Across Australia, hundreds of primary school aged children are being arrested, hauled before the courts and locked away in concrete cells the size of a car parking space. Out of sight, out of mind. Will you stand with us to fix our broken youth justice systems?
Read MoreThere was a fleeting moment of hope and compassion for refugees stranded on Manus Island for the last four and a half years today when the Australian Parliament voted to support their safe resettlement in New Zealand, only for the Government to then block the motion by orchestrating a re-vote.
Read MoreThe Victorian Ombudsman has released a critical report highlighting ‘humiliating, degrading and undignified’ strip search practices in a Victorian women’s prison. The report shows Victoria is breaching human rights standards by subjecting women to routine strip searches, extended solitary confinement and excessive use of restraints.
Read MoreIn a landmark decision today the Full Court of the Family Court has ruled that young people who experience gender dysphoria and wish to undergo hormone treatment may now be able to do so without the approval of the Family Court.
Read MoreToday the Senate passed the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill. The Bill, to amend the Marriage Act, passed 43-12 following days of debate.
Read MoreOvernight UN experts slammed the Australian Government’s ongoing cruel and inhumane treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum.
Read MoreThe UN expert committee on racial discrimination has demanded to know why Australia is out of step with the rest of the world in criminalising primary school aged children. All Australian states and territories currently have laws that allow children as young as ten years to be charged, brought before the courts, sentenced and imprisoned.
Read MoreThe UN expert committee on racial discrimination issued a please explain to the Australian Government overnight, asking how it will eliminate racial discrimination in the remote ‘work for the dole’ program imposed on remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Read MoreAustralian companies need to be held to account for human rights abuses they commit overseas, but Australia’s complaints system is woefully inadequate and in desperate need of reform.
Read MoreA message from Daniel Webb, Director of Legal Advocacy of the Human Rights Law Centre to our supporters.
Last week I was in Ottawa, Canada, to receive the inaugural Global Pluralism Award for the Human Rights Law Centre’s work defending the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum. The award recognises the impact we have achieved so far, but it also recognises the gravity of the injustice we must continue to fight against.
Read MoreThis morning PNG armed forces have again stormed the Manus Island regional processing centre. Reports say they are beating the men and forcing them to leave. This follows yesterday’s actions where approximately 50 of the 400 men were forced to move to accommodation that two days earlier the UN had found was unsafe and unready.
Read MoreThe Australian Government is bracing for another round of intense scrutiny at the United Nations – this time focusing on its efforts to combat racial discrimination.
Read MoreFollowing Universal Children’s Day, doctors, lawyers, health and human rights experts from across Australia are calling for the age when children can be held criminally liable to be raised to at least 14 years so that primary school aged children are not entangled in the criminal justice system.
Read MoreToday governments across Australia were handed a comprehensive roadmap to fix our broken youth justice systems and stop the abuse of children in youth jails. Shahleena Musk, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, welcomed the Royal Commission’s recommendations and said now is the time for decisive action.
Read MoreAustralians have overwhelmingly voted Yes to the question of whether LGBTI Australians can marry the person they love. 61.6% of people who voted in the marriage equality postal survey voted Yes. 133 out of 150 electorates voted Yes.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has been working with the Equality Campaign and LGBTI community organisations to campaign for a Yes vote in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. There are currently two private member’s bills set to be tabled if there’s a Yes result on 15 November 2017. Find out what they mean.
(Photo credit: Roman Clarke)
Read More“If there is a Yes result on Wednesday, Australians will have voted for true equality for all Australians – not an unfettered right to discriminate for people who voted No,” said Ms Brown.
Read More“The Royal Commission laid bare the devastating cost of removing children from their families and locking them away behind bars. Prisons fail children," said Shahleena Musk.
Read MoreOvernight the United Nations Human Rights Committee called on the Australian Government to improve its track record on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) rights across the country.
Read MoreAustralia was condemned overnight by a UN Human Rights Committee for its human rights record on a range of issues including refugees, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ rights, youth justice and democratic freedoms.
Read MoreThis year, the annual Sydney Peace Prize awarded the honour to Black Lives Matter, the first time the award has been given to a movement, rather than an individual. While in Australia to accept the award, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, Patrisse Cullors and Canadian chapter leader Rodney Diverlus met with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and advocates. Senior Lawyer, Shahleena Musk, was part of a number of a number of those meetings, and helped coordinate a people of colour organising exchange.
