Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) applauds AHRC President Gillian Triggs’ recent call to reignite the dialogue about a federal Bill of Rights for Australia. Australia remains alone among western liberal democracies and common law legal systems as bereft of a national bill of rights. ALHR President Benedict Coyne said, “The Parliament of Australia is … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) are gravely concerned about the operation of Queensland’s Jury Act after the High Court dismissed the appeal in Lyons v Queensland, upholding that the exclusion of deaf person, Gayle Lyons from performing jury duty is not direct or indirect discrimination under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld). Benedict Coyne, President … Read More >>
By Stephen Kenny, Camatta Lempens Lawyers When: 5:45pm to 6:45pm, Wednesday 9 November 2016 Where: Moot Court, Ligertwood Building, University of Adelaide ALHR SA is delighted to present renowned human rights lawyer, Stephen Kenny, who will speak about human rights in the context of the ever-present “War on Terror”. Details of this free event, and … Read More >>
Idil Mohamud and Sophie Hantz are students of the La Trobe Law School, undertaking an internship with Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and are currently compiling a brief of evidence for ALHR’s Women and Girls’ Rights Subcommittee for a possible CEDAW complaint on behalf of the asylum seeker and refugee women in Nauru. Idil and Sophie have written a blog … Read More >>
On Monday 8 August 2016 the La Trobe Law School welcomed the Disability Rights Chair of the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, Natalie Wade, to present a seminar to students on prisoners with disability and the criminal justice system. Natalie Wade is a lawyer in Adelaide. She has a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor Commerce … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has spoken out in support of statements made by the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement following news of the tragic death on Monday morning. Dr Amy Maguire, Co-Chair of ALHR’s Indigenous Rights subcommittee said, “ALHR is deeply saddened to hear of the death of a 29-year-old Indigenous inmate following an … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has urged the Tasmanian Parliament to reject changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas) (the Act) as set out in the Anti-Discrimination Amendment Bill 2016 (“2016), which was tabled in the lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament on 20 September 2016. The proposed changes would see a new exemption … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes a West Australian bill intended to reduce the number of Indigenous people being imprisoned for failure to pay fines. The Sentencing Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 proposes to give Western Australian criminal courts wider discretion in sentencing low-level offences. In particular it aims to divert first-time offenders away from incarceration … Read More >>
ALHR has written to the Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, congratulating her Government on its decision to introduce legislation that will see 17-year-olds removed from the State’s adult prisons within a year. ALHR has long campaigned for the Queensland government to act to address this violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and recently stepped … Read More >>
ALHR is pleased to announce the launch of our new national LGBTI Rights Subcommittee The LGBTI community in Australia continues to face varied challenges, from verbal harassment to forced medical intervention or the inability to access affordable medical care. Elsewhere, in places like the Middle East, Russia, Africa and Asia the LGBTI community is habitually subject to severe human rights abuses … Read More >>
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is deeply disappointed that the recent release of the Nauru files – detailing assaults, sexual abuse, child abuse, self-harm attempts and dire living conditions – has not triggered major policy change by the Australian Government. Some 2,000 people remain trapped on Nauru and Manus Island. More than 1,400 of … Read More >>
Benedict Coyne, President of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights has published an Op-Ed on the Australian Lawyers Alliance website looking at the human rights issues surrounding abortion decriminalisation in Queensland. READ THE OP-ED HERE
