Primary Sources
The Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 and the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2010 will ensure recognition of human rights issues in legislative and policy development and implement the legislative elements of Australia’s Human Rights Framework, released earlier in the year. http://alp.org.au/federal-government/news/gillard-government-legislative-agenda/
The Committee is calling for submissions by 27 October 2010 for report by 23 November 2010. The report is due to be tabled 9 December, with the legislation coming back into parliament in February next year.
Further details at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/human_rights_bills_43/info.htm
The hansard from the recent Senate committee hearing (referred to in my email) is available here: http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S13323.pdf
Suggested Letter to Senator Steve Fielding {Please amend as you wish}
255 Blackburn Road, Mount Waverley, VIC 3149 (03) 9802 1922 / (02) 6277 3711 (Parliament) http://www.stevefielding.com.au/contact/
Support the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bills
Dear Senator Fielding,
I write to urge your support for the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 (Cth) and the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2010 (Cth). The Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 provides for human rights compatibility statements to accompany Parliamentary legislation. As you may be aware, the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs is reviewing this Bill.
- This Bill claims the support of a majority of Australians. It is a recommendation from a wide-ranging, in-depth public consultation, the National Human Rights Consultation (NHRC), chaired by the well-respected Father Frank Brennan. A national poll undertaken for the Consultation found that a clear majority of Australians want human rights more clearly expressed and adhered to in law.
- The Bill provides a practical way to assist Parliament in considering human rights. Australia has already ‘signed up’ to observe these norms. Yet as the NHRC found, in certain instances we are failing our commitments. The Bill means Parliamentary ministers will be putting on the record how proposed legislation does or does not comply with human rights. This should only help the public and the Parliament understand and debate legislation more fully.
- The Bill will not threaten Parliamentary sovereignty (as some suggest human rights legislation might). In Victoria, even with a Charter of Rights, the Government has tabled and passed legislation it admitted was incompatible with its Charter of Rights and Responsibilities (The Summary Offences and Control of Weapons Acts Amendment Bill 2009).
- In taking measures to express how our laws comply with human rights norms, Australia can only gain moral credibility as it calls on others to honour human rights. I am sure you can see how important this backdrop is for protecting the human rights of many Christians and other persecuted groups around the globe.
- Finally, the Bill is a marked improvement on current processes. It allows for a more systematic, informed and scrutable process on human rights than exists under Standing Order 24(1). Among other weaknesses, Standing Order 24 doesn’t specify which rights to consider nor how draft laws should be measured against human rights standards.
Australia has signed up to a number of human rights treaties which protect the family such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Recently Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions used rights found both in Victoria’s Charter and international instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child to protect children’s interests. It helped allow two abused children to give evidence at court. This Bill is an important step towards putting in place better processes to protect the vulnerable. As Jesus said, “whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.” (Matt 25:40)
Yours faithfully,
[Signed] and [Name] and [Address]
Remember to: (1) include your name and address; (2) personally sign the letter; (3) post the letter [email is less effective).
Opinion and Comment
The reference in the letter to Senator Fielding to a case involving the Victorian Charter where some abused children were assisted is explained in this article in The Age – http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/editorial/the-rights-that-belong-to-us-all-20101107-17iuq.html
Frank Brennan argues that the intent of a HRA is partly fulfilled by the Government’s Human Rights Framework, including accountability measures such as statements of compatibility - http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=21482
With a different perspective, Ed Santow argues that the response to the Brennan Report is a fundamentally missed opportunity — http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/human-rights-reform–an-opportunity-missed-20100422-tf8h.html