Read MoreToday the Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan will deliver a formal state apology to people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts.
Read MoreThe UN’s top expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has included criticism of the Australian Government in a scathing global report condemning deterrence-based responses to people seeking asylum.
Read MoreOvernight PNG police issued an ominous media statement warning that the safety of refugees on Manus is “not to be taken for granted given the tension that is now being expressed by the locals on Manus Island.” Peter Dutton and Malcolm Turnbull can't just sit back and wait for further bloodshed. Every single man on Manus must be immediately evacuated to safety in Australia.
Photo credit: Matthew Abbott
Human Rights Watch (HRW) visited Manus in September this year, and spoke to dozens of men about their fears, including those who have been “stabbed, beaten, and robbed” when they’ve left the guarded centre. The latest report from HRW lays bare the fear, cruelty and danger the refugees and people seeking asylum face on Manus Island.
Photo credit: Matthew Abbott
Read MoreThe Department of Immigration revealed in Senate Estimates today that Australian engineering firm Canstruct was the only firm approached to tender for the contract to run Australia’s immigration detention centre on Nauru.
The UN Human Rights Committee has taken aim at the Australian Government’s treatment of sexual minorities. The comments came in the same week Australia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council. Anna Brown, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said Australia should be concerned about its international legitimacy so soon after its appointment to the UN Human Rights Council.
Read MoreA threatening notice posted inside the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (RPC) today has warned refugees detained there for the last four and a half years that from the 31 October, all food, water and electricity will be disconnected, the fences will come down and the facility will be handed over to the PNG Defence Forces.
Read MoreThe Australian Government was again grilled last night at the United Nations in Geneva with the Human Rights Committee taking aim at the failure to scrap the cruel fines laws that resulted in Ms Dhu’s tragic death in custody.
Read MoreJust one day after condemning the Australian Government’s “chronic non-compliance” with international human rights laws, in a further hearing overnight the expert Committee honed in on the Government’s cruelty to refugees and in particular its offshore detention regime. The Human Rights Committee described the policies as “shocking” and “disturbing”.
Read MoreAustralian engineering firm Canstruct will be complicit in serious human rights abuses if it takes over the contract to run the Australia’s immigration detention centre on Nauru. A leaked memo from Canstruct’s CEO overnight, shows the company will take over the contract to run the Nauru centre by the end of the month, and will be paid $8 million by the Australian Government.
Read MoreOvernight Australia was slammed by the UN Human Rights Committee for its “chronic non-compliance” with, and disengagement from, that Committee’s work. Australia’s record on human rights was found lacking as part of the Committee’s review into Australia’s protection of civil and political rights.
Read MoreThe Federal Government’s Welfare Reform Bill contains stigmatising and needlessly punishing measures, whilst giving too much power over the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities to an unelected bureaucrat.
Read MoreThe High Court of Australia has ruled that key provisions of Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest legislation are invalid because they violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution.The Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser, said the decision was a big win for democracy in Australia.
Read MoreForeign Minister Julie Bishop has come under strong criticism from members of an advisory group that the Minister established just this year. Members of the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group on the Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were disappointed that their recommendations have been dismissed outright by the Foreign Minister.
Read MoreMedia Alert: At 10:15am Wednesday 18 October the High Court of Australia will hand down its decision in a landmark case which argued that Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest laws violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution.
Read MoreHot on the heels of its appointment to the UN Human Rights Council, the Australian Government faced a grilling from UN experts about its own human rights performance. Our lawyers were in Geneva to help brief the Committee and present a report endorsed by 56 Australian organisations highlighting how Australia was failing to meet the standards it promised to uphold.
Read MoreDuring the same week that Australia is expected to be granted a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, an expert UN committee will grill the Australian Government over its own human rights record.
Read More“This is the most significant UN position Australia has sought since the Security Council. Relatively speaking Australia is likely to be a positive force for reform on the Council, but if it wants to have the credibility required to be a true human rights leader it can't continue to blatantly breach international law itself. There's no doubt that it's cruel treatment of refugees will hamstring Australia's efforts on Council," said Emily Howie.
Read MoreWe welcome the Queensland Government’s important step to help people whose love was criminalised by unjust laws. It’s not only a symbolic win, it will also remove practical barriers imposed by these unfair convictions.
Read More"After four years of fear, violence, suffering and death, these men deserve safety. Shunting them from one island prison to another doesn’t cut it,” said Daniel Webb.
