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Submissions to the National Consultation

Media

Read our latest press releases:

Time to Write Our Rights

AHRG calls for public consultation

- Open letter to the PM

Contact Us

If your organisation would like to be part of the Australian Human Rights Group contact:

Julie Walsh

Secondee Solicitor,

Campaign Coordinator, Australian Human Rights Group (Monday - Wednesday)

University of New South Wales

The Law Building,

University of New South Wales,

Sydney, NSW, 2052

P: 02 9385 9547

F: 02 9385 1175

E: ahrg.info@gmail.com

 Media inquiries should also be made to Julie Walsh. For enquiries made on a Thursday or Friday,  please contact Edward Santow by email: e.santow@unsw.edu.au

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Who We Are

AHRG members include:

IT IS TIME TO GET INVOLVED

The Government seeks the views of all Australians and so it is important that you, your organisation and its members and clients have their say.  You may:

  • Lodge a submission

You may like to lodge a submission on behalf of your organisation that answers the consultation’s key questions (outlined in the section ”national human rights consultation - what’s it all about?” ), based on the experiences of your organisation, its members and clients and the sector of the Australian community your organisation is involved in.  Submissions to the Committee are due by 15 June 2009 but don’t delay.  The sooner you put your submission in the greater impact it will have.

You can make an online submission to the Committee through:

Many Australians and organisations have already sent the Committee their views. Join them and have your say.

  • Assist others to engage in the consultation

Assist your members and clients to engage in the consultation by providing them with information about the consultation, encouraging their feedback directly or by conducting forums, assisting them to lodge their own individual submissions through the provision of tool kits and conducting workshops.

  • Attend the Community Roundtables

Register to attend and participate in the Committee’s community town hall-style meeting, (the details are available on the National Consultation Calendar of Events website).

How else to get involved in the consultation?

For more ideas on how to get involved in the consultation process go to the National Human Rights Consultation webspage.

Upcoming Events

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Welcome to the Australian Human Rights Group

Australians want and deserve greater protection of our human rights. We remain the only western country without proper protection of our human rights. Australia has always been happy to talk about the importance of human rights overseas; now it is time that we have a Human Rights Act to protect our human rights at home.

Read the rest of this entry »


5 Good Reasons to Support a Human Rights Act

  1. A Human Rights Act will set out the fundamental rights that Australians agree should be protected.
  2. A Human Rights Act will improve government decision making by requiring government to recognise and protect human rights. All new legislation should be assessed against the yardstick of the rights enshrined in law.
  3. State inquiries into human rights reveal that an overwhelming number of Australians who made submissions want legislative protection of human rights.
  4. Current Australian laws only protect a narrow number of rights in a limited way. One instrument will bring all of those rights together and protect them in the same way.
  5. A Human Rights Act will ensure that in a strongly democratic society we all bear the responsibility to protect the rights of others.

For five more reasons check out Doing Justice from the Federation of Community Legal Centres.


Useful Resources

Here are some useful resources, including toolkits, submission templates, fact sheets, case studies and speeches to assist you to get involved in the National Human Rights Consultation.

Toolkits

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National Human Rights Consultation – what’s it all about?

On 10 December 2008, the Federal Government launched a national public consultation on how best to protect human rights and responsibilities in Australia.  This consultation is an historic opportunity for individuals and communities throughout Australia to improve our democracy and to have our say about the protection of fundamental values such as freedom, respect, dignity and a fair go.

The Government has appointed an independent Committee, chaired by Father Frank Brennan and including Mary Kostakidis, Mick Palmer and Tammy Williams, to implement a broad Australia-wide community consultation. Read the rest of this entry »


Benefits of a Human Rights Act

A Human Rights Act can benefit (amongst others) the following groups in a number of ways:

  • People with a disability
  • Businesses
  • Older people
  • Women
  • Gay, Lesbian and Transgender people
  • Homeless people /people in public housing
  • Asylum seekers /refugees
  • Children and young people 
  • Indigenous people

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