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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…

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…

Eye opening video on elder abuse What does elder abuse look like? It may be physical, financial or psychological, but many Australians do not see the abuse that older people sometimes suffer. Last week, on International Day of Older Persons, Age Discrimination Commissioner Dr Kay Patterson launched a campaign centred on a hard-hitting video that identifies the “red flags” of elder abuse to…

Community Alert Commissioner Update - COVID-19 Dear friends, We are living through an extraordinary challenge for our society and our community—A public health crisis the world has not seen since the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918. These remarkable times have seen our governments take unprecedented measures to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic to save lives. The actions taken by our …

Welcoming our new Children's Commissioner, Anne Hollonds Anne Hollonds commences her role as Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner today. Anne brings with her a wealth of experience as an advocate for children and young people. She has worked as the CEO of Relationships Australia, the Benevolent Society and – most recently – the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The Commission…

We have heard the words human rights quite a lot in recent weeks, in varied and sometimes inaccurate settings. Measures to protect our health and safety must be balanced with our rights and freedoms, but if there was ever a time to articulate where that line is, it would be now. Which is why last week, I took the step of writing a piece for a mainstream publication. While the pandemic…

Celebrating human rights heroes in 2020 Every year the Commission holds the Human Rights Awards to celebrate human rights achievements. However, given the extraordinary circumstances of 2020 we believe a new and different approach is needed to celebrate the many human rights heroes who have emerged this year. View a short video from our Commissioners, and follow our social media pages as an …