Dear Prime Minister,

I write in my capacity as the President of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, one of Australia’s leading human rights and civil liberties organisations. The Council is non-political, non-religious and non-sectarian. We are a Non-Government Organisation in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, by resolution 2006/221 (21 July 2006).

I have written to you on two earlier occasions on the issue of Australia’s position with respect to Palestine; including a joint letter issued with Liberty Victoria. To date, I have not received a response to the issues raised in those letters.

On this occasion I write in relation to the peaceful vigil that is being held outside your electorate office regarding the ongoing violence destroying the lives and futures of tens of thousands innocent civilians in Palestine.

We recognise this vigil as a legitimate exercise of democratic freedoms available in Australia. The vigil is noteworthy in that the organisers, their families and attendees are diverse in their religious beliefs and cultural heritage. Importantly, the organisers and many of the protestors live in your electorate – they are your constituents.

We understand that the primary purpose of the participants in the vigil is to achieve an occasion on which they can communicate directly to you, as their electoral representative and as Prime Minister of Australia, their views in relation to the events in Gaza and how they affect people in Australia.

Public confidence in our governmental and political institutions requires elected officials to engage with their constituents, particularly in relation to matters of international significance such as the current events in Palestine which directly affect so many people in Australia.  We strongly believe that an important part of a healthy democracy is constituent access to elected representatives. 

We are concerned that you are yet to meet with participants in the vigil and to give them the opportunity to share their concerns with you personally.

This could understandably be perceived as a breach of your obligations towards them and damaging to public confidence in Australia’s democracy.

We urge you to meet with your constituents and allow them to ventilate their concerns.

The Council remains available to you and your office if you require any further information with respect to the issues raised herein.

Yours faithfully,

Lydia Shelly

President

Read our letter here.

Dear Attorney General

The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties joins our community in mourning the intolerable rates of women being murdered in Australia. Eleven women have been murdered in the month of April alone. In 2024, the rate of murdered women has doubled compared to this time last year.

The rising rate of domestic violence has not abated in NSW, even after new laws and tougher penalties were introduced over the past six years. We strongly believe that this scourge cannot be solved by expanding of police powers.  If we are to reduce the occurrence of these types of horrendous crimes, we must ensure that structural failures within our criminal justice system and our communities are appropriately understood, addressed and funded. Without appropriate resourcing and funding, laws are rendered impotent.

The NSWCCL recognises the importance of increasing the efficiency of jury empanelment, the provision of enhanced support for jurors to perform their role and reducing the expenditure of resources on trials that are ultimately aborted or result in hung juries. The NSWCCL also recognizes the validity of majority verdict legislation in criminal and coronial trials.

However, the NSWCCL is concerned that the proposed amendment to section 55F of the Jury Act 1977 (the Act) may compromise a jury’s ability to properly consider the guilt or innocence of an accused person, and that such a compromise is made in exchange for a speculative and nominal reduction in the expenditure of resources on trials and reduction in hung juries.

The NSWCCL is further concerned that the proposed amendment to section 73A(1) of the Act unnecessarily broadens the investigative power of the NSW Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff). The broadening of the investigative power is significant and not safeguarded or constrained by current legislation.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Reference Committee about the Inquiry into access to Australian Parliament House by lobbyists.

Our full submission is below.

The NSWCCL opposes outdoor alcohol restrictions in public places, including alcohol-free zones and alcohol prohibited areas in parks and public spaces. We argue that these restrictions impede on freedom of movement and disproportionately affect marginalised individuals. Instead, we advocate for evidence-based harm minimisation programs and support services.

Our full submission is below. 

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) has submitted a statement to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee regarding the proposed COVID-19 Royal Commission. We highlighted existing efforts by a three-member panel appointed in 2023 to inquire into the government's response to COVID-19 and emphasized the need to prevent duplicative work. We recommended considering alternative methods to address misinformation without the need for a Royal Commission.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has joined forces with 40 other advocacy and civil society organisations to send an open letter to Premier Chris Minns MP, demanding that he respect democratic process and conduct a public inquiry in the draconian NSW Anti-Protest Laws. Sign our Petition calling for an open and transarent reivew of these laws here.

To Premier Chris Minns, Attorney General Michael Daley and the Hon. John Graham:

We the undersigned call on you to address the vital issue of protecting the right to protest in our state. The right to protest is a fundamental democratic right that allows us to express our views, shape our societies, and press for social change. In NSW and nationally across Australia, it is under attack.

