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ALHR welcomes the return of funding to Australian community legal centres but more is needed to protect access to justice

posted on May 1, 2017

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes the Commonwealth Government’s announcement that it will reinstate funding previously cut from the Australian Community Legal Centre sector (the CLC sector) in the 2017–18 Budget. ALHR has written to the Commonwealth Attorney General thanking him for making this important decision. However, while his office’s press release suggests there … Read More >>

Celebrating Our Righteous ANZAC Legacy

posted on April 25, 2017

Photo Credit: poppies&sun: http://www.surreyphoto.co.uk/pages/surrey-art-for-sale.php?gall_id=49&page_no=1 OP-ED by Benedict Coyne, President, Australian lawyers for Human Rights The spirit of ANZAC and human rights go hand-in-hand. On this sacred day in our nation’s annual calendar we remember not only Gallipoli but the invocation of courage, mateship, and sacrifice in protecting our fundamental freedoms and way of life, all … Read More >>

Scathing Senate report on offshore processing and conditions inside detention

posted on April 22, 2017

On Friday the government released a report by the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs, which followed a seven-month inquiry into allegations of abuse on Manus and Nauru sparked by the publication of the Nauru files. ALHR’s submission  was quoted extensively throughout the report. The Co-Chairs of ALHR’s Refugee Rights Subcommittee Rebecca Dowd and … Read More >>

ALHR Submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into self-harm and neglect of asylum seekers in relation to the Nauru Regional Processing Centre, and any like allegations in relation to the Manus Regional Processing Centre.

posted on April 22, 2017

On 7th November 2016 ALHR lodged its submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into self-harm and neglect of asylum seekers in relation to the Nauru Regional Processing Centre (attached below). The Co-Chairs of ALHR’s Refugee Rights Subcommittee, Khanh Hoang and Rebecca Dowd also appeared before the Committee to give oral evidence.

HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYERS WELCOME ACT AMENDMENTS TO DISCRIMINATION LAW

posted on April 12, 2017

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes recent changes to expand discrimination law in the ACT. The Discrimination Amendment Bill 2016 (ACT) expands discrimination law to now include extra grounds on which discrimination is prohibited including where it is based on a person’s accommodation status, employment status, intersex status, status as a victim of family … Read More >>

2017 AGM Documents and Notice

posted on April 4, 2017

The ALHR Annual General Meeting will be held on 18 April 2016 at 7:00pm AEST Level 9, 60 Castlereagh Street, Sydney Please e-mail membershipenquiries@alhr.org.au if you intend to attend in person to allow access to the building or if you intend to attend in person in your local State or Territory please contact your local convenor … Read More >>

Lawyers Condemn Outdated Statements of Malcolm’s Men As Reflecting a 1950’s View of Women and Low-Paid Workers.

posted on April 3, 2017

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has concerns about the federal government’s submission to the Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review 2017. The government has argued that an increase in the minimum wage is an inefficient way to address relative living standards or the needs of the low-paid. The government’s view is misguided and risks … Read More >>

ALHR writes to new WA Premier and Attorney General offering support for Western Australian Human Rights Act

posted on March 31, 2017

ALHR has written to the new Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan and WA Attorney General John Quigley congratulating them on their very successful election result and offering our support for the introduction of a Western Australian Human Rights Act. Australia remains alone amongst western liberal democracies and common law legal systems as bereft of a constitutional … Read More >>

ALHR supports the introduction of exclusion zones in NSW to stop harassment at abortion clinics and calls for the decriminalisation of abortion in NSW

posted on March 31, 2017

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has expressed strong support for the creation of exclusion zones surrounding reproductive health services clinics as a way of protecting and promoting the human rights of women accessing essential health services. Like the Abortion Law Reform (Miscellaneous Acts Amendment) Bill 2016 introduced last year by Dr Mehreen Faruqi, the Summary … Read More >>

Queensland Government fails to deliver adequate protection in domestic violence cases. Federal Government should intervene.

posted on March 28, 2017

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is concerned the Queensland government and crossbenchers have rejected the proposal to mandate that victims and their families be notified when perpetrators are granted bail or parole. Such measures, rather than more populist moves like the introduction of presumptions against bail, will more effectively ensure the safety of women … Read More >>

Human rights lawyers demand royal commission into abuse and violence against people with disabilities in the disability care sector.

posted on March 28, 2017

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is calling for an immediate royal commission into the treatment of people living with disability in taxpayer-funded group homes and disability accommodation as highlighted in last night’s episode of Four Corners. ALHR President Benedict Coyne said, “the episode reinforced the findings of a Senate inquiry released in November 2015 … Read More >>