Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s comment that Australia was an ‘unsettled or scarcely settled great south land’ prior to colonisation, could hardly have come at a more inopportune time: on the eve of NAIDOC week.
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Writing in the Herald Sun, the HRLC's Daniel Webb outlines the case against sending asylum seekers to places where they risk torture or death.
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It's a violation of Sri Lanka's migration law to leave the country unofficially. Most of the asylum seekers Australia is returning to Sri Lanka's navy will be charged – or worse, writes the HRLC's Emily Howie.
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The HRLC's Daniel Webb provides an overview of Scott Morrison's proposed changes that will significantly increase the risk of people being returned to countries where they face torture or death.
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Edited transcript of keynote address by Hina Jilani - a pioneering human rights lawyer, pro-democracy campaigner, leading activist in Pakistan's women's movement and international champion of human rights - delivered at the Annual Human Rights Dinner.
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A conversation about Australia's involvement in the US’s program of deadly drone strikes is long overdue, writes the HRLC's Emily Howie.
Read MoreSue Hackney reflects on the journey to the landmark anti-discrimination decision in Victoria thanks to a group of same-sex attracted young people who took issue with a religious group's refusal to allow them to use a camp site.
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We can reduce prison populations, prison spending and the crime rate at the same time, writes the HRLC's Hugh de Kretser.
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This briefing paper is intended to provide background on the Guiding Principles and outline the case for the development of an Australian NAP. It draws on the experience of other states and on the significant work of UN bodies, civil society organisations and National Human Rights Institutions that are working to promote coherent and effective practice in the implementation of the Guiding Principles.
Read MoreFor survivors of child sexual abuse seeking justice, the process of civil litigation can be re-traumatising, and present complex barriers, explains Knowmore's Executive Officer, Jenny Hardy.
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Appeals to freedom are essentially calls to prioritise a right to discriminate over fair and equal access to employment, education and services, writes Rachel Ball.
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The Human Rights Law Centre's Emily Howie writes that Australia has been silent on a United Nations push for an inquiry into war crimes in Sri Lanka because the Coalition is more concerned about "stopping the boats" .
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The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Tim Soutphommasane, asks whether scrapping section 18C of the RDA will unleash a wave of humiliation of the vulnerable.
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A new report has found that Australia’s co-operation with Sri Lanka to prevent would-be-refugees from seeking protection is riddled with human rights risks and should be stopped immediately.
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Proposed voter ID laws will cause more problems than they will solve writes University of Queensland’s Graeme Orr and the HRLC’s Emily Howie.
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The reckless disclosure of the personal details of 10,000 asylum seekers adds another layer to the risk they may face – they could be further persecuted on return to their countries, writes the HRLC's Daniel Webb.
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The HRLC's Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser, outlines his human rights priorities and the challenges that lie ahead in 2014.
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Australia needs to immediately reconsider its support for Sri Lanka’s interception of asylum seekers, writes the HRLC's Director of Advocacy & Research, Emily Howie.
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With three more appointments to the Australian Human Rights Commission due in the next 12 months, the HRLC's Hugh de Kretser writes there's a pressing need to adopt a selection process that avoids accusations of political bias.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has produced a report on the need for legislation to erase the criminal records of homosexual men who were convicted for having consensual sex in the past when it was illegal.
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