Two years on from the introduction of the draconian 2022 anti-protest laws, these laws are creating a chilling effect on civil movements and social progress. The barriers for a diverse range of groups to participate in protest action have been raised to an unattainable height due to risk of police interaction and escalated police violence, especially for groups such as First Nations people and individuals on temporary visas.

The review of these laws is scheduled to take place after 1 April 2024 and will be carried out by the Department of Roads and the Attorney-General’s Department. We call for the repeal of these anti-democratic laws - barring repeal, we call on you to ensure that this review will seek public submissions and be undertaken in a clear and transparent manner.

It is essential that members of the community, civil society organisations, legal experts, protesters and protest movements and other stakeholders are given the opportunity to publicly explain the grassroots impacts of these laws. We call on the government to commit to introducing a community consultation component into the statutory review of the 2022 amendments.

We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you regarding the conduct of the legislative review and the opportunity for community consultation on the issue.

Signed,

In April 2022, the NSW Parliament passed legislation to prevent ‘illegal protesting’ on major roads, bridges, tunnels, public transport and infrastructure facilities. The new legislation amends section 144G the Roads Act 1993 which criminalises causing serious disruption by entering, remaining on or trespassing on prescribed major bridges and tunnels, to now include all “main roads”. Offences carry a maximum penalty of $22,000 or two years in gaol, or both.

NSWCCL condemns these legislative changes in totality. Protest should not be confined to back roads.  We especially condemn the lack of proportionality of the punishment that can be imposed for offences committed by protesters. 

The review of these laws is scheduled to take place after 1 April 2024 and should consider the views of all stakelholders and community. Join us in the call for an open and transparent review!

In New South Wales, the Ethical Clothing Trades Extended Responsibility Scheme operates as a mandatory scheme for protecting the entitlements of outworkers in the textile clothing and footwear industries (TCF). The term ‘outworkers' refer to workers who perform work outside conventional business premises and factories, and instead in their own residential premises. The problem with the scheme is that it hasn't been operational since around 2014 and in the ensuing years the functions of Scheme have been incorporated by the legislative regime created by the Fair Work Act and employment and workplace safety legislation. The devil is the detail. Our submission urges that the government ensure suitable resourcing is available for reporting and enforcement in Australia AND we do more, much more, to ensure that international supply chains are free from modern slavery.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties is opposed to Senator Malcolm Roberts' proposal for a Royal Commission into COVID-19. We believe that such an inquiry is both unnecessary and potentially harmful, and we urge the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee to carefully consider the implications of this call.

The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (“the Council”) and Muslim Women Australia (“MWA”) have filed a joint submission into the New South Wales Review of Legal Protections against Forced Marriage.

Comments from Lydia Shelly, President, NSW Council for Civil Liberties
The legal responses to forced marriages largely ignores the victim-survivor’s lived experience of forced marriage. If we are to develop a holistic response to forced marriage, then this must be remedied, and the victim-survivor’s experiences must be considered in a meaningful and tangible way.

Forced marriage is often thought of as an “event” and not the process of coercive and controlling behaviours that can be perpetrated by family, friends, community and others who are in positions of trust and authority.

Whilst a legislative response is required as part of a holistic response to forced marriage, more must be done to prevent forced marriages from occurring. It is in this “preventative” space that holds the most promise in addressing the complex factors that increase the risk of a forced marriage occurring.

The reality is that the majority of victim-survivors do not readily identify themselves as being at risk of, or a party to a forced marriage. Any intervention that exists must include community led initiatives and must reflect the cultural and religious norms within these communities.

Government should be focusing efforts on strengthening collaboration and trust between communities, community organisations, agencies and service providers.

We acknowledge the immense harm that those in our governments have caused with respect to social cohesion when they have demonised communities, such as the refugee and Muslim communities. This does little to cultivate trust between communities most at risk of experiencing forced marriages. Legal protections are only effective if there is community cooperation and further training for frontline service providers and agencies.

We are concerned that legislative reform, such as expanding the standing of those who may be able to apply for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order on behalf of a victim-survivor, will not address the complex factors that result in forced marriages occurring.

Any assistance that is provided to victim-survivors must not be dependent on involvement with law enforcement or the criminal justice system. Currently, the majority of assistance that could be provided to victim-survivors are often too late and are dependent on law enforcement being involved.