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Rights and Freedoms18 June 2013Webpage
Human rights based approaches
It would be deceiving the peoples of the world to let them think that a legal provision was all that was required ... when in fact an entire social structure had to be transformed : Rene Cassin, during the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Human rights based approaches are about turning human rights from purely legal instruments into effective policies, practices, and practical ... -
Rights and Freedoms11 June 2014Speech
The Forgotten Freedoms – Freedom of Religion
It is a great pleasure to deliver a Blackfriars Lecture. A few weeks ago I gave a speech to the Sydney Institute outlining the approach I plan to take to human rights as the Federal Commissioner titled ‘The Forgotten Freedoms’. In this speech I outlined that I have concerns about the key freedoms of expression, worship, association and property rights. Reasserting them will be the focus of my tenure as Human Rights Commissioner. -
Commission – General14 December 2012Speech
President Speech: What does it mean to believe in human rights in Australia today?
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of this land, the Pambalong clan of the Awabakal people, and pay my respect to their elders, past and present. Today I would like to explore the question: ‘What does it mean to believe in human rights in Australia today?’ This is an ambitious project, and I am aware that the question does not have a short and simple answer. -
Rights and Freedoms9 July 2015Speech
Religious Freedom in a Secular Society
Freedom of religion is a close ally and friend of the absolute freedoms of thought and conscience. Government cannot regulate it, and nor should they. Equally, it is closely allied to freedom of expression. -
Legal14 December 2012Speech
Dignity, Fairness and Good Government: The Role of a Human Rights Act - Lord Bingham
It would clearly test to destruction the tolerance of the ordinary red-blooded Australian to have a Pom getting off the plane from London and telling them how to run their country. So I shall not presume to say how the current human rights debate in this country should be resolved. But perhaps I may contribute some thoughts, prompted by our own experience in the United Kingdom, acknowledging as I do so that the Australian context, while in some ways similar, is in others significantly different.