A Charter of Rights for Tasmania
On 29 November 2006, the HRLRC, with the substantial pro bono assistance of Allens Arthur Robinson, made a submission to the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute inquiry into the need for a Charter of Rights in Tasmania. On 12 October 2007, the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute published its Report on A Charter of Rights for Tasmania.
The Report, which was commissioned by the Tasmanian Government, recommends that a legislative Charter of Human Rights be enacted in Tasmania. Similarly to the Victorian Charter, it is recommended that this instrument promote a ‘human rights dialogue across the three branches of government while ultimately maintaining parliamentary sovereignty’. Unlike the Victorian Charter and ACT Human Rights Act, however, the Institute recommends that a Tasmanian Charter incorporate economic, social and cultural rights (as well as civil and political rights), confer a free standing cause of action, and entitle victims to such remedies as are ‘just and appropriate’, including damages.