Skip to main content

Browse News

Children's Rights

Launch of Children's Rights Report 2016

Introduction Good morning everyone. I want to begin by speaking about an artwork submitted by a young person detained in a youth justice centre. This was sent to me as an entry to an art competition I ran for children and young people in youth justice centres this year. I asked them to show me how...

Category, Speech
Children's Rights

There's no excuse for child abuse

Author Megan Mitchell, National Children's Commissioner Earlier this year I visited the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Darwin, along with a number of other centres where children are detained across the country. The purpose of the visits was to see how young people were being treated and how their...

Category, Opinion
Children's Rights

A life free from violence and fear: a child’s right

2016 International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect Held by the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect in Calgary, Canada Introduction Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be here in Calgary today to speak about the work I have done as Australia’s first National...

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Jessie Street Trust Annual Lunch 2016

Jessie Street Trust Annual Lunch - I am pleased to join you today to honour the work and annual birthday of Jessie Mary Grey Lillingston Street, a remarkable, and very modern Australian woman. Well before the First World War, she was an advocate for many of the social issues we care about today; equality for women, constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians, world peace and for disarmament.

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Human rights across the Tasman: a widening gulf

I am honoured to have been invited to give this lecture at the Law School of the University of Canterbury, funded by the generosity of the Sir Eric Hotung Fellowship. While I had settled the subject matter of this lecture, I thought it would be helpful to know what other Hotung Fellows had discussed...

Category, Speech
Legal

Hotung Fellowship Public Lecture 2016

Human rights across the Tasman: a widening gulf. I am honoured to have been invited to give this lecture at the Law School of the University of Canterbury, funded by the generosity of the Sir Eric Hotung Fellowship.

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Children's rights must come first, says Mick Gooda

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...

Category, Opinion
Rights and Freedoms

Logic says Valizadeh shouldn't get a visa

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...

Category, Opinion
Commission – General

The future of human rights in Australia

AHRC Awards 2015 Thank you Craig for your generosity, for the 4th time, in guiding us through the awards. Well done for your very funny and successful Media Circus. Your honours, distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, the Gadigal...

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Tony Blackshield Lecture

HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE OVERREACH OF EXECUTIVE DISCRETION: CITIZENSHIP, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND WHISTLEBLOWERS It is a special pleasure for me to speak in honour of Professor Blackshield, who is a long time colleague of mine in the law. He is a constitutional law scholar of the highest order and one of the...

Category, Speech
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Charles Perkins Oration 2015

Acknowledgements Thank you Stephen for your sincere welcome and can I also thank Uncle Chicka for your generous Welcome to Country. I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we sit this evening, the Gadigal Peoples of the Eora Nation. I honour your Elders that have come...

Category, Speech

Follow us on social media

We engage in social media to promote discussion and debate on human rights issues.

Media centre

Visit our media centre for up to date contact details for all media enquiries.

Learn More