A short documentary has appeared on the internet about Scott Parkin, the nonviolent US peace activist who in 2005 was detained in Australia for 5 days and then deported for being a 'direct or indirect risk to Australian national security.' Greenpeace Australia's communications director, Dan Cass, is depicted describing Parkin as Australia's first political […]
The right to vote is universal, but not absolute, according to the UN Committee on Human Rights. The Australian Constitution reflects that understanding, according to a recent decision of the High Court dubbed "the biggest constitutional law case of the year", with a bearing on this month’s federal election.
The Australian Constitution says that parliamentarians must […]
A little bit of human rights history was made in south-eastern Australia yesterday when the parliament of Victoria passed laws protecting civil and political rights. The Australian Capital Territory has had a Human Rights Act since 2004, but this is the first major jurisdiction in Australia, the first state, to pass human rights legislation. Western […]
Australia is, I believe, the only country in the world to declare a public holiday in honour of a horse race. But at the least the Melbourne Cup is a home-grown event and the holiday actually falls on race day (the first Tuesday in November). Today is a public holiday known as the Queen's Birthday. […]
A fine tradition of Australian parliamentary democracy — in addition to compulsory voting, long may it last — is the respect given to all prisoners' right to vote. Perhaps it is a consequence of (white) Australia's penal history that we don't regard prisoners as less than human. Whatever they may have done, adult prisoners should […]