Read MoreA message from Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre to our supporters.
I am delighted to announce that the Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, has won an inaugural Global Pluralism Award – awarded by the Canadian-based Global Centre for Pluralism.
Read MoreThe Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada and chair of the Award jury, has announced Daniel Webb, Director of Legal Advocacy with the Human Rights Law Centre as a winner of the inaugural Global Pluralism Award for his work highlighting and promoting the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum.
Read MoreAnother refugee held by the Australian Government on Manus Island has been found dead. He was one of over 900 men who came to Australia seeking safety but have been held on Manus for four years. His is the ninth death in the Australian run offshore detention centres and the second on Manus Island in just two months.
Read More“With the postal vote survey proceeding right now, we have no choice but to campaign hard for a strong ‘yes’ vote. Vote ‘yes’ for dignity, vote ‘yes’ for love. It’s time to move forward, Australians are ready for marriage equality," said Anna Brown.
Read MoreUnited States authorities have today confirmed that 25 refugees detained by the Australian Government on Manus Island for the last four years have left for the US but refused to confirm when — or how many — others will follow.
Over 2000 people remain warehoused on Manus and Nauru, 1783 of whom have already been assessed to be refugees. Among these 2000 innocent people are 169 children.
Read MoreIn a joint statement to the UN Human Rights Council, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT and Human Rights Law Centre urged the Australian Government to abandon its racially discriminatory ‘Community Development Program’ and replace it with an Aboriginal-led model.
Read MoreAfter four years of fear and violence, a small handful of people finally received some good news. But this doesn't close the dark chapter in our history — not until every single man, woman and child tormented on Nauru and Manus Island is safe.
Read MoreThe postal survey on marriage equality is now underway. New laws have been put in place to try to ensure respectful debate. Here's what you need to know about how they impact you.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must ensure transparency of its intelligence sharing with other countries to safeguard Australian citizen’s private information, a coalition of privacy and human rights organisations said with the launch of a new campaign.
Read MoreAdrianne Walters, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said that state and territory criminal justice systems are out of balance and that governments around Australia have a responsibility to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities to stem the number of people being sent to prison.
Read More“One of the things that makes our democracy great is having an informed public debate with a range of voices. Charities working for public benefit are and should be a key voice in these debates. The Government should be safeguarding their free speech, not stifling it,” said Emily Howie.
Read MoreThe United Nations has been asked to urgently intervene to halt the Australian Government’s moves to make refugees and people seeking asylum destitute as a means of coercing them to return to danger and harm on Nauru or Manus Island.
Read More“It’s time to bring some compassion, common sense and basic human decency back to the way we treat people seeking asylum. Premier Andrews has shown it. Now it’s time for other leaders to do the same,” said Daniel Webb.
Read MoreAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities are being denied basic rights and fair payment for work as a result of a racially discriminatory Federal Government program. That was the message the Human Rights Law Centre had for the Senate Committee examining the appropriateness and effectiveness of the Government’s remote work for the dole program.
Read More"With the postal vote survey now proceeding, we have no choice but to campaign hard for a strong yes vote. Australians are ready for marriage equality and the survey is an opportunity for all Australians to vote for their friends and family and our national values of fairness and equality."
Read More“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people should be able to marry the person they love. The postal plebiscite is unnecessary and is already proving divisive and harmful. LGBTI groups strongly oppose the plebiscite and so do we,” said Anna Brown.
Read More“The Government has not pointed to any evidence that these measures will help people recover from drug or alcohol addiction or get them into work. Rather, they will aggravate economic disadvantage, and perpetuate wrongful stereotypes about people who turn to Australia’s social safety net in times of need,” said Adrianne Walters.
Read MoreWe have two exciting opportunities to join the Human Rights Law Centre team in Sydney to focus on our work defending democratic freedoms - we're looking to hire a Director of Legal Advocacy and Lawyer.
Read More“These are babies who’ve taken their first steps and spoken their first words in Australia. Kids going to Australian schools. Families who have been part of our community for years. And now, out of the blue, they’ll be effectively thrown out on the streets in a cruel attempt to force them back to harm,” said Hugh de Kretser.
Read MoreMEDIA ALERT - PRESS CONFERENCE
Who: Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director, Human Rights Law Centre - who represent most of the affected people, Amy Frew, Lawyer, Human Rights Law Centre, Natasha Blucher, Detention Advocacy Manager, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Date: Sunday 27 August 2017
Time: 11:00AM (AEST)
Location: HRLC, Level 17, 461 Bourke St, Melbourne
"The people in the Manus detention centre are tired from this kind of political games. We just want freedom and a chance to rebuild our lives," said Behrouz Boochani.
