The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (Committee) Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework.
The NSWCCL fundamentally supports enhanced and enforceable protections for human rights in Australia. The NSWCCL is a member of the Charter of Rights (Charter) campaign coalition, an alliance of 90 organisations across the Australian community and endorses the Charter campaign submission to this Inquiry.
In our submission we have made a number of recommendations for the proposed framework.
1. The Australian Government should enact a comprehensive federal Human Rights Act to ensure that all Australians have consistent, accessible and effective means to enforce their human rights. Related legal mechanisms should be consolidated and made coherent to ensure adequate protection and enforceability.
2. A federal Human Rights Act should be implemented to replace Australia’s current ‘patchwork’ of disjointed common law, statutory and constitutional human rights protections which comprises:
a. inconsistent State and territory laws;
b. limited Constitutional protections over a few discrete aspects of human rights; and
c. insufficient common law protections that often cannot be effectively relied upon or enforced by individuals.
3. A federal Human Rights Act will ensure that all Australians – including minorities and people experiencing vulnerability, who routinely experience discrimination, disadvantage and marginalisation – have the equal opportunity to seek redress if their human rights are violated.
4. The result of Australia’s current patchwork system is that many who suffer human rights violations have no tangible means to seek redress. This is especially detrimental to minorities and people experiencing vulnerability, who routinely experience discrimination, disadvantage and marginalisation.
A number of additional recommendations as well further information regarding the proposed Human Right's frame is available in our full submission.
For more information, read the full submission.
