Footnotes

CHAPTER 1 - Introduction

[1]        National Human Rights Consultation Committee, National Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, www.humanrightsconsultation.gov.au/www/nhrcc/nhrcc.nsf/Page/report (accessed 30 November 2010).

[2]        House of Representatives Hansard, 30 September 2010, p. 271.

[3]        The material in this part of the committee's report is based substantially on National Human Rights Consultation Committee, National Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, www.humanrightsconsultation.gov.au/www/nhrcc/nhrcc.nsf/Page/report (accessed 30 November 2010).

[4]        National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, p. 113.

[5]        National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, pp 112-113.

[6]        [1975] ATS 40; [1980] ATS 23; [1976] ATS 5; [1983] ATS 9; [1989] ATS 21; [1991] ATS 4; [2008] ATS 12.

[7]        [1991] ATS 39; [2009] ATS 5; [2009] ATS 19.

[8]        [1975] ATS 40; [1989] ATS 21.

[9]        Liberty Victoria, Submission 12, p. 3.

[10]      An amicus curiae (Latin for 'friend of the court') is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter. The decision on whether to admit the information lies at the discretion of the court.

[11]      Under section 46PV of the AHRC Act, the amicus curiae function is vested in the special-purpose Commissioners rather than the Commission itself.

[12]      Section 11 of the AHRC Act.

[13]      See, for example, section 48 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and section 53 of the Age Discrimination Act 2004.

[14]      Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT); Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW); Anti-Discrimination Act (NT); Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld); Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SA); Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (TAS); Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic); Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA).

[15]      See the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic).

[16]      Section 37 of the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT); and section 28 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). Section 37 of the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) only requires compatibility statements in relation to bills 'presented to the Legislative Assembly by a Minister'.

[17]      Section 38 of the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT); section 30 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic).

[18]      National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, p. 120. See also Civil Liberties Australia, Submission 33, pp 9-10.

[19]      National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, p. 121.

[20]      National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, p. 122.

[21]      National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, pp 3-4.

[22]      National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, pp 3-4.

[23]      National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, p. 383.

[24]      National Human Rights Consultation Committee, Human Rights Consultation Report, September 2009, recommendations 6, 7, 13, 18 & 19, pp xxxi, xxxiii & xxxiv.

[25]      Attorney-General's Department, 'Australia's Human Rights Framework', www.ag.gov.au/humanrightsframework (accessed 30 November 2010).

[26]      Attorney-General's Department, 'Australia's Human Rights Framework', www.ag.gov.au/humanrightsframework (accessed 30 November 2010).

[27]      Australian Government, Australia's Human Rights Framework, April 2010, p. 3.

[28]      Australian Government, Australia's Human Rights Framework, April 2010, p. 1.

CHAPTER 2 - Overview of the bills

[1]        Explanatory Memorandum (EM), p. 1.

[2]        Note that, with the commencement of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Act 2010 on 25 November 2010, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission was renamed the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement.

[3]        EM, p. 3.

[4]        EM, p. 3.

[5]        Subsection 38(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 means that the reference to 'Acts' in subclause 7(b) is limited to Commonwealth Acts.

[6]        EM, p. 4.

[7]        EM, p. 4.

[8]        EM, p. 4.

[9]        EM, p. 4.

[10]      EM, p. 4.

[11]      Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, 'Enhancing parliamentary scrutiny of human rights', Media Release, 2 June 2010.

[12]      House of Representatives Hansard, 30 September 2010, p. 271.

[13]      House of Representatives Hansard, 30 September 2010, pp 271-272.

[14]      House of Representatives Hansard, 30 September 2010, p. 272.

[15]      EM, p. 5.

[16]      EM, p. 5.

[17]      EM, p. 5.

[18]      EM, p. 5.