Read MoreAll Australians should have the same opportunities for love, commitment and happiness. All Australians should be able to marry the person they love. This is why we're challenging the unnecessary postal plebiscite.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today welcomed the repeal of Northern Territory alcohol laws that unfairly and disproportionately impact Aboriginal people, but urged the Government to follow through on its promise to remove draconian paperless arrest laws.
Read More“I've met kids in Cambodia who had been compelled to work 14-hour days on plantations in blistering heat to supply produce that ends up on Western supermarket shelves. We clearly need a better system of regulation here to ensure that Australian companies are not turning a blind eye to these sorts of practices,” said Keren Adams.
Read MoreAnna Brown, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, which is representing Australian Marriage Equality and Senator Janet Rice, said the urgent challenge was necessary to test the constitutional validity of the postal plebiscite on marriage equality.
Read More“All Australians should have the same opportunities for love, commitment and happiness. Australians don’t want more excuses or delaying tactics – we want marriage equality,” said Anna Brown
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre will be part of a High Court challenge to the Australian Government’s divisive and unnecessary postal plebiscite. Here's why.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has today filed a legal action against the Australian Government on behalf of Australian Marriage Equality and Senator Janet Rice. The action challenges the constitutional validity of the postal plebiscite on marriage equality.
Read MoreThe Federal Government’s Welfare Reform Bill contains unfair and needlessly punishing measures, while giving too much power over the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities to an unelected bureaucrat, the Human Rights Law Centre has told a Senate inquiry.
Read MoreAnother man held by the Australian Government on Manus Island has been found dead. It is reported that the refugee’s body was found in dense jungle on the island. He was one of over 900 men who came to Australia seeking safety but have been held on Manus for four years.
Read MoreAnna Brown, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, has today publicly released a joint opinion from top constitutional experts confirming that the Government spending money for a postal plebiscite without passing legislation would be unconstitutional.
Read MoreA renewed push to legislate for marriage equality is on. “This brings hope to the many lesbian and gay Australians and their families, friends and colleagues, who just want to be treated equally under Australian law and marry the person they love,” said Anna Brown.
Read MoreThe African Commission on Human and People's Rights has urged the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to re-open the criminal investigation into the role an Australian company, Anvil Mining, played in a massacre of 70 people in 2004.
Read More“I just cried as I was reading the transcripts of the most two powerful leaders in this world. Their words made me feel like I am just a product to them and I can be traded for anything.”
“I am just a human being and there is no need to play with my life. All I want is to respect and love others and be loved and respected in return. All I need is a sense of belonging to a safe country so that I can live a life that every human deserves.” - Imran Mohammad, a refugee held on Manus Island for almost four years.
Read MoreThe Australian Government should create an environment that encourages all not-for-profit groups to speak freely and contribute to public debate the Human Rights Law Centre today told the Department of the Treasury which is conducting an inquiry into potential reforms to the Deductible Gift Recipient tax arrangements.
Read More“Turnbull was clearly more concerned with appearances than reality - totally preoccupied with maintaining the facade of the deal irrespective of whether or not anyone will actually find safety under it.”
Read More“It’s been three years since the cruel death of Ms Dhu in police custody. Three years for the WA Government to right clear wrongs. Ms Dhu should never have been taken into custody in the first place," said Adrianne Walters.
Read MoreAustralia should introduce strong laws to tackle modern slavery in the global supply chains of Australian businesses, the Human Rights Law Centre today told a parliamentary inquiry hearing.
Read MoreToday in South Australia, landmark reforms came into effect which allow for same-sex couples married overseas to have the legal certainty and dignity of recognition under state laws.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today said it welcomes community discussion about a national Human Rights Charter following the announcement that the Australian Greens will ask the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to help identify the best model for a national Charter.
Read More“We are seeing a chain of attacks against refugees. The local police can’t protect us. We are being forced to live in constant fear,” said Behrouz Boochani.
Read More“Although Australia has, in many ways, a strong democracy, secrecy has noticeably increased across government. Australia’s commitment to the Open Government Forum is a step towards addressing some of the transparency issues that hold us back,” said Emily Howie.
Read More"The NT Government should be urgently finding ways to reduce Aboriginal peoples’ contact with the criminal justice system,” said Senior Lawyer Shahleena Musk.
