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Disability Rights
14 December 2012SpeechSpeech to Employers Network on Disability International Day of People with Disability cocktail party (2009)
In the United States, 54 years ago today, Rosa Parks was arrested. Rosa Parks was a black woman, arrested for refusing to sit at the back of a bus. It's appalling to think this occurred. It's even more appalling that 54 years later in Australia, many people with disability can't even get on the bus. -
Disability Rights
14 December 2012Webpage
Public transport FAQ
The DDA states (in section 34) that actions that comply with a Disability Standard are protected from being unlawful under the general anti-discrimination provisions of the DDA. -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 3 - Introduction: Social Justice Report 2009
When I commenced writing this chapter in 2008, Australia did not have a national Indigenous languages policy. However in August 2009, for the first time in Australia’s history, the Commonwealth Government launched a strategy for preserving Indigenous languages: Indigenous Languages - A National Approach 2009 (National Approach). The National Approach sets out the Commonwealth Government&… -
14 December 2012Book page
Transcript of Unlocking Doors: Muslim communities and police tackling racial and religious discrimination together
And she was talking to me how she would never let her kid marry a Muslim person and how much she hates them. How much they give her a bad name and stuff like that. -
22 October 2020Webpage
Partnerships and Upcoming Events
You can subscribe to keep up to date with the Australian Human Rights Commission's latest partnerships and upcoming events. -
Rights and Freedoms
31 October 2013SpeechFreedom of Speech and giving offence: can a balance be struck?
Annual Kirby Lecture on International law: ANZSIL 2013 Thursday 4 July 20136:30 pm Finkel Theatre, John Curtin School of Medical Research,Garran Rd, Australian National University (Check against delivery) Freedom of Speech and giving offence: can a balance be struck? I was especially pleased to be invited to give this address as, throughout my career, I have been enriched by Michael Kirby’s … -
14 December 2012Book page
Native Title Report 2001: Appendix 2
Native title agreements are emerging as an important tool in defining the rights of native title holders over their land. As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner I welcome negotiation and agreement-making as a way of establishing a stable and enduring basis for a dynamic and long term relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people over land. However I am… -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012Speech
Lawasia Conference
In the contemporary world, and particularly amongst developed economies, many of us believed that the culture of civil liberties, freedoms and non-discrimination are reasonably well established and these precepts have clear links to innovation, creativity and the broader concepts of economic productivity and a well functioning civil society. Indeed, I believe that many of us had come to accept… -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012Speech
Human Rights in Contemporary Australia: Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM (2001)
Despite its rather grand title, this presentation will be a relatively modest attempt to set out the key challenges for human rights in Australia as I see them at the outset of my term as Human Rights Commissioner. Let us begin with a quick survey of the state of human rights internationally and in Australia today. -
Employers18 February 2015Webpage
Age discrimination
Learn how age discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably because they are considered to be too old or too young. -
Employers10 February 2015Webpage
The Australian manufacturing and retail sectors and human rights
Learn how Australian manufacturing and retail sectors can integrate human rights into business practices to manage risks and create value. Read our fact sheet. -
Children's Rights
20 November 2014SpeechPrivileging the Voice of Children
Megan MitchellNational Children's Commissioner Early Childhood Australia Riverina Dinner Evening25 August 2014 Check Against Delivery IntroductionGood evening everyone and thank you for having me here. Thank you in particular to Julia Ham, Riverina Early Childhood Australia, for inviting me to attend and speak this evening.Before I begin I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of… -
14 December 2012Book page
Bringing them Home - Chapter 2
Every morning our people would crush charcoal and mix that with animal fat and smother that all over us, so that when the police came they could only see black children in the distance. We were told always to be on the alert and, if white people came, to run into the bush or run and stand behind the trees as stiff as a poker, or else hide behind logs or run into culverts and hide. Often the white… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012SpeechSeventh International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions
Torture and various forms of terrorism have been practiced throughout history, though never on the scale we are now confronted with. The first visual records of police interrogation were discovered in a four thousand year old tomb in ancient Egypt. Since the pharaohs there have been many refinements in methods of inducing physical pain and gathering intelligence, most notably during the Spanish… -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2001: Chapter 1: Ten years on from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
The year 2001 marked the tenth anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The 5 volumes and 339 recommendations that comprise the national report of Commissioner Johnston remain among the most extensive, frank and devastating examinations of the impact of colonialism on the Indigenous peoples of this country. -
14 December 2012Book page
Native Title Report 2003 : Chapter 2 : Native Title Policy - State and Commonwealth profiles
Human rights principles require that Indigenous people's relationships to land, based on traditional laws and customs, be given legal recognition and protection. International legal principles also recognise that Indigenous peoples have economic, social and cultural human rights. Native title, as it is constructed through the Australian legal system, has a limited capacity to meet these human… -
14 December 2012Book page
3. Setting the Scene - Children in Immigration Detention
I want to tell you that actually I spent about fifteen nights in the ride to Australia. I was in a small boat if you want to call that a boat, because it was smaller than that, with lots of difficulties. When I saw [we were] getting near Australia I was becoming a little bit hopeful. When we passed Darwin I got to the detention centre as soon as I looked at these barbed wires my mind was full of… -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012Speech
Henry Parkes Primary Schools Citizenship Convention
For those of you unfamiliar with Australia’s Human Rights Commission, it’s an independent government body that protects and promotes human rights. My role as Human Rights Commissioner is to check that human rights in Australia are being respected including the human rights of children and young people. -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012Speech
Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby: Graeme Innes AM (2007)
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight. It's almost 18 months since we launched the Same-Sex: Same Entitlements National Inquiry. In that time, we have travelled around Australia to hear, first hand, about the impact of discriminatory laws on same-sex couples, and their children. We received 680 written… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
The German Presence in South Australia
I am honoured to have been invited today to open this conference. I have a surname and ancestors with German origins, and I am the Chancellor of this august institution. I guess this explains the invitation, but I have to confess that I feel a bit of an outsider here amongst a distinguished audience steeped in knowledge about the topic of the Conference.