CHAPTER 3 - Key issues

[1]        See, for example, Amnesty International Australia, Submission 6, p. 2; Public Interest Law Clearing House, Submission 8, p. 1; Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, Submission 10, p. 2; Liberty Victoria, Submission 12, p. 2; National Children's and Youth Law Centre, Submission 15, p. 1; Australian Privacy Foundation, Submission 17, p. 2; UnitingJustice Australia, Submission 19, pp 2-3; Federation of Community Legal Centres (Vic), Submission 23, p. 1; Law Council of Australia, Submission 31, pp 3 & 13; Victoria Legal Aid, Submission 32, p. 1; Civil Liberties Australia, Submission 33, pp 5-7; Office of the Victorian Privacy Commissioner, Submission 36, p. 2; ACT Human Rights Commission, Submission 38, p. 1; Professor David Kinley and Ms Christine Ernst, Sydney Law School, Submission 44, p. 1; Australian Human Rights Commission, Submission 47, p. 2; Human Rights Council of Australia, Submission 48, pp 1-2; International Commission of Jurists Victoria, Submission 49, p. 4; Council of Social Service of NSW, Submission 62, p. 1.

[2]        See, for example, Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Submission 1, pp 1-2; Amnesty International Australia, Submission 6, p. 2; Public Interest Law Clearing House, Submission 8, p. 2; Liberty Victoria, Submission 12, p. 2; Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia, Submission 16, p. 5; Association of Children's Welfare Agencies, Submission 18, pp 2 and 3; UnitingJustice Australia, Submission 19, p. 2; Gilbert and Tobin Centre of Public Law, Submission 20, pp 2-3; Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, Submission 29, p. 3; Women's Legal Services NSW, Submission 30, p. 3; Civil Liberties Australia, Submission 33, pp 4 and 21; Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Submission 35, p. 2; Dr Michael Head, Submission 39, p. 1; NSW Young Lawyers Human Rights Committee, Submission 43, pp 4-5; Human Rights Council of Australia, Submission 48, p. 2; New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, Submission 55, p. 5; Council of Social Service of NSW, Submission 62, p. 1.

[3]        Submission 31, p. 13.

[4]        Mr Nicholas Cowdery AM QC, Law Council of Australia, Committee Hansard, 4 November 2010, p. 2.

[5]        Submission 47, p. 2.

[6]        Submission 48, p. 2 (italics in original).

[7]        Submission 8, p. 1.

[8]        Ms Emily Howie, Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 15.

[9]        Submission 44, p. 1.

[10]      Submission 6, p. 2.

[11]      See, for example, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Submission 50, p. 3; Mallesons Stephen Jaques Human Rights Law Group, Submission 77, p. 2; Mr Andrew Murray, Submission 79, p. 3.

[12]      Submission 46, p. 5.

[13]      Submission 46, p. 4.

[14]      Submission 46, p. 4.

[15]      Submission 17, p. 3.

[16]      Submission 11, p. 2. See also Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia, Submission 16, p. 3; Arts Law Centre of Australia, Submission 24, pp 2-3; National Tertiary Education Union, Submission 22, p. 3.

[17]      Submission 22, p. 5. A number of other submissions expressed concern about the omission of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: see, for example, Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia, Submission 16, p. 3; Arts Law Centre of Australia, Submission 24, pp 2-3; Victoria Legal Aid, Submission 32, pp 1-2; Human Rights Council of Australia, Submission 48, pp 2-3; Mallesons Stephen Jaques Human Rights Law Group, Submission 77, p. 2.

[18]      Submission 29, p. 5.

[19]      Australian Council of Trade Unions, Submission 27, p. 7. See, for example, the ILO's Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), both of which have been ratified by Australia.

[20]      Submission 27, p. 7. A number of other submissions expressed concern about the omission of the ILO conventions: see, for example, National Tertiary Education Union, Submission 22, p. 3; Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, Melbourne University, Submission 46, p. 4; Australian Human Rights Commission, Submission 47, p. 4; Mallesons Stephen Jaques Human Rights Law Group, Submission 77, p. 2.

[21]      Submission 24, p. 3.

[22]      Submission 17, p. 2.

[23]      Submission 21, p 3.

[24]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 16.

[25]      Submission 47, p. 3.

[26]      Submission 47, pp 3-4.

[27]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, pp 13 and 14.

[28]      Submission 47, p. 4.

[29]      Submission 47, p. 4.

