Law Reform
PILCH National Human Rights Submission
In June 2009, PILCH made a submission to the National Human Rights Consultation Committee. PILCH argued that Australia’s ad hoc system of protecting and promoting human rights is inadequate. Taking into account the failure of the current system to effectively protect and promote human rights, PILCH argued that there is a clear and pressing need to adopt measures that aim to ensure the better protection and promotion of those rights. PILCH submitted that the enactment of a national Human Rights Act is the most effective way to maximise the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights in Australia.
PILCH further submitted that the enactment of a Human Rights Act is not, of itself, sufficient to improve the protection and promotion of human rights. It said that the enactment of any legislation is unlikely to ever bring about the desired changes, unless accompanied by a suite of other measures designed to promote awareness of, and ensure the effective implementation of, that instrument. For this reason, PILCH argued that it is important that a Human Rights Act is introduced together with other measures designed to: strengthen and expand human rights education; improve access to justice; expand the mandate of the Australian Human Rights Commission; and, for example, improve data collection on human rights violations. PILCH submitted that it is important that these measures are pursued in conjunction with – and not in isolation from, or instead of – a Human Rights Act.
HPLC National Human Rights Submission
Between March and May 2009, the HPLC held 18 workshops at homelessness specific service providers in Victoria to ask people experiencing homelessness what they think about human rights in Australia. The purpose of conducting these workshops was to promote the right to participate by informing homeless people in our community about human rights and engaging them in the National Human Rights Consultation process.
In total, the HPLC consulted with 145 people who were experiencing homelessness, or who had formerly experienced homelessness, about human rights in Australia. Over 25 people wrote their own submissions to the National Human Rights Consultation Committee. The collated survey results and the views and comments put forward by participants at these workshops also formed the entirety of the HPLC’s first submission in response to the National Human Rights Consultation, Promoting and protecting the Human Rights of People Experiencing Homelessness in Australia.
The HPLC considered that it was important to provide the views and comments of workshop participants in a separate submission in order to appropriately capture the extent of participants’ concerns about human rights issues in Australia. That first submission encapsulates the voices of the voiceless in our community.
The HPLC’s second submission – Righting the Wrongs of Homelessness – focussed on those issues on which the HPLC is in a unique position to comment namely, the legislative mechanisms that the Australian government must adopt to ensure the most effective response to tackle the homelessness crisis in Australia. This submission was also informed by the HPLC’s consultations with people experiencing homelessness. The HPLC proposed the enactment of Federal Human Rights Act that effectively promotes and protects the human rights of all Australians.
SRLC National Human Rights Submssion
In June 2009, SRV made a submission to the National Human Rights Consultation Committee, in which it addressed each of the above questions. SRV argued that current protection of human rights in Australia is inadequate, espcially in relation to the prevention of elder abuse. The core recommendation of the submission is that Australia should enact a Commonwealth Human Rights Act that protects and promotes all human rights enumerated in international covenants and treaties signed by Australia. In addition to a Commonwealth Human Rights Act and to assist with the development of a human rights framework at the Commonwealth level SRV argued that non-legislative measures, particularly education and improved access to legal services, need to be implemented to assist in ensuring the rights of older people in Australia are adequately protected.