Commission - General
The Hon Catherine Branson was President of the Australian Human Rights Commission from 7 August 2008 - 29 July 2012. Click here to access her biography.
Commission - General
Many years ago, when I was a very young solicitor anxious to be taken seriously by my employers, I needed to do some banking in my lunch hour. When I arrived at my bank, I was confronted by a long queue. I assessed the pace at which it was moving and decided that I could get served and still make it back to the office on time. You can imagine my astonishment when, arriving at the front of the queue, the teller asked if I would mind stepping aside so that she could serve the men behind me who would need to get back to work!
Commission - General
May I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri people, and pay my respect to their elders past and present.
Commission - General
I'll start with what's stayed the same. The fundamental restructuring of Australia's workplace relations system has left the functions of HREOC untouched. In particular there is no change in its responsibilities to investigate and conciliate complaints of unlawful discrimination.
Commission - General
As the world awaits the birth of the new millenium with a level of anxiety we come to associate with expecting parents, I am pleased to note that the United Nations, in nominating 1999 the International Year of Older Persons, has not, at the last, forgotten the grandparents.
Commission - General
Amongst all this expertise, it is fair to ask why is the President of the national human rights commission – and particularly a President who has only fairly recently commenced in this role - here presenting the keynote speech to such a conference?
Commission - General
Discover a speech on settlement services and human rights.
Commission - General
When I first entered the law 'benchbooks' were closely guarded, leather bound books into which judges carefully entered notes as a case progressed - usually I thought adverse comments and exclamation marks about one's arguments or less than flattering remarks about one's principal witness. These books seemed to be some kind of secret code to the outcome of cases and never saw the light of day.
Commission - General
I have been asked to speak today about the contributions made to Australia by women from diverse cultures. A topic difficult for its breadth, depth and complexity - like our cultures and identities themselves. Made more difficult by the variety of women's experiences and the way we choose to define 'contribution.'
Commission - General
Hugh de Kretser discusses the importance of truth telling, what he learned working at the Yoorrook Justice Commission, human rights values and the need for Human Rights Acts.
Commission - General
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee this afternoon. The Australian Human Rights Commission welcomes the opportunity to comment on Australia's immigration detention system in this forum.
Commission - General
Discover a speech on mandatory immigration detention of children.
Commission - General
When I was invited to give this address, my first thought was to talk about unlawful discrimination in the context of higher education and, in particular, disability discrimination.
Commission - General
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world
Commission - General
I feel very honoured to have been invited to contribute to this symposium. As a theme for today's discussion, I have chosen the notions of regionalisation and responsibility within Asia and the Pacific. I believe that the ability to accept responsibility for our neighbourhood, and to generate cooperative regional dialogues and actions to fulfill that responsibility will be the key to meeting the challenges and opportunities human rights will face in the new century.
