Australia was failing to meet the standards it promised to uphold.
Read MoreDuring the same week that Australia is expected to be granted a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, an expert UN committee will grill the Australian Government over its own human rights record.
Read More“This is the most significant UN position Australia has sought since the Security Council. Relatively speaking Australia is likely to be a positive force for reform on the Council, but if it wants to have the credibility required to be a true human rights leader it can't continue to blatantly breach international law itself. There's no doubt that it's cruel treatment of refugees will hamstring Australia's efforts on Council," said Emily Howie.
Read MoreWe welcome the Queensland Government’s important step to help people whose love was criminalised by unjust laws. It’s not only a symbolic win, it will also remove practical barriers imposed by these unfair convictions.
Read More"After four years of fear, violence, suffering and death, these men deserve safety. Shunting them from one island prison to another doesn’t cut it,” said Daniel Webb.
Read MoreA message from Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre to our supporters.
I am delighted to announce that the Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, has won an inaugural Global Pluralism Award – awarded by the Canadian-based Global Centre for Pluralism.
Read MoreThe Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada and chair of the Award jury, has announced Daniel Webb, Director of Legal Advocacy with the Human Rights Law Centre as a winner of the inaugural Global Pluralism Award for his work highlighting and promoting the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum.
Read MoreAnother refugee held by the Australian Government on Manus Island has been found dead. He was one of over 900 men who came to Australia seeking safety but have been held on Manus for four years. His is the ninth death in the Australian run offshore detention centres and the second on Manus Island in just two months.
Read More“With the postal vote survey proceeding right now, we have no choice but to campaign hard for a strong ‘yes’ vote. Vote ‘yes’ for dignity, vote ‘yes’ for love. It’s time to move forward, Australians are ready for marriage equality," said Anna Brown.
Read MoreUnited States authorities have today confirmed that 25 refugees detained by the Australian Government on Manus Island for the last four years have left for the US but refused to confirm when — or how many — others will follow.
Over 2000 people remain warehoused on Manus and Nauru, 1783 of whom have already been assessed to be refugees. Among these 2000 innocent people are 169 children.
Read MoreIn a joint statement to the UN Human Rights Council, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT and Human Rights Law Centre urged the Australian Government to abandon its racially discriminatory ‘Community Development Program’ and replace it with an Aboriginal-led model.
Read MoreAfter four years of fear and violence, a small handful of people finally received some good news. But this doesn't close the dark chapter in our history — not until every single man, woman and child tormented on Nauru and Manus Island is safe.
Read MoreThe postal survey on marriage equality is now underway. New laws have been put in place to try to ensure respectful debate. Here's what you need to know about how they impact you.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must ensure transparency of its intelligence sharing with other countries to safeguard Australian citizen’s private information, a coalition of privacy and human rights organisations said with the launch of a new campaign.
Read MoreAdrianne Walters, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said that state and territory criminal justice systems are out of balance and that governments around Australia have a responsibility to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities to stem the number of people being sent to prison.
Read More“One of the things that makes our democracy great is having an informed public debate with a range of voices. Charities working for public benefit are and should be a key voice in these debates. The Government should be safeguarding their free speech, not stifling it,” said Emily Howie.
Read MoreThe United Nations has been asked to urgently intervene to halt the Australian Government’s moves to make refugees and people seeking asylum destitute as a means of coercing them to return to danger and harm on Nauru or Manus Island.
Read More“It’s time to bring some compassion, common sense and basic human decency back to the way we treat people seeking asylum. Premier Andrews has shown it. Now it’s time for other leaders to do the same,” said Daniel Webb.
Read MoreAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities are being denied basic rights and fair payment for work as a result of a racially discriminatory Federal Government program. That was the message the Human Rights Law Centre had for the Senate Committee examining the appropriateness and effectiveness of the Government’s remote work for the dole program.
Read More"With the postal vote survey now proceeding, we have no choice but to campaign hard for a strong yes vote. Australians are ready for marriage equality and the survey is an opportunity for all Australians to vote for their friends and family and our national values of fairness and equality."
Read More“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people should be able to marry the person they love. The postal plebiscite is unnecessary and is already proving divisive and harmful. LGBTI groups strongly oppose the plebiscite and so do we,” said Anna Brown.
