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In an opinion piece published in The Guardian Australian, National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds reflects on the urgent need for child justice reform after the release of a landmark report by the AHRC.

As Human Rights Commissioner I want to promote a culture of rights and responsibilities so that every Australian understands their rights and confidently stands up for them against government encroachment. Because human rights are a political construct, there are numerous ways that they can be approached. Each perspective weights the relative integrity of rights when they come into conflict…

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.

The pandemic’s exposure of deep inequalities highlights the urgent need for human rights-centred emergency responses.

When president Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the 1941 State of the Union address he spoke of four essential human freedoms people “everywhere in the world” ought to enjoy. The very first of these was freedom of speech and expression. Free speech was listed first because it is the bedrock of democracy. Salman Rushdie famously described it as “the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is…

In the past weeks, we have seen tens of thousands of Australians united in a single message: no more violence against women. From the time emergency National Cabinet was called to the time they met; three more women had been killed. We have an epidemic of gendered violence in this country, and we must - and can - do better. On Wednesday, the federal government announced a commitment of $925 …

This opinion piece by Human Rights Commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, appeared in The Australian on Monday 29 April 2024. When President Roosevelt gave the 1941 State of the Union Address he spoke of four essential human freedoms that people ‘everywhere in the world’ ought to enjoy. The very first of these was freedom of speech and expression. Free speech was listed first because it is the…

Opinion piece | Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay Earlier this month the Australian Human Rights Commission released Collateral Damage: What the untold stories from the COVID-19 pandemic reveal about human rights in Australia. In the five years since COVID-19 reached Australia, this report is the first to assess the country’s pandemic response through a human rights lens. It is…

In a joint op-ed, National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds and Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay contend that the proposed ban on social media access for Australians under 16 merely addresses surface issues without improving overall safety on these platforms.

As Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman writes for The Guardian Australia, the language used when speaking about those seeking our protection matters. He writes that Australia must take action against discrimination and racism – starting from the top.

This opinion piece by Human Rights Commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, appeared in The Australian on Friday, 23 February 2024. Elon Musk recently announced Neuralink’s first successful brain computer interface (BCI) implantation in a human being. The BCI implant is called Telepathy , and allows the user to control digital devices with their thoughts alone. Initial trials aim to enable people with…