[30]      See, for example, Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Submission 1, p. 4; NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre, Submission 11, p. 1; Liberty Victoria, Submission 12, p. 3; Arts Law Centre of Australia, Submission 24, p. 2; National Association of Community Legal Centres, Submission 28, p. 2; NSW Young Lawyers Human Rights Committee, Submission 43, p. 3.

[31]      Liberty Victoria, Submission 12, p. 3.

[32]      Committee Hansard, 4 November 2010, p. 19.

[33]      Submission 11, pp 1-2.

[34]      Submission 61, p. 5.

[35]      See, for example, Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Submission 1, pp 4-5; National Association of Community Legal Centres, Submission 28, p. 2; NSW Young Lawyers Human Rights Committee, Submission 43, p. 3; Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, Submission 45, p. 2; Mr Donald K Anton, Adjunct Professor Peter Bailey, Mr Kevin Boreham, Ms Marianne van Galen Dickie, Dr Penelope Mathew, Mr Wayne Morgan, Associate Professor Simon Rice OAM, Professor Kim Rubenstein, Ms Ruth Townsend and Mr Matthew Zagor, Submission 51, p. 4; Law Society of South Australia, Submission 56, p. 1.

[36]      Submission 35, pp. 4-5.

[37]      Submission 35, p. 5.

[38]      Submission 1, pp 4-5.

[39]      Submission 11, p. 2.

[40]      Submission 11, p. 1.

[41]      Submission 51, p. 4.

[42]      Submission 22, p. 3.

[43]      Submission 33, p. 8.

[44]      Committee Hansard, 4 November 2010, p. 15.

[45]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 16.

[46]      Committee Hansard, 4 November 2010, p. 18.

[47]      Committee Hansard, 4 November 2010, p. 35.

[48]      Submission 7, p. 1.

[49]      Submission 42, p. 2.

[50]      Submission 42, p. 2.

[51]      Submission 41, p. 15.

[52]      Submission 13, pp 2-3.

[53]      Submission 45, p. 1.

[54]      Submission 78, Attachment 2, p. 1.

[55]      Submission 78, Attachment 2, p. 1; see also Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 2.

[56]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 2.

[57]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 28.

[58]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 32.

[59]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 32.

[60]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 32.

[61]      See, for example, Liberty Victoria, Submission 12, p. 5; Australian Privacy Foundation, Submission 17, p. 2; Law Council of Australia, Submission 31, p. 19; Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, Submission 45, p. 2; Sydney Centre for International Law, Submission 53, p. 1.

[62]      See, for example, UnitingJustice Australia, Submission 19, p. 3; National Association of Community Legal Centres, Submission 28, p. 2; Women's Legal Services NSW, Submission 30, p. 2; Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, Submission 45, p. 2; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Submission 64, pp 3-4.

[63]      Committee Hansard, 4 November 2010, p. 3.

[64]      Submission 79, p. 4.

[65]      Submission 6, p. 5.

[66]      Submission 6, p. 5. Liberty Victoria advised that recent inquiries by the UK Committee have considered human rights in relation to older people in healthcare, counter-terrorism policy, the treatment of asylum seekers, mental healthcare, deaths in custody, and human trafficking: Submission 6, p. 5.

[67]      Submission 12, pp 4-5.

[68]      Submission 46, pp 12-13.

[69]      Submission 1, p. 5.

[70]      See, for example, Amnesty International, Submission 6, p. 6; Liberty Victoria, Submission 12, p. 5; National Children's and Youth Law Centre, Submission 15, p. 3; UnitingJustice Australia, Submission 19, p. 3; Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, Submission 29, p. 7; Women's Legal Services NSW, Submission 30, p. 2; Law Council of Australia, Submission 31, p. 20; Victoria Legal Aid, Submission 32, p. 2; Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Submission 35, p. 6; Australian Human Rights Commission, Submission 47, p. 2; Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, Melbourne University, Submission 46, pp 12-13; International Commission of Jurists Victoria, Submission 49, p. 12; Law Society of South Australia, Submission 56, pp 1-2.

[71]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 15.

[72]      Submission 31, p. 20.

[73]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 32.

[74]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 33.

[75]      See, for example, NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre, Submission 11, p. 3; Law Council of Australia, Submission 31, pp 17-18; Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, Submission 45, p. 