Commission – General
Hobart Oration
Explore a speech by Professor Gillian Triggs, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, in relation to the state of human rights in Australia.
News
Commission – General
Race Discrimination
Free Speech Inquiry - Opening Statement (2017)
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights - Inquiry into Freedom of Speech, Public hearing 17 February 2017
We need a national picture of domestic violence homicides
Authors Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins and President of the Australian Human Rights Commission Professor Gillian Triggs In March 2010, shortly after making the decision to leave her abusive husband after more than 20 years of violence, Zahra Abrahimzadeh was stabbed to death in front of...
Sex Discrimination
Workplace sexism: we still don't want to talk about it
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...
Sex Discrimination
National Press Club speech - Kate Jenkins
‘Accelerating change: gender equality from the household to the workplace’ Kate Jenkins Sex Discrimination Commissioner Australian Human Rights Commission National Press Club 20 April 2016 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY I would like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, the Traditional Custodians and First...
Sex Discrimination
Brigidine College Address - 2nd Wave Feminism
I start by acknowledging the traditional owners, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. I am pleased to be here with you today, the day before International Women’s Day…and I wish you as young women all the best for that day, and all the best for the many life decisions that you will make as you...
Rights and Freedoms
Another 'aberration' shows that 18C is the problem and must be changed
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...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Launch of the Social Justice and Native Title Report 2015
Acknowledgements Thank you Gillian for your kind introduction and thank you, Yvonne, for your Welcome to Country.
Disability Rights
2015 International Day of People with Disability
Good afternoon. To begin, I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are meeting, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present, and the Elders from other communities who may be here today. I make particular mention of Indigenous Peoples...
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...
Rights and Freedoms
Human rights and the overreach of executive discretion: citizenship, asylum seekers and whistleblowers
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE OVERREACH OF EXECUTIVE DISCRETION: CITIZENSHIP, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND WHISTLEBLOWERS GILLIAN TRIGGS [*] (Annual Tony Blackshield Lecture delivered at Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, 5 November 2015) I It is a special pleasure for me to speak in honour of Professor...
Children's Rights
The human rights of children are at risk if control orders are placed on 14-year-olds
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...
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...
LGBTIQ+
Gays and Parents Both Have Rights
School should be a safe space for everyone to develop and learn. No ifs. No buts. Yesterday a media storm developed around the decision of Burwood Girls High School deciding to celebrate ‘Wear it Purple’ day and screening the film ‘Gayby Baby’. The two are quite distinct issues. Wear it Purple day is...
Race Discrimination
Forty years of the Racial Discrimination Act
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...
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