Read MoreAustralia’s key complaints body for corporate human rights abuses is failing and in need of a major overhaul, the Human Rights Law Centre has told an independent review.
Read MoreToday the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, revealed that the Australian Government misled the UN while seeking its support for the controversial US refugee resettlement deal.
Read More“All the men on Manus and the families and children on Nauru want – all they have ever wanted – is a life in safety and freedom. They’ve had four years of their life taken from them. They deserve a future.” says Daniel Webb.
Read MoreMore examples of the serious mistreatment and harm to children in Australian youth detention centres have been detailed in damning reports from Western Australia’s independent Inspector of Custodial Services and Queensland’s Youth Detention Inspectorate.
Read MoreNews that US officials interviewing refugees on Nauru have walked out two weeks before their scheduled departure time has cast more doubt on the future of the US resettlement deal.
Read MoreBehrouz Boochani, a refugee currently held on Manus Island said, "All the men here have families, and four years with no certainty for their future is already too much."
Read MoreResponding to reports that France has withdrawn its candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council – meaning Australia and Spain can be elected to the world’s peak human rights body unopposed – Emily Howie, a Director of Legal Advocacy at the HRLC, said Australia has work to do in order to fulfill the duties of a Council member.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory Government has been ineffective in its response to child offending and is failing to make communities safer, the Human Rights Law Centre told the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must evacuate every man, woman and child currently warehoused on Manus and Nauru and bring them to safety in Australia, the United Nations said overnight.
Read MoreAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to be denied basic rights the United Nations reported overnight.
Read MoreI met Bon and his partner of 50 years, Peter de Waal in 2014 when I worked closely with the NSW LGBTI Parliamentary Working Group to pass legislation to erase historical homosexual convictions.
Recently, Bon was diagnosed with terminal cancer and it was his dying wish to have his record cleared. This year we made that happen.
Read MoreAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities are being denied basic rights, equal treatment and fair payment for work, as a result of Federal Government policy, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency and the Human Rights Law Centre told a Senate inquiry.
Read MoreAddressing the UN earlier this week in a statement to the Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Law Centre called on all UN member states to cooperate with the first United Nations independent expert tasked with combating the unacceptable violence and discrimination faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people around the world.
Read MoreImran Mohammad is a Rohingyan refugee whom our Government has detained for the last four years on Manus Island in PNG. “I have never experienced safety since I was born.” With your support, we have travelled to Manus three times to expose conditions inside the detention centre and to bring the voices of the men trapped inside to the world.
Read MoreAs the Australian Government campaigns for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families are being torn apart by punitive laws and a lack of investment in community-based prevention programs, the UN heard overnight.
Read MoreCommunity leaders and human rights groups appeared before a parliamentary hearing today to support legislation to erase the criminal records of people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts and call for important improvements to be made.
Read MoreThe Australian government must immediately evacuate every person warehoused on Nauru and Manus to safety if it wants to be taken seriously as a human rights leader, the Human Rights Law Centre told the United Nations Human Rights Council in a statement delivered overnight.
Read MoreHugh de Kretser, Executive Director with the Human Rights Law Centre told the Parliamentary Inquiry into Youth Justice Centres in Victoria that the Victorian Government has an opportunity to rebuild a safe, humane, age-appropriate youth justice system.
Read MoreDemocracy thrives when public policy and debates are informed by a range of voices. Community organisations have enormous expertise to contribute, drawn from the work they do, whether it’s running a homeless shelter or protecting the environment.
You can help safeguard our vital democratic foundations by making a tax deductible donation to our appeal today.
Read MoreThe Australian Government today confirmed it would pay $70 million to almost 2000 men, many of whom it has warehoused on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea for nearly 4 years.
Read MoreWe’re in the midst of a democratic and human rights recession both here and overseas.
Your support is needed to push back. More than just stopping the erosion of our rights, together we can advance the protection of human rights in Australia and create real and long-lasting change.
Today we’re launching our End of Financial Year Appeal.
Read MoreToday the Human Rights Law Centre will appear before the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Human Rights Sub-Committee to give evidence for the inquiry into the status of the human right to freedom of religion or belief.
Read MoreAustralian governments must act now to safeguard and encourage vibrant debate on matters of public interest, 15 non-government organisations have said in a new Human Rights Law Centre report to be launched by Gillian Triggs at the Progress conference in Melbourne.