Read More“The Government has not pointed to any evidence that these measures will help people recover from drug or alcohol addiction or get them into work. Rather, they will aggravate economic disadvantage, and perpetuate wrongful stereotypes about people who turn to Australia’s social safety net in times of need,” said Adrianne Walters.
Read MoreWe have two exciting opportunities to join the Human Rights Law Centre team in Sydney to focus on our work defending democratic freedoms - we're looking to hire a Director of Legal Advocacy and Lawyer.
Read More“These are babies who’ve taken their first steps and spoken their first words in Australia. Kids going to Australian schools. Families who have been part of our community for years. And now, out of the blue, they’ll be effectively thrown out on the streets in a cruel attempt to force them back to harm,” said Hugh de Kretser.
Read MoreMEDIA ALERT - PRESS CONFERENCE
Who: Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director, Human Rights Law Centre - who represent most of the affected people, Amy Frew, Lawyer, Human Rights Law Centre, Natasha Blucher, Detention Advocacy Manager, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Date: Sunday 27 August 2017
Time: 11:00AM (AEST)
Location: HRLC, Level 17, 461 Bourke St, Melbourne
"The people in the Manus detention centre are tired from this kind of political games. We just want freedom and a chance to rebuild our lives," said Behrouz Boochani.
Read MoreAll Australians should have the same opportunities for love, commitment and happiness. All Australians should be able to marry the person they love. This is why we're challenging the unnecessary postal plebiscite.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today welcomed the repeal of Northern Territory alcohol laws that unfairly and disproportionately impact Aboriginal people, but urged the Government to follow through on its promise to remove draconian paperless arrest laws.
Read More“I've met kids in Cambodia who had been compelled to work 14-hour days on plantations in blistering heat to supply produce that ends up on Western supermarket shelves. We clearly need a better system of regulation here to ensure that Australian companies are not turning a blind eye to these sorts of practices,” said Keren Adams.
Read MoreAnna Brown, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, which is representing Australian Marriage Equality and Senator Janet Rice, said the urgent challenge was necessary to test the constitutional validity of the postal plebiscite on marriage equality.
Read More“All Australians should have the same opportunities for love, commitment and happiness. Australians don’t want more excuses or delaying tactics – we want marriage equality,” said Anna Brown
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre will be part of a High Court challenge to the Australian Government’s divisive and unnecessary postal plebiscite. Here's why.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has today filed a legal action against the Australian Government on behalf of Australian Marriage Equality and Senator Janet Rice. The action challenges the constitutional validity of the postal plebiscite on marriage equality.
Read MoreThe Federal Government’s Welfare Reform Bill contains unfair and needlessly punishing measures, while giving too much power over the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities to an unelected bureaucrat, the Human Rights Law Centre has told a Senate inquiry.
Read MoreAnother man held by the Australian Government on Manus Island has been found dead. It is reported that the refugee’s body was found in dense jungle on the island. He was one of over 900 men who came to Australia seeking safety but have been held on Manus for four years.
Read MoreAnna Brown, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, has today publicly released a joint opinion from top constitutional experts confirming that the Government spending money for a postal plebiscite without passing legislation would be unconstitutional.
Read MoreA renewed push to legislate for marriage equality is on. “This brings hope to the many lesbian and gay Australians and their families, friends and colleagues, who just want to be treated equally under Australian law and marry the person they love,” said Anna Brown.
Read MoreThe African Commission on Human and People's Rights has urged the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to re-open the criminal investigation into the role an Australian company, Anvil Mining, played in a massacre of 70 people in 2004.
Read More“I just cried as I was reading the transcripts of the most two powerful leaders in this world. Their words made me feel like I am just a product to them and I can be traded for anything.”
“I am just a human being and there is no need to play with my life. All I want is to respect and love others and be loved and respected in return. All I need is a sense of belonging to a safe country so that I can live a life that every human deserves.” - Imran Mohammad, a refugee held on Manus Island for almost four years.
Read MoreThe Australian Government should create an environment that encourages all not-for-profit groups to speak freely and contribute to public debate the Human Rights Law Centre today told the Department of the Treasury which is conducting an inquiry into potential reforms to the Deductible Gift Recipient tax arrangements.
Read More“Turnbull was clearly more concerned with appearances than reality - totally preoccupied with maintaining the facade of the deal irrespective of whether or not anyone will actually find safety under it.”
Read More“It’s been three years since the cruel death of Ms Dhu in police custody. Three years for the WA Government to right clear wrongs. Ms Dhu should never have been taken into custody in the first place," said Adrianne Walters.
