Opinion Pieces

This section contains articles and opinion pieces by the various Commissioners and staff of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Catherine Branson QC - President, Australian Human Rights Commission

Why doing the ‘rights’ thing is good for business
Published in Ethical Investor magazine, Oct/Nov 2009
Everyone needs a safety net at some point in their lives
Published in The Age, 17 June 2009
Stand on your rights, or see them trampled
Published in The West Australian, 08 May 2009
Take judges out of human rights process
Published in The Australian, 08 May 2009
Preventing injustice before it can happen – Let’s bring human rights home
Published in Sydney Morning Herald, 10 December 2008
Don Dunstan Oration - Opinion piece
Human rights: creating a society we can be proud of
Published in The Advertiser, 28 November 2008

Ms Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Age Discrimination

Discrimination occurs against older workers
Published in The Newcastle Herald, 5 February 2010
The Boardroom is no longer a closed shop
Published in The Sun-Herald, 27 December 2009.
Make room at the table for women
Published in The Australian Financial Review, 29 October 2009.
Why gender quotas would help Australian business
Published in The Punch, 16 October 2009.
Older people and employment: the invisible discrimination
Published in The National Times, 1 October 2009
Time for action on parental leave
Published in The Age, 10 April 2009
Women on the verge of recession
Published in The Ruby Connection, 18 March 2009
Make Australia work: Working women deserve better
Published in Business Spectator, 30 January 2009
Maternity leave scheme is a must
Published in The Sunday Age, 23 November 2008
Maternity leave is a must
Published in The Courier Mail, 21 November 2008
The 'burden' that should be a blessing
Published in Australian Financial Review, 1 October 2008
Small business needs to think big about paid maternity leave
Published in Sydney Morning Herald, 18 June 2008
Time to Adjust the work-life balance
Published in The Australian, 11 April 2008
Maternity scheme is overdue
Published in The Age, 8 April 2008
Time to induce paid maternity leave
Published in The Newcastle Herald, 28 February 2008
Profession should be re-engineered to help women reach the top
Published in The Australian, 8 February 2008
Improper sexual behaviour still rife
Published in The Canberra Times, 6 February 2008
Let’s not take another quarter century to end sexual harassment
Published in The Advertiser, 11 January 2008
Flexibility the key to a better work environment
Published in Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Decemeber 2007
Women's business is everyone's business
Published in the Sydney Morning Herald, 8 October 2007

Mr Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner & Race Discrimination Commissioner

National Congress will be more representative than all previous models
Published in ABC Unleashed, 11 January 2010
Our future in our hands
Published in ABC Unleashed, 27 November 2009
Indigenous health is a matter of human rights
Published in National Times, 27 October 2009
Juvenile justice continues to focus on locking up kids rather than providing services that curb crime
Published in The Adelaide Advertiser, 30 September 2009
Let's finally give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a voice
Published in National Times, 21 September 2009
New solutions, new hope
Published in The Australian, 29 August 2009
Global efforts help to combat racism are essential for local responses
Published in Human Rights E-Bulletin Vol 38, 26 May 2009
Now might be the right moment for native title
Published in Koori Mail, 14 January 2009
Act closed wounds but not the gap
Published in Sydney Morning Herald, 07 January 2009
Implementing Change
Published in ABC's new Indigenous Portal, 24 October 2008
Australia needs to declare support for Indigenous Peoples in words and actions
Published in Koori Mail, 24 September 2008
Racial equality re-examined
Published in On Line Opinion on 24 April 2008 & Published in Lawyers Weekly on 9 May 2008
Overcoming the native title gridlock
Published in the Australian Financial Review, 11 April 2008
Our first commitment must be to ensure that children and women can live without fear for their safety, 12 December 2007
Dealing with a national tragedy - failure is not an option
Published in Arena Publications, 15 August 2007
Reinvigorating multiculturalism is not just an option, it is a necessity for a healthy, functioning democracy.
16 August 2007
Close the gap in Indigneous and non-Indegenous health
4 April 2007
Sick lives cut short
Published in Herald Sun, 12 December 2006
Options for indigenous economic development
Published in The Canberra Times, 11 May 2005

Mr Graeme Innes AM, Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner

Are we really the secular nation we think we are?
Published in The Punch, 20 November 2009
The path to social inclusion
Published in SX Magazine, 14 May 2009
Bikies had no answer as blind justice took over
Published in The Daily Telegraph, 23 January 2009
Scrutinising our counter-terrorism laws
Published in On Line Opinion, 06 November 2008
Delay in same-sex fairness is wrong
Published in The Canberra Times, 20 June 2008 and Gay Destination, 26 June 2008
Protecting Australian’s rights
Published in On Line Opinion, 28 April 2008
A question of human rights
Published in The Age, 17 April 2008
Immigration detention laws need reviewing
Published in The Newcastle Herald, 17 January 2008.
It's hard to argue against equality
Published in On Line Opinion, 1 March 2007

Opinion pieces from previous commissioners

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