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Commission - General
11 June 2025E-bulletin (Monthly)President's message | June 2025
We must end the practice of police investigating police deaths in custody Two recent Aboriginal deaths in custody in the Northern Territory have again raised questions about the treatment of First Nations people in Australia’s criminal justice systems. Kumanjayi White, a 24 year-old Warlpiri man with disability, died in Alice Springs on 27 May after being restrained by police on the floor of… -
Race Discrimination
11 June 2025Opinion pieceThe key to ending racism? It's right here in these PMs' speeches
Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman reflects on how two speeches from two Prime Ministers, half a century apart, hold the key to ending racism. It comes at a significant marker in Australia’s history, fifty years since the Racial Discrimination Act came into effect. -
Commission - General
13 May 2025E-bulletin (Monthly)
President's message | May 2025
Cost of living issues are human rights issues Someone said to me just before election day that human rights hadn’t featured much in the federal election campaign. It’s true that the words “human rights” didn’t feature much - but human rights issues did. This was an election about the cost of living in Australia and human rights has a lot to say about that. Australia has promised to protect… -
Commission - General
2 April 2025E-bulletin (Monthly)
President's message | April 2025
The vital global role of National Human Rights Institutions Many people who are familiar with the Australian Human Rights Commission are less familiar with the global context in which we operate. The Commission is Australia’s national human rights institution (NHRI) and one of 118 NRHIs globally. NHRIs play a vital role promoting and protecting the human rights of all people in their… -
Rights and Freedoms
24 March 2025Opinion pieceCOVID report provides reality check on human rights during pandemic
Opinion piece from Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay responding to criticism of the Commision's recently released report Collateral Damage: What the untold stories from the COVID-19 pandemic reveal about human rights in Australia. -
Business and Human Rights
13 March 2025Opinion pieceFive years since COVID-19, there are lessons we must act on
The pandemic’s exposure of deep inequalities highlights the urgent need for human rights-centred emergency responses. -
Race Discrimination
5 March 2025Opinion piece
Would Sam Kerr have been charged if she were a man – or white – or straight?
This opinion piece by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody and Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman was published in The Guardian. Imagine how this case would have played out for the thousands of women of colour who don’t have Kerr’s platform, financial resources or legal support. Sam Kerr is one of the most celebrated football players in the world. Captain of the… -
Commission - General
4 March 2025E-bulletin (Monthly)
President's message | March 2025
We must work together to address the scourge of racism. The Director-General of ASIO, Mike Burgess, said in Parliament last week that “in terms of threats to life” antisemitism is ASIO’s top priority. He said he believed it was the first time a form of racism was the agency’s highest priority. The assessment underscored the intensification and severity of the attacks against the Jewish… -
Commission - General
4 February 2025E-bulletin (Monthly)
President's message | February 2025
UN decisions confirm Australia's human rights obligations to refugees and people seeking asylum sent offshore The Refugee Convention is the international community’s commitment to work together to protect people fleeing violence and persecution. When Australia agreed to be bound by the Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol, we agreed to protect refugees who came to our country seeking… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
12 December 2024Opinion pieceWomen in immigration detention are trapped in a system designed for men. Many have not hugged a family member in years
In an opinion piece published in The Guardian, Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay Commissioner Finlay describes the harrowing experiences faced by many women in immigration detention and calls for urgent reform to address these human rights failures. It follows the release of the AHRC report into the issue. -
Children's Rights
10 December 2024Opinion pieceAfter the social media ban, is the job done on child safety and wellbeing?
When the backslapping over the successful passing of the social media ban legislation has finished, there is a significant amount of work that still needs to be done to improve child safety and wellbeing in Australia.