Disability Rights
Getting a morning coffee on the way to work is a ritual many of us take for granted. Not Jeremy, who is a young man with a communication disability. The thought of not only being able to order coffee, but run a business, was a pipe dream. Until the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I was shocked but not surprised by the ABC’s Four Corners revelations last Monday night. Incontrovertible CCTV evidence of Aboriginal children subject to demeaning, debilitating and dehumanizing behaviour has galvanised the Australian community and prompted the creation of a Royal Commission with an...
Sex Discrimination
A lot can be said in 57 seconds. And a lot can be learnt from such a brief exchange. Last week, a laughing conversation between two AFL club presidents and three other high-profile football personalities suggested that drowning a female Fairfax journalist would be an effective way to fundraise for...
Sex Discrimination
I'm not sure when the word "sexist" became one of the most polarising words in the English language. Is it really so bad to talk about something that many agree is alive and well in the Australian workforce and community? Despite laws prohibiting sex discrimination gaining wide acceptance in this...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
The recent death of a 10-year-old in the Kimberley is a tragedy and I pass on my condolences to her family at this particularly distressing time. This tragedy has heightened my conviction that the lives of all of our children in Australia are precious and should be protected at all costs. Nearly 20...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
At the heart of this nation, there is a fundamental wrong in the relationship between the First Peoples and non-Indigenous people. We are divided between those who celebrate Australia Day without any thought of the implications of that day, and those who mourn Invasion Day and mark it as Survival Day...
Rights and Freedoms
State and federal governments should reform laws that make offensive acts unlawful and refocus them on protecting free speech and stopping workplace and public harassment. This week a news story broke about a complaint made under section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act by a Queensland University...
Rights and Freedoms
Daryush "Roosh" Valizadeh’s freedom of speech won’t be suppressed if the Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, denies him a visa. In the past few days there have been increasing calls on the Federal Government to block so-called ‘neo-masculinist’ Valizadeh from entering Australia. Outraged politicians...
LGBTIQ+
Imagine seeing the words "never married" on your new husband's death certificate. As if the grief of losing your husband while honeymooning wasn't traumatic enough. Marco Bulmer-Rizzi's husband, David, died after falling down stairs at a friend's place in Adelaide. Because South Australia doesn't...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the country, old wounds are being reopened. Many of our people are being forced to revisit the past trauma of income management and stolen wages. The federal government’s Healthy Welfare Card has created great concern and contention, as the...
Disability Rights
With the scale, complexity and massive costs of recent reforms in disability services and aged care, we need constant monitoring and patience as the changes are put into place.According to what I hear and see this is all happening pretty well, in general.There is however a big shortcoming, a gap...
Rights and Freedoms
Those of different beliefs need to be active in reshaping the conversation about religious freedom if it is to be preserved in law. Yesterday, the Australian Human Rights Commission hosted the first of many religious freedom round tables. These round tables have resulted from a year-long consultation...
Children's Rights
On Tuesday this week Attorney-General George Brandis foreshadowed extending laws concerning control orders to fourteen- and fifteen-year-old children. Brandis said the fact that a 15-year-old boy had been inspired to perform a terrorist act demonstrated that the reach of Islamic State and IS...
Rights and Freedoms
Our borders should not be used to control access to unpopular ideas, and in the internet age such efforts are futile. According to reports, Lebanese Muslim Association president Samier Dandan has advised the Prime Minister not to grant a visa to controversial Dutch MP, Geert Wilders, using the...
Children's Rights
By Professor Gillian Triggs and Commissioner Megan Mitchell. We can no longer tolerate the loss of innocent lives, or allow children to be exposed to such horrific crimes. This week we have seen at least four lives tragically cut short at the hands of a partner or family member. Two of these victims...
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