Read MoreThe Queensland Government should demonstrate a commitment to women’s health and refer abortion to the state’s Law Reform Commission, a coalition of legal, medical and community groups said.
Read MoreThe Department of Immigration revealed in Budget Estimates that it plans to expand bed capacity at the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre to house up to 440 men on Manus when it closes the detention centre in October.
Read More"It’s not good enough to just leave innocent people trapped in limbo in unsafe conditions forever. Every single one of these men deserves the chance to finally start rebuilding their lives in safety," Daniel Webb said.
Read More"LGBTI Australians should have the same opportunities for love, commitment and happiness as everyone else. We cannot stress enough that this reform is simply about extending the right of civil marriage to all Australians,” said Anna Brown.
Read More“For the last four years we’ve seen report after report - horror story after horror story - detailing the harm people are suffering inside the camp and the serious dangers they face when they venture outside it. How much more evidence do we need?” said Daniel Webb.
Read MoreLeaked reports reveal that camp managers and security staff contracted by the Australian Government intentionally tried to make conditions in Australia’s detention centre on Manus Island even worse, putting the men who have been held in limbo for almost four years at greater risk of serious harm.
Read MoreThe over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is a growing national crisis that is being overlooked by all levels of government in Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre and Change the Record said in a new report. HRLC's Adrianne Walters said, “The tragic and preventable death of Ms Dhu is a devastating example of what happens when the justice system fails Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
Read MoreToday the NSW Upper House voted down a bill that would have brought the state’s abortion law in line with clinical practice and community standards, said the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreThe Victorian Supreme Court this morning ruled that detaining children at the Barwon maximum security adult prison was unlawful and prohibited the Victorian Government from continuing to detain children there.
Read MoreRights groups applauded the Queensland Government for its apology to people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts. Anna brown said, "This apology from the Queensland Government is a powerful symbolic act that helps to repair the harm caused by these unjust laws and affirm the value of gay, lesbian and bisexual people’s sexuality."
Read MoreThe Victorian Supreme Court will decide tomorrow whether the Victorian Government breached the law in moving children to the maximum security adult prison at Barwon. Human Rights Law Centre lawyers to hold a doorstop press conference shortly after the court session has concluded.
Read MoreOn Tuesday the High Court of Australia will hear a landmark case seeking to strike down Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest laws that unreasonably limit people’s freedom to stand together and speak out on matters that they care about.
Read MoreHuman rights abuses by companies involved in the detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island were once again under the spotlight at the United Nations.
Read MoreOver 80 recommendations have been made to bring the Queensland youth justice system in line with international law and to respond to the individual developmental needs of each child. the review reminds us that just because a child is incarcerated, their human rights and entitlements must not be ignored.
Read MoreWith some of Australia’s biggest brands like Rip Curl, Quicksilver, Woolworths and Coles recently caught up in forced labour scandals, it is clear the Australian Government needs a better system to compel businesses to lift their game.
Read MoreA scathing Senate Committee report has found that conditions inside the Nauru and Manus camps are unsafe and are causing severe harm for which the Australian government is responsible.
Read MoreThe Victorian Government told the Supreme Court last December that its sole justification for locking kids up in a maximum security adult prison was the lack of capacity due to the damage at Parkville. Yet now the Government has admitted that even when those 60 beds are fully repaired next month, it’s going to continue to keep kids at Barwon until August or September.
Read MoreThe terrifying and violent attack on the men in the Manus Island regional processing centre last night is further proof that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull must immediately evacuate the camp and bring the men to safety in Australia.
The Human Rights Law Centre welcomes Tasmanian Premier's Will Hodgman apology today to people charged under Tasmania’s previous laws that criminalised homosexuality, and a scheme to allow people who were charged or convicted of crimes for consensual homosexual activity or cross-dressing to apply to have these charges removed from their criminal records.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to use his PNG trip – which comes at a critical juncture in Australia’s bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council - to make arrangements for refugees and people seeking asylum languishing on Manus Island to be immediately evacuated to safety.
Read MoreThe offshore processing centres on Nauru and Manus Island continue to be the sites of ongoing human rights violations, including illegal detention, sexual assault and child abuse. Today, a new report by Amnesty exposes how Spanish multinational Ferrovial and its Australian subsidiary Broadspectrum are making vast profits operating Australia’s abusive offshore detention centres.