Read MoreAustralia should introduce strong laws to tackle modern slavery in the global supply chains of Australian businesses, the Human Rights Law Centre today told a parliamentary inquiry hearing.
Read MoreToday in South Australia, landmark reforms came into effect which allow for same-sex couples married overseas to have the legal certainty and dignity of recognition under state laws.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today said it welcomes community discussion about a national Human Rights Charter following the announcement that the Australian Greens will ask the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to help identify the best model for a national Charter.
Read More“We are seeing a chain of attacks against refugees. The local police can’t protect us. We are being forced to live in constant fear,” said Behrouz Boochani.
Read More“Although Australia has, in many ways, a strong democracy, secrecy has noticeably increased across government. Australia’s commitment to the Open Government Forum is a step towards addressing some of the transparency issues that hold us back,” said Emily Howie.
Read More"The NT Government should be urgently finding ways to reduce Aboriginal peoples’ contact with the criminal justice system,” said Senior Lawyer Shahleena Musk.
Read MoreAustralia’s key complaints body for corporate human rights abuses is failing and in need of a major overhaul, the Human Rights Law Centre has told an independent review.
Read MoreToday the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, revealed that the Australian Government misled the UN while seeking its support for the controversial US refugee resettlement deal.
Read More“All the men on Manus and the families and children on Nauru want – all they have ever wanted – is a life in safety and freedom. They’ve had four years of their life taken from them. They deserve a future.” says Daniel Webb.
Read MoreMore examples of the serious mistreatment and harm to children in Australian youth detention centres have been detailed in damning reports from Western Australia’s independent Inspector of Custodial Services and Queensland’s Youth Detention Inspectorate.
Read MoreNews that US officials interviewing refugees on Nauru have walked out two weeks before their scheduled departure time has cast more doubt on the future of the US resettlement deal.
Read MoreBehrouz Boochani, a refugee currently held on Manus Island said, "All the men here have families, and four years with no certainty for their future is already too much."
Read MoreResponding to reports that France has withdrawn its candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council – meaning Australia and Spain can be elected to the world’s peak human rights body unopposed – Emily Howie, a Director of Legal Advocacy at the HRLC, said Australia has work to do in order to fulfill the duties of a Council member.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory Government has been ineffective in its response to child offending and is failing to make communities safer, the Human Rights Law Centre told the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must evacuate every man, woman and child currently warehoused on Manus and Nauru and bring them to safety in Australia, the United Nations said overnight.
Read MoreAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to be denied basic rights the United Nations reported overnight.
Read MoreI met Bon and his partner of 50 years, Peter de Waal in 2014 when I worked closely with the NSW LGBTI Parliamentary Working Group to pass legislation to erase historical homosexual convictions.
Recently, Bon was diagnosed with terminal cancer and it was his dying wish to have his record cleared. This year we made that happen.
Read MoreAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities are being denied basic rights, equal treatment and fair payment for work, as a result of Federal Government policy, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency and the Human Rights Law Centre told a Senate inquiry.
Read MoreAddressing the UN earlier this week in a statement to the Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Law Centre called on all UN member states to cooperate with the first United Nations independent expert tasked with combating the unacceptable violence and discrimination faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people around the world.
Read MoreImran Mohammad is a Rohingyan refugee whom our Government has detained for the last four years on Manus Island in PNG. “I have never experienced safety since I was born.” With your support, we have travelled to Manus three times to expose conditions inside the detention centre and to bring the voices of the men trapped inside to the world.
Read MoreAs the Australian Government campaigns for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families are being torn apart by punitive laws and a lack of investment in community-based prevention programs, the UN heard overnight.
Read MoreCommunity leaders and human rights groups appeared before a parliamentary hearing today to support legislation to erase the criminal records of people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts and call for important improvements to be made.
Read MoreThe Australian government must immediately evacuate every person warehoused on Nauru and Manus to safety if it wants to be taken seriously as a human rights leader, the Human Rights Law Centre told the United Nations Human Rights Council in a statement delivered overnight.
Read MoreHugh de Kretser, Executive Director with the Human Rights Law Centre told the Parliamentary Inquiry into Youth Justice Centres in Victoria that the Victorian Government has an opportunity to rebuild a safe, humane, age-appropriate youth justice system.
