Race Discrimination
In October 1975, at a ceremony for the proclamation of the Racial Discrimination Act, then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam described the legislation as ‘a historic measure’, which aimed to ‘entrench new attitudes of tolerance and understanding in the hearts and minds of the people’.(1) The Act was...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Thank you Sue for your kind introduction and Simon (Forrest) can I acknowledge your warm welcome and can I reciprocate by paying my respects to the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation, the traditional owners of the place that is now known as Perth. I thank you for allowing me on your country. I salute the Elders who are here today, those that have gone before us, and those who are yet to come.
Commission – General
Malcolm Fraser was a towering figure in human rights. I greatly respected his compassion and respect for all human beings. I have known Malcolm for 40 years. He was always generous with his time and demonstrated a great ability to resolve difficult issues. He loved to tell stories about his days in...
Rights and Freedoms
Charlie Hebdo would have risked being censored by the courts, but self-censorship is the reality of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Social Justice and Native Title Report 2014 Launch by Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
Rights and Freedoms
The Abbott government should correct the festering sores of 35P of National Security Legislation and 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act together. Since the passage of Section 35P of the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill a number of journalists have decried the threat to free speech of...
Race Discrimination
Keynote speech to Asian Studies Association of Australia Annual Conference, “AsiaScapes: Contesting Borders”
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Friends, today marks the three year anniversary of when the western system, through the Federal Court, recognised the Quandamooka system by acknowledging you as the owners of this land.
Children's Rights
In coming here today, we celebrate 40 years of hard work and dedication by the Network of Community Activities, to the promotion of children’s rights in Australia.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about politics and human rights. As you would know there is a lot of discussion about human rights in the political debate at the moment, which is a great thing because human rights is not something that many Australian’s feel is relevant to them.
Rights and Freedoms
THE proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act provide the basis for correcting the legal limits of free speech, promoting pluralism, opposing reprehensible racism and highlighting the importance of responsibility. Arguably the most important change is assessing an 18C violation based on...
Race Discrimination
Many say freedom of expression means nothing if it doesn’t entail a freedom to offend others. Enjoying such freedom means that you may also have to tolerate hurtful or distasteful speech. But what if the burden of tolerance is not borne equally? What if some forms of speech wound not merely...
Children's Rights
Young people seeking asylum – protecting their rights in Australia Practitioners Workshop, ‘Improving Services for Unaccompanied Minors & Young People Seeking Asylum’ CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY 1. Acknowledgments Thank you, Pino, for your introduction. Thank you also to Australian Red Cross for the...
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