Read MoreMEDIA ALERT: DOOR STOP PRESS CONFERENCE
9:15am Monday 3 April 2017
On the steps of the Victorian Supreme Court, 210 William St, Melbourne
with the Human Rights Law Centre’s Executive Director Hugh de Kretser
Tomorrow the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory will release its interim report into systemic abuses and mistreatment of children in youth prisons.
Read MoreToday Penny Sharpe MLC introduced a bill into the New South Wales parliament to protect the privacy, safety and dignity of women accessing reproductive health services.
“For too long, women in NSW have had to run the gauntlet of intimidation and abuse just to see their doctor. It’s difficult to understand how this behaviour has been allowed to continue for so long,” said Ms Howie.
Read MoreOn 30 March 2017, the Herald Sun published a story about our Supreme Court challenge against the Victorian Government to stop the use of Barwon prison to detain children. The story includes a letter written by one of our clients.
Read MoreThe daughter of a man being held indefinitely on Manus Island, despite being found to be a refugee, traveled to Canberra to ask politicians to reunite her family, who have been separated for three and a half years by the government’s offshore detention policies.
Read MoreThe Commission for Children and Young People released a scathing report, The Same Four Walls, detailing widespread isolation of children in Victoria’s youth justice centres. "You can’t respond to inadequate staffing levels by just leaving kids locked up in the cells for hours on end. It’s time for the Victorian Government to stop taking short cuts and to start properly resourcing the youth justice system," the HRLC's Alina Leikin.
Read More“Unfortunately, as it stands, Territory women still run the risk of criminal prosecution for later term abortions. This is simply unacceptable and carries with it cruel consequences," said Adrianne Walters, Director of Legal Advocacy at the HRLC.
Read MoreAs of today, same sex couples have equal access to assisted reproductive technology and unpaid surrogacy in South Australia. The last direct discrimination against LGBTIQ couples in South Australian legislation has now been removed, but federal marriage equality laws still need to be passed for same sex couples to be treated equally in Australia.
Read MoreProposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act unveiled today by the Australian Government are unnecessary and risk encouraging racist hate speech in the community. The HRLC's Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser, said the Government has its priorities wrong.
Read MoreThe Victorian Government must address the underlying causes of damaging incidents in youth justice centres including staffing and lockdowns, the Human Rights Law Centre has said in a submission to a Victorian Parliamentary inquiry
Read MoreLess then a month before the Supreme Court hears the third legal challenge to the Victorian Government's decision to detain children at the Barwon maximum security adult prison, lawyers are concerned that the use of extreme practices appears to be increasing.
Read More“We are seeing a clear and worrying wave of state-based laws that restrict the ability of Australians to stand together and speak out on issues that they care deeply about. The government may disagree with protesters' views on a particular issue, but shutting down peaceful assemblies only serves to weaken our democracy,” said HRLC's Emily Howie.
Read More“All the data shows that these laws are being overwhelmingly used against Aboriginal people. Twenty-six years ago the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody made clear that locking someone up should only ever be a last resort and that police should be required to consider safer options,” said HRLC's Adrianne Walters.
Read MoreIn a submission filed with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade consultation on a new Foreign Policy White Paper, the Human Rights Law Centre has urged Australia to raise the bar on its foreign policy and aim to be a principled and consistent leader in human rights and a staunch defender of international law.
Read MorePrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should make the most of his seemingly close relationship with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo to push for unfettered media access and human rights monitoring in Papua.
Read More“Under current laws and guidelines, if the Bali 9 case happened again today, nothing would prevent the AFP from acting in the same way. Yesterday’s announcement of amending AFP guidelines does not change that. If the government were serious about prohibiting information sharing it would legislate to prevent it from happening,” said Emily Howie.
Read MoreMore than 100 Australian LGBTI groups and leaders including the Human Rights Law Centre have joined together in the wake of the Senate Inquiry Report into the Draft Amendment to the Marriage Act to voice their support for the example set by the committee and to urge the parliament to act on marriage equality for all Australians.
Read More“The push to weaken the laws by some has run aground. It’s hard to imagine what those pushing for change want people to be able to say that they currently can’t. Any move to weaken the law itself would have sent a green light to racism,” said the Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Adrianne Walters.
Read MoreToday the South Australian Parliament has passed a law allowing equal access to assisted reproductive treatment and unpaid surrogacy for same-sex couples. This removed the last direct legal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people from the statute books of the state.