Read MoreDemocracy thrives when public policy and debates are informed by a range of voices. Community organisations have enormous expertise to contribute, drawn from the work they do, whether it’s running a homeless shelter or protecting the environment.
You can help safeguard our vital democratic foundations by making a tax deductible donation to our appeal today.
Read MoreThe Australian Government today confirmed it would pay $70 million to almost 2000 men, many of whom it has warehoused on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea for nearly 4 years.
Read MoreWe’re in the midst of a democratic and human rights recession both here and overseas.
Your support is needed to push back. More than just stopping the erosion of our rights, together we can advance the protection of human rights in Australia and create real and long-lasting change.
Today we’re launching our End of Financial Year Appeal.
Read MoreToday the Human Rights Law Centre will appear before the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Human Rights Sub-Committee to give evidence for the inquiry into the status of the human right to freedom of religion or belief.
Read MoreAustralian governments must act now to safeguard and encourage vibrant debate on matters of public interest, 15 non-government organisations have said in a new Human Rights Law Centre report to be launched by Gillian Triggs at the Progress conference in Melbourne.
Read MoreThe Queensland Government should demonstrate a commitment to women’s health and refer abortion to the state’s Law Reform Commission, a coalition of legal, medical and community groups said.
Read MoreThe Department of Immigration revealed in Budget Estimates that it plans to expand bed capacity at the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre to house up to 440 men on Manus when it closes the detention centre in October.
Read More"It’s not good enough to just leave innocent people trapped in limbo in unsafe conditions forever. Every single one of these men deserves the chance to finally start rebuilding their lives in safety," Daniel Webb said.
Read More"LGBTI Australians should have the same opportunities for love, commitment and happiness as everyone else. We cannot stress enough that this reform is simply about extending the right of civil marriage to all Australians,” said Anna Brown.
Read More“For the last four years we’ve seen report after report - horror story after horror story - detailing the harm people are suffering inside the camp and the serious dangers they face when they venture outside it. How much more evidence do we need?” said Daniel Webb.
Read MoreLeaked reports reveal that camp managers and security staff contracted by the Australian Government intentionally tried to make conditions in Australia’s detention centre on Manus Island even worse, putting the men who have been held in limbo for almost four years at greater risk of serious harm.
Read MoreThe over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is a growing national crisis that is being overlooked by all levels of government in Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre and Change the Record said in a new report. HRLC's Adrianne Walters said, “The tragic and preventable death of Ms Dhu is a devastating example of what happens when the justice system fails Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
Read MoreToday the NSW Upper House voted down a bill that would have brought the state’s abortion law in line with clinical practice and community standards, said the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreThe Victorian Supreme Court this morning ruled that detaining children at the Barwon maximum security adult prison was unlawful and prohibited the Victorian Government from continuing to detain children there.
Read MoreRights groups applauded the Queensland Government for its apology to people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts. Anna brown said, "This apology from the Queensland Government is a powerful symbolic act that helps to repair the harm caused by these unjust laws and affirm the value of gay, lesbian and bisexual people’s sexuality."
Read MoreThe Victorian Supreme Court will decide tomorrow whether the Victorian Government breached the law in moving children to the maximum security adult prison at Barwon. Human Rights Law Centre lawyers to hold a doorstop press conference shortly after the court session has concluded.
Read MoreOn Tuesday the High Court of Australia will hear a landmark case seeking to strike down Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest laws that unreasonably limit people’s freedom to stand together and speak out on matters that they care about.
Read MoreHuman rights abuses by companies involved in the detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island were once again under the spotlight at the United Nations.
Read MoreOver 80 recommendations have been made to bring the Queensland youth justice system in line with international law and to respond to the individual developmental needs of each child. the review reminds us that just because a child is incarcerated, their human rights and entitlements must not be ignored.
Read MoreWith some of Australia’s biggest brands like Rip Curl, Quicksilver, Woolworths and Coles recently caught up in forced labour scandals, it is clear the Australian Government needs a better system to compel businesses to lift their game.
Read MoreA scathing Senate Committee report has found that conditions inside the Nauru and Manus camps are unsafe and are causing severe harm for which the Australian government is responsible.
Read MoreThe Victorian Government told the Supreme Court last December that its sole justification for locking kids up in a maximum security adult prison was the lack of capacity due to the damage at Parkville. Yet now the Government has admitted that even when those 60 beds are fully repaired next month, it’s going to continue to keep kids at Barwon until August or September.
