Submission to the AJPCHR Inquiry into Australia's Human Rights Framework
Members of our network recently authored and endorsed this submission about the protection of economic, social and cultural rights in Australia to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Inquiry into Australia's Human Rights Framework.
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Written by:
Associate Professor Cristy Clark, University of Canberra Law School
Professor Beth Goldblatt, University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Law; Visiting Professor of the School of Law at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Associate Professor Jessie Hohmann, University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Law
Dr Genevieve Wilkinson, University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Law
Dr Lida Ayoubi, Senior Lecturer Auckland University of Technology Law School
Associate Professor Amy Barrow, Macquarie Law School
Associate Professor Becky Batagol, Faculty of Law Monash University
Dr Louise Buckingham, Adjunct, UTS Faculty of Law
Associate Professor Julie Debeljak, Faculty of Law Monash University
Dr Sara Dehm, Senior Lecturer, UTS Faculty of Law
Dr Julia Dehm, Senior Lecturer, La Trobe Law School
Kate Eastman AM, SC (New Chambers)
Associate Professor Colin Hawes, UTS Faculty of Law
Professor Sarah Joseph, Griffith Law School
Associate Professor Daniel Joyce, School of Global and Public Law, Faculty of Law and
Justice, UNSW
Professor Helene Lambert, UTS Faculty of Law
Dr Dani Larkin, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Queensland
Associate Professor Teresa Liebesman, UTS Faculty of Law
Professor Lucas Lixinski, School of Global and Public Law, Faculty of Law & Justice,UNSW
Professor Craig Longman, Professor of Practice, Jumbunna: Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, Research Unit.
Professor Arlie Loughnan, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Law Theory, The University of Sydney
Associate Professor Trish Luker, UTS Faculty of Law
Professor Alan Morris Professor, UTS Institute for Public Policy and Governance
Dr Sean Mulcahy, Research Officer, Gender, Law and Drugs Program La Trobe University
Professor Brian Opeskin, UTS Faculty of Law.
Associate Professor Sophie Riley, UTS Faculty of Law
Dr Gerald Roche, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Politics, Media & Philosophy, La Trobe University
Professor Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law, The University of Sydney
Dr Laura Smith-Khan, Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UTS Faculty of Law.
Associate Professor Ramona Vijeyarasa, UTS Faculty of Law
Endorsed by
Recommendations
Recommendation 1:
Include fully justiciable economic, social and cultural rights for individuals in a new Commonwealth Human Rights Act, using the clearly articulated international law, standards, and jurisprudence to guide Australia’s path.
Recommendation 2:
Consider including an interpretive provision similar to section 31 of the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) to guide the interpretation of the rights contained in a new Commonwealth Human Rights Act.
Recommendation 3:
Include a free-standing right of legal action in a new Commonwealth Human Rights Act.
Recommendation 4:
Include a complaints mechanism, facilitated by the Australian Human Rights Commission, in a new Commonwealth Human Rights Act.
Recommendation 5:
Include a fully justiciable right for individuals to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, reflecting Australia’s obligations to respect, protect and fulfil all elements of the right.
Recommendation 6:
Include a fully justiciable right to adequate housing, with the standards set out in ICESCR and subsequently interpreted in international law as the minimum standard reflecting Australia’s obligations in international law.
Recommendation 7:
Include a fully justiciable right to social security, including social insurance, social assistance and social services for the social protection of all.
Recommendation 8:
Include a fully justiciable right for individuals and groups to the human right to water, reflecting Australia’s international obligations to respect, protect and fulfil all elements of the right.
Recommendation 9:
Consider including specific language recognising the unique reciprocal relationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to water, and the related right to self-determination in water access and management for Traditional Owners.
Recommendation 10:
Include a fully justiciable right for individuals and groups to the human right to a healthy environment.
Recommendation 11:
Consider including specific language recognising the unique reciprocal relationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to lands and waterways, and the related right to free, prior and informed consent in relation to any proposed projects that might impact their territories.
Recommendation 12:
Australia should ratify the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR.
Recommendation 13:
The Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) should be amended to include ICESCR in the definition of human rights so that the covenant is explicitly within the mandate of the AHRC.
Recommendation 14:
Human rights education about economic, social and cultural rights included in international law and a new Commonwealth Human Rights Act is important for the community, advocates, judiciary and government bodies.