Refine results
-
Childrens Rights10 September 2025Opinion piece
Have governments been careless about kids? We need to learn the lessons.
This opinion piece from Australia's National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds is about the need for governments across the country to focus not just on caring for kids in childcare, but also kids in the child protection and child justice system, and also the importance of not only focusing on solutions for the future but also why so many calls for reform over several decades have been… -
Race Discrimination15 August 2025Opinion piece
Why anti-racism needs to be part of economic reform in Australia
In an opinion piece published on The Mandarin, Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman argues that Australia’s reform agenda must include a commitment to addressing workplace racism. -
Childrens Rights28 October 2025Opinion piece
Our domestic and family violence services are leaving kids behind
In an opinion piece for Nine Newspapers, including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Brisbane Times, outgoing National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds calls on Australian governments to prioritise children's safety and wellbeing in every stage of their life - with particular scrutiny on national domestic and family violence services. -
Technology and Human Rights2 July 2023Opinion piece
Australia needs to be a world leader in ethical AI
Find out more about how Australia can be a leader in responsible and ethical artificial intelligence. -
Rights and Freedoms3 May 2024Opinion piece
We need debate on sensible limits on free speech
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… -
Rights and Freedoms20 October 2025Opinion piece
The next hack target isn't your phone, it's your mind
By Australia's Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay Imagine waking up to find your personal phone number splashed across social media. Now imagine it’s not just your number - it’s your thoughts. That’s not a dystopian fantasy. It’s the very real future we’re hurtling toward as neurotechnology advances faster than our laws can keep up. Data breaches are becoming disturbingly routine… -
Rights and Freedoms20 January 2023Opinion piece
Australia needs to deliver on our treaty promises
As with any agreement, there are certain requirements that OPCAT signatories need to fulfill, and Australia has been given longer than any other country to meet our OPCAT commitments. Today – 20 January 2023 – is our extended compliance deadline, and Australia has failed to deliver on our promises. -
Commission - General13 March 2023Opinion piece
A national Human Rights Act needs to be introduced in Australia
Opinion piece by Commission President Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, first published in the Canberra Times. -
24 January 2017Opinion piece
We need a national picture of domestic violence homicides
Authors Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins and President of the Australian Human Rights Commission Professor Gillian Triggs In March 2010, shortly after making the decision to leave her abusive husband after more than 20 years of violence, Zahra Abrahimzadeh was stabbed to death in front of 300 witnesses inside the Adelaide Convention Centre. Two years later, her husband was… -
Rights and Freedoms14 December 2012Opinion piece
Opinion Pieces - Immigration detention laws need reviewing (2008)
This is an often depressing tour that we at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) undertake every year to monitor the conditions of immigration detention in Australia for compliance with internationally recognised human rights obligations. We tour and inspect the facilities, interview the staff and meet with the detainees themselves. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice30 January 2014Opinion piece
We need to fix the Constitution, says Social Justice Commissioner
Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the nation’s Constitution is a waste of time, 2UE Drive host Justin Smith recently argued. There are many things the Constitution doesn’t recognise, he said, the document is dull, and we would be better off if we paid attention instead to the words we use every day. I agree with Mr Smith on one point: the Constitution isn’t a page… -
Rights and Freedoms14 December 2012Opinion piece
No need to abandon human rights to be tough on terror (2006)
In the post-September 11 world, debate about counter-terrorism is often characterised as an argument between 'the realists', who appreciate the need for tough new counter-terrorism laws, and 'the out of touch', who fail to take the terrorist threat seriously.