Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is deeply troubled by the South Australian Government’s attempts to rush through new anti-protest laws, which threaten to breach Australia’s international human rights law obligations. The Summary Offences (Obstruction of Public Places) Amendment Bill 2023 (the Bill) seeks to introduce a number of changes, including increasing the penalty for … Read More >>
While the Budget has delivered many positive cost of living measures, more must be done to guarantee greater immediate protections of Australians’ economic and social rights. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes the Albanese Government’s commitment to developing a Wellbeing Framework for budget and fiscal policy and the $14.6 billion four-year cost-of-living package included … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes budget measures announced in the 2023-24 Federal Budget which promise modest advancement of the rights of people with disabilities in Australia. Natalie Wade, Chair of Disability Rights at ALHR said,“While the 2023-24 Budget has made clear the next steps for the financial sustainability of the NDIS, that is … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes ground-breaking legislation developed by the ACT Government that will provide protection for Canberrans with innate variations of sex characteristics. ALHR LGBTI Rights Co-chair, Georgia Burke said, “ALHR commends intersex advocates and allies who have pressed for these Australia first human rights reforms. The measures will protect intersex children … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) commends the Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC on the establishment of a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights Inquiry to investigate Australia’s human rights framework, with a focus on whether the Federal Government should introduce a Federal Human Rights Act. The announcement comes soon after the launch of an … Read More >>
Leading human rights experts have warned that National’s Senator Matthew Canavan’s Human Rights (Children Born Alive Protection) Bill 2022 (the Bill) risks a dangerous politicisation of healthcare in Australia by replicating the rhetoric of the US anti-abortion movement and undermining long-settled international human rights standards. The Bill, which is currently the subject of a Senate … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes the launch of an Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Free & Equal Position Paper proposing a model for a Federal Human Rights Act. The AHRC’s proposals seek to create legal protections for the human rights of all people in Australia, and provide ways to seek justice if people’s … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) expresses profound concern that the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) has been forced to take the drastic measure of terminating its visit to Australia due to continued obstruction from New South Wales and Queensland while attempting to fulfil its mandate under the Optional Protocol to the … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has commended Premier Dominic Perrottet and Opposition Leader Chris Minns for publicly committing their parties support for measures to ban conversion therapy in New South Wales, irrespective of who wins government at the state election in March. ALHR’s LGBTIQA+ Rights Committee Chair, Georgia Burke said, “ALHR welcomes this bipartisan position, … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement that it will fulfill its pre-election commitment to end a decade of suffering by providing a path to permanent safety for refugees holding temporary protection visas. Approximately 19,000 people who Australia has recognised as refugees, but who have been subjected to temporary visas under … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is deeply concerned about the Albanese Government’s attempts to advance the Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023 in the Senate. Caitlin Caldwell, ALHR Chair of Refugee Rights said, “The Bill would make aggregate criminal sentences (a single sentence imposed for two or more changes within a case) a legal … Read More >>
Human Rights Day message from Kerry Weste President, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) This weekend we celebrated Human Rights Day and the 74th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a document which underpins all international human rights law. This year’s theme – freedom, dignity and justice for all – offers an opportunity … Read More >>