Read MoreThe terrifying and violent attack on the men in the Manus Island regional processing centre last night is further proof that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull must immediately evacuate the camp and bring the men to safety in Australia.
The Human Rights Law Centre welcomes Tasmanian Premier's Will Hodgman apology today to people charged under Tasmania’s previous laws that criminalised homosexuality, and a scheme to allow people who were charged or convicted of crimes for consensual homosexual activity or cross-dressing to apply to have these charges removed from their criminal records.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to use his PNG trip – which comes at a critical juncture in Australia’s bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council - to make arrangements for refugees and people seeking asylum languishing on Manus Island to be immediately evacuated to safety.
Read MoreThe offshore processing centres on Nauru and Manus Island continue to be the sites of ongoing human rights violations, including illegal detention, sexual assault and child abuse. Today, a new report by Amnesty exposes how Spanish multinational Ferrovial and its Australian subsidiary Broadspectrum are making vast profits operating Australia’s abusive offshore detention centres.
Read MoreMEDIA ALERT: DOOR STOP PRESS CONFERENCE
9:15am Monday 3 April 2017
On the steps of the Victorian Supreme Court, 210 William St, Melbourne
with the Human Rights Law Centre’s Executive Director Hugh de Kretser
Tomorrow the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory will release its interim report into systemic abuses and mistreatment of children in youth prisons.
Read MoreToday Penny Sharpe MLC introduced a bill into the New South Wales parliament to protect the privacy, safety and dignity of women accessing reproductive health services.
“For too long, women in NSW have had to run the gauntlet of intimidation and abuse just to see their doctor. It’s difficult to understand how this behaviour has been allowed to continue for so long,” said Ms Howie.
Read MoreOn 30 March 2017, the Herald Sun published a story about our Supreme Court challenge against the Victorian Government to stop the use of Barwon prison to detain children. The story includes a letter written by one of our clients.
Read MoreThe daughter of a man being held indefinitely on Manus Island, despite being found to be a refugee, traveled to Canberra to ask politicians to reunite her family, who have been separated for three and a half years by the government’s offshore detention policies.
Read MoreThe Commission for Children and Young People released a scathing report, The Same Four Walls, detailing widespread isolation of children in Victoria’s youth justice centres. "You can’t respond to inadequate staffing levels by just leaving kids locked up in the cells for hours on end. It’s time for the Victorian Government to stop taking short cuts and to start properly resourcing the youth justice system," the HRLC's Alina Leikin.
Read More“Unfortunately, as it stands, Territory women still run the risk of criminal prosecution for later term abortions. This is simply unacceptable and carries with it cruel consequences," said Adrianne Walters, Director of Legal Advocacy at the HRLC.
Read MoreAs of today, same sex couples have equal access to assisted reproductive technology and unpaid surrogacy in South Australia. The last direct discrimination against LGBTIQ couples in South Australian legislation has now been removed, but federal marriage equality laws still need to be passed for same sex couples to be treated equally in Australia.
Read MoreProposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act unveiled today by the Australian Government are unnecessary and risk encouraging racist hate speech in the community. The HRLC's Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser, said the Government has its priorities wrong.
Read MoreThe Victorian Government must address the underlying causes of damaging incidents in youth justice centres including staffing and lockdowns, the Human Rights Law Centre has said in a submission to a Victorian Parliamentary inquiry
Read MoreLess then a month before the Supreme Court hears the third legal challenge to the Victorian Government's decision to detain children at the Barwon maximum security adult prison, lawyers are concerned that the use of extreme practices appears to be increasing.
Read More“We are seeing a clear and worrying wave of state-based laws that restrict the ability of Australians to stand together and speak out on issues that they care deeply about. The government may disagree with protesters' views on a particular issue, but shutting down peaceful assemblies only serves to weaken our democracy,” said HRLC's Emily Howie.
Read More“All the data shows that these laws are being overwhelmingly used against Aboriginal people. Twenty-six years ago the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody made clear that locking someone up should only ever be a last resort and that police should be required to consider safer options,” said HRLC's Adrianne Walters.
Read MoreIn a submission filed with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade consultation on a new Foreign Policy White Paper, the Human Rights Law Centre has urged Australia to raise the bar on its foreign policy and aim to be a principled and consistent leader in human rights and a staunch defender of international law.
Read More
