President’s statement

This year the Commission finalised its strategic vision for the coming four-year period. The Strategic Plan 2014-2018 provides a roadmap for all our activities and meets the Commission’s new legal obligations under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth).

Over the next four years the Commission will work on three core priorities: human rights education and promotion; ensuring freedom from violence, harassment and bullying; and engaging with business on human rights.

We have increasingly focused on our engagement with the business community over the past year. We are exploring how we can better assist businesses to meet their legal obligations under federal anti-discrimination laws and encourage innovative approaches to human rights protection.

The Commission is in a position to observe the extent to which businesses are pivotal to achieving practical human rights in Australia. This is because an overwhelming number of the 19 688 enquiries and 2223 complaints received in 2013-14 arose in the area of employment and, to a lesser extent, the delivery of goods and services. While the Commission’s complaint process has a necessary focus on individual remedies, it also provides an opportunity to educate about rights and responsibilities and facilitate broader systemic changes. This year we have been working to develop new information about discrimination for employers and the business community and implement strategies to enhance service delivery for small business.

Under the leadership of the new Government, we have continued to work closely with the public sector on a range of activities. Earlier this year we entered into a four-year partnership with the Australian Defence Force to support ongoing cultural change in the military. This partnership builds on Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick’s Review into the Treatment of Women in the Australian Defence Force. The Commission has also entered into an agreement with the Australian Public Sector Commission to deliver training programs for the Australian public service.

We continue to work with the Government on implementing Australia’s Anti- Racism Strategy and the Racism. It Stops with Me campaign to promote community understanding of what racism is and how it can be addressed and prevented. Under the leadership of Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommasane, the campaign has the support of more than 270 organisations.

Over the last year we have had a national debate termed the ‘freedom wars’. The public debate has focused on whether Australia’s racial vilification laws place a fair restriction on the right to freedom of speech in a 21st century multicultural and democratic society. The freedoms debate has highlighted how human rights are protected in Australia and the exceptional approach Australia has taken to human rights protection. We live in a country where most people think our freedoms are protected. It is little understood that Australia is unique among comparable legal systems in that we have few constitutional or legislative protections for the freedoms we take for granted.

While we have seen a vibrant public dialogue around freedoms in Australia, the rights and liberties of those asylum seekers held in detention centres in mainland Australia and on Christmas Island have curiously been omitted from the debate. As President, I have continued to raise concerns about the situation of those in mandatory detention, particularly children. Ongoing issues include the numbers of children in detention, the prolonged periods for which some children are detained and the conditions of their detention.

2014 marked ten years since the Commission’s landmark report into children in immigration detention. Over the decade we witnessed many positive developments; the high point was the removal of all children from immigration detention by 2006. However, since then, the situation has deteriorated significantly. In April 2013, the numbers of children in closed immigration detention began reaching unprecedented levels (over 1600 on 30 April 2013, reaching 1992 in July 2013). We decided that it was time to reassess the situation.

As President, I launched the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention on 3 February 2014. At 30 June 2014, the inquiry team had visited nine immigration detention facilities and conducted interviews with approximately 1500 individuals, including children, their families and experts such as medical professionals. I also convened the inquiry’s first public hearing in Sydney, at which a total of 14 witnesses gave evidence.

As a Commission, we continue to empower individuals to understand and exercise their rights. During the Big Banter consultations, National Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell met with over 1000 children across Australia to talk about their rights and responsibilities. Similarly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda has led a national conversation through a series of dialogues to ensure that the principles and rights outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are fully integrated into Australian policy and practice.

We have also taken initiatives to ensure that human rights are integrated into everyday language and life. Your Rights at Retirement is just one example of the how the Commission is helping everyday Australians put human rights into practice.

During the year, the Commission warmly welcomed Tim Wilson as Human Rights Commissioner. Since his appointment, Commissioner Wilson has built on our activities on traditional rights and freedoms and has been the spokesperson for our work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender diverse and intersex issues.

We said farewell to Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes, a passionate advocate with over nine years of service as Disability Discrimination Commissioner and in the portfolios of human rights and race. The Hon Susan Ryan AO has taken on the disability portfolio. Commissioner Ryan’s first major initiative as acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner will be to hold a National Disability Forum to bring the disability sector together to identify the key human rights priorities for people with disabilities.

The Commission plays an important role within the Asia Pacific region. Over the last year we continued to contribute technical assistance to advance partnerships for human rights in China and Vietnam. This year marked the 15th anniversary of the China-Australia Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program. During the last 15 years, more than 220 activities have been held under this program in China and Australia, addressing around 35 different human rights topics.

Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are the cornerstone of a modern democratic society.

As Australia’s national human rights institution, the Commission plays a vital role in the promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms in Australia. We look forward to working closely with the community, business, media and government in advancing all rights and freedoms, and ensuring a fair and inclusive society for all.

The Commission’s annual report was first submitted to the Attorney on 26 September 2014. On 12 January 2015 the Australian National Audit Office, following an internal Quality Control Review, advised the Commission of the withdrawal of their independent auditor’s report issued on 8 September 2014 as the review had identified an error in the financial statements requiring correction. The Commission has amended the financial statements that appear in this report along with a reissued independent auditor’s report.

Professor Gillian Triggs
President