Recently, a report tabled in the Victorian Parliament by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission uncovered serious and systemic wrongdoing in Victorian prisons.
Read MoreThe Government’s proposed new Governance Standard 3 could see charities shut down for speaking out.
Read MoreSitting in the magistrates court in Canberra this week, I felt like I was watching a scene from Franz Kafka’s The Trial – the famous novel in which a man is arrested and prosecuted by a mysterious authority for an unknown crime.
Read MoreSitting in the magistrates court in Canberra this week, I felt like I was watching a scene from Franz Kafka’s The Trial – the famous novel in which a man is arrested and prosecuted by a mysterious authority for an unknown crime.
Read MoreThe prosecution of Bernard Collaery, which returns to the ACT Court of Appeal today, is about right and wrong. It was wrong for the Australian government to spy on our neighbour Timor-Leste for commercial gain.
Read MoreAccording to the United Nations, World Press Freedom Day - marked today - is intended to serve "as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom."
Read MoreVictoria’s bail laws are broken and need to be fixed.
As the world marks International Women’s Day, which this year aims to challenge gender inequality, it is fitting to call out Victoria’s broken bail laws and the discriminatory impact they are having on women in our prison system.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre continued to support the work of the family of Yorta Yorta woman Aunty Tanya Day, who died in police custody in Victoria in 2017. Aunty Tanya was arrested for being drunk in a public place after falling asleep on a train and died after hitting her head in a police cell. The Coroner found that the checks conducted on Aunty Tanya while she was in the police cell were inadequate and that police had failed to take proper care for her health and welfare.
Read MoreIt’s easy for many of us living in a country like Australia to take our human rights for granted. For most of us, most of the time, Australia is a great place to live.
Read MoreAs we reach the end of 2020, four individuals – Bernard Collaery, Witness K, David McBride and Richard Boyle – are being prosecuted by our government. These whistleblowers spoke up in the public interest, and now face the very real prospect of jail time. If we want to live in a transparent, accountable democracy, that should trouble us all.
Read MoreOur ability to come together and speak out on the issues we care about is fundamental to our democracy.
Read MoreRoutine strip searching involves forcing children as young as ten to remove their clothing in front of adult prison guards on a regular basis.
Read MoreAs we reach the end of 2020, four individuals – Bernard Collaery, Witness K, David McBride and Richard Boyle – are being prosecuted by our government. These whistleblowers spoke up in the public interest, and now face the very real prospect of jail time.
Read MoreEveryone deserves to be safe in the face of COVID-19, but immigration detention facilities in Australia are creating unacceptable health risks.
Read MoreLaws currently being considered by the Tasmanian government would allow the practice of routine strip-searching of kids to continue. If it’s the government’s intention to enact laws that protect kids, rather than cause them more harm, this opportunity to finally get the law right shouldn’t be squandered.
Read MoreSolitary confinement is a cruel practice that causes irreparable harm to the people who are subjected to this form of physical and sensory isolation. Governments must ban the archaic and inhumane use of solitary confinement in Australian prisons.
Read MoreAustralia and the world face a public health emergency in coronavirus (COVID-19), but little has been said about the people in our prisons and youth detention centres.
Read MoreIt’s clear there have been serious failures in Victoria’s hotel quarantine program and that infection control procedures must improve to protect the community. But what’s not been discussed enough is how quarantine needs to improve for the safety and welfare of the people being detained.
Read MoreIn response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, most states across Australia declared a state of emergency and brought in new laws imposing severe restrictions on civil liberties and an increase in policing powers.
Read MoreThe Victorian Government is requiring people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire to wear a face covering or mask when leaving their home to help stop the spread of COVID-19. This explainer seeks to debunk claims that the requirement breaches people’s human rights.
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