The Federal Government is pushing through Parliament 3 bills comprising its “Stronger Futures” plan, one of which extends elements of the federal intervention in Aboriginal communities for a further 10 years.

In direct irony is the fact that the government is, at the same time proposing to amend the Australian constitution to include Aboriginal people.

Freedom from discrimination is enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which Australia supported at its birth in 1948. It is also written into various Australian anti-discrimination laws. Few people may be aware that the Racial Discrimination Act was in fact suspended from 2007 until 2010 to allow the federal intervention in Aboriginal communities. So how safe are human rights in Australia, when a government can just suspend laws when it feels like it?

Australia is the only western democracy that does not have a human rights act. The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay sharply criticised our performance in the areas of detainment of refugees and our treatment of Aboriginal people in May 2011. Ms Pillay also asked why our government does not support a human rights act? I personally asked John Howard when he was Prime Minister and was told that it was best that politicians held this power rather than courts. How can we trust them to protect our rights?

The only protections are to know your human rights, educate others and see a Human Rights Act as part of Australian law. If you don’t know your rights, you don’t know when they are being abused. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is simply explained at www.youthforhumanrights.org.

Please sign our petition to support a National Human Rights Act for Australia.

Nigel Mannock

Director

Youth for Human Rights Asia Pacific