The Australian Human Rights Commission makes this submission to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee with respect to the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Integrity of Elections) Bill 2021. This submission is made only in relation to Schedule 2 of the Bill relating to voter identification.
In its submission to the Indigenous Voice co-design process, the Australian Human Rights Commission has called for a model that guarantees self-determination and independence from government, and is informed by international principles for the political representation of Indigenous peoples.
The Australian Human Rights Commission welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission to the Indigenous Voice Co-design Groups on the proposals outlined in the Indigenous Voice Interim Report of October 2020.
The travel ban on Australian citizens returning from India, accompanied by criminal sanctions under the Biosecurity Act, raises serious human rights concerns.
The Commission supports the continuation of aid to the Indian Government as it copes with the current COVID-19 crisis, but the Commission holds deep concerns about these extraordinary new restrictions on Australians returning to Australia from India.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for greater accountability to be embedded in laws that extend the Commonwealth’s power in the event of national emergencies.
In its submission to a Senate inquiry examining the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020, the Commission recommended five changes to legislation that was enacted by parliament in 2020.
Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow said the laws, which empower the Australian Government to act quickly and unilaterally during national emergencies, must include appropriate checks and balances.
The Australian Human Rights Commission makes this submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee in relation to its review of the operation of the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020 (Cth).
The Commission makes this submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee in relation to the Migration and Citizenship Amendment (Strengthening Information Provisions) Bill 2020 (Cth) (the Bill) introduced by the Australian Government.
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Protecting public health and protecting human rights are not mutually exclusive choices – but how do we keep the balance between the two? What safeguards do we need to protect rights and freedoms in Australia and prevent the ‘creeping authoritarianism’ we have witnessed elsewhere in the world?
These were just some of the big questions of our time discussed by the panellists during the ‘Balancing Human Rights During COVID19’ RightsTalk, which the Australian Human Rights Commission presented in partnership with Lexis Nexis.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed recommendations for reform of the mandatory data retention regime (known as the ‘metadata law’).
