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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Return to country endangered by failure to invest

Covid-19 has triggered the most significant return to country by First Nations people since the homeland movement commenced in the 1960s. Thousands, like myself, returned to remote communities out of necessity. Facing the unknown, our family leaders who could made the courageous decision to gather...

Category, Opinion
Commission - General

September ebulletin

Celebrating human rights heroes in 2020 Every year the Commission holds the Human Rights Awards to celebrate human rights achievements. However, given the extraordinary circumstances of 2020 we believe a new and different approach is needed to celebrate the many human rights heroes who have...

Category, E bulletin
Rights and Freedoms

UN Human Rights Commissioner speaks out

Australian Human Rights Commission conference Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 8 October 2019 President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Rosalind Croucher and fellow Commissioners Mr Les Malezer...

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights

‘Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights’ 8 October 2019 Opening Remarks Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM President, Australian Human Rights Commission Check against delivery Your Excellency, Dr Michele Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Australian...

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Commissioners call for compassionate approach for Tamil family

Australian Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell and Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow have today written to Minister David Coleman, calling for an urgent and compassionate resolution for the Tamil family detained in immigration detention on Christmas Island. “Given their connection to...

Category, News
Rights and Freedoms

Free + Equal: Australian Conversation on Human Rights Opening Remarks

Opening Remarks Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM President, Australian Human Rights Commission Check against delivery Your Excellency, Dr Michele Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Australian Human Rights Commission Commissioners—Dr Ben Gauntlett, Disability...

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Winners announced - 2018 Human Rights Awards

The Honourable Justice Peter McClellan AM and Chrissie Foster have won the prestigious 2018 Human Rights Medal for their enormous contribution to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Chrissie Foster has long campaigned for justice for survivors of institutional...

Category, News
Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Urgent call for seriously ill Nauru children to be transferred

The Australian Human Rights Commission is calling on the Federal Government to urgently transfer any seriously unwell asylum seeker children – and their families – from Nauru to Australia. The Commission notes several recent cases where the Federal Court of Australia has consistently found the...

Category, News
Rights and Freedoms

Human Rights Awards 2017

Acknowledgments Thank you, Aunty Norma Ingram, for your very warm welcome to country. The Australian Human Rights Commission is honoured to be here today on the ancestral lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. I pay my respects to elders past, present and future and warmly welcome any...

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Statement on Mandatory Sentencing

This is a rare event for the Human Rights Commission - a media conference convened by the President with other Commissioners. I can recall it occurring only once before in the Commission's history. The fact that we are doing this today reflects the seriousness of the issue we are discussing.

Category, Speech
Commission - General

International Human Rights Day address - 2005

International Human Rights Day address - 2005 Delivered by the Hon John von Doussa QC President, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Friday 9th December 2005 Audio of this speech in mp3 format (14 min 35 sec - 6.67 MB) I begin by acknowledging that we are meeting on the traditional country...

Category, Speech

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