Read MoreIn a recent Victorian decision, a mother and daughter, Betty and Maria Matsoukatidou, won an important Supreme Court Human Rights Charter case on the fair hearing and equality obligations owed by courts to self-represented litigants, and in particular those with learning disabilities.
Read More“Any scrutiny of the Australian Government’s role in harming innocent children in its care is vital, welcome and overdue. After three and a half years of abuse, fear and limbo, we already know that warehousing kids in offshore facilities is inherently harmful,” said the Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser.
Read MoreQueensland MPs must urgently support abortion law reform to make Queensland law relevant to current clinical practice and community values, the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
Read MoreToday new adoption equality laws came into effect in South Australia allowing same-sex couples to adopt children in the state. South Australian law previously restricted adoption to married or de facto heterosexual couples.
Same-sex couples can now jointly adopt children across Australia in every state and territory except the Northern Territory.
Read MoreDisturbing details have emerged about the incident on Monday night at the Barwon maximum security adult prison where the Victorian Government is currently detaining around 21 boys aged between 15 and 18 years old.
Read MoreThis week, the South Australian Legislative Council passed a motion supporting marriage equality. The motion was brought by Greens MLC Tammy Franks and supported by ALP, Liberal and independent MLCs who all had a conscience vote on the motion.
Read MoreLeading national marriage equality advocacy groups Australians for Equality (A4E) & Australian Marriage Equality (AME) today welcomed the release of a consensus report from the Senate Select Committee on the Government’s Draft Marriage Amendment (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomes the Termination of Pregnancy Law Reform Bill tabled in the Northern Territory Parliament today but argues that it doesn’t go far enough to truly modernise the Territory’s abortion laws and respect women as competent decision-makers.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomes Commonwealth Attorney-General George Brandis' announcement today that Australia would ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other mistreatment (OPCAT) by the end of the year.
Read MoreA new Supreme Court case has been launched against the Victorian Government by the Human Rights Law Centre to stop the use of Barwon prison to detain children.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is deeply concerned about today’s announcement that the Victorian Government will move the management of the youth justice system in Victoria to the department that manages adult prisons.
Read MoreToday the Human Rights Law Centre joined church groups, medical associations, academics and a coalition of organisations and community groups to call for all refugees and asylum seekers to be immediately evacuated from Nauru and Manus Island and brought to safety in Australia.
Read MoreThe future of the US refugee deal has again been thrown into doubt following reports that US President Donald Trump has called the agreement the ‘worst deal ever’.
Read MoreTonight’s ABC 7.30 episode detailing the serious assault on a 16-year old boy is further evidence that the Victorian Government must immediately act to remove children from Victoria’s most notorious adult jail. The boy suffered a fractured vertebrae and serious injuries to his face and head after being assaulted by fellow inmates on Monday.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is deeply disturbed about an incident at the Barwon jail yesterday resulting in serious injuries to a 16 year old boy and the reported use of capsicum spray on others. The injured boy was hospitalised overnight after being assaulted by other boys and is now being moved to Malmsbury youth justice facility.
Read MoreOn 17 November 2016, the Victorian Government decided to use the Grevillea Unit in the Barwon maximum security adult prison as a youth jail and started sending children as young as 15 there. This article explains why children do not belong in adult jails.
Read MoreMedia reports suggest that US President Donald Trump has today told Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that he will not quash the US refugee deal, but simple and important questions about the detail of the arrangements remain unanswered.
Read MoreExecutive orders signed by US President Donald Trump, imposing a four month freeze on all refugee resettlement to the US and drastically reducing America’s refugee intake thereafter, have exposed further holes in the Turnbull Government’s already uncertain refugee deal.
Read MoreAustralia’s metadata retention regime should be overhauled to properly protect Australians from indiscriminate mass surveillance, the Human Rights Law Centre said in a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department today.
Read MoreExecutive orders expected to be signed by US President Donald Trump, which would reportedly impose a temporary ban on most refugees and suspend visas for people from many refugee producing countries, have cast further doubt on the Turnbull Government’s already shaky US refugee deal.
Read MoreThe Australian Government should allow for marriage equality without introducing new carve-outs from Australia’s anti-discrimination protections, said the Human Rights Law Centre today in its submission to a senate inquiry into the Government’s exposure draft Same-Sex Marriage Bill.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory Government should demonstrate its commitment to women’s health and equality by modernising the Territory’s outdated abortion laws said the Human Rights Law Centre today in a submission to the Northern Territory Government’s discussion paper on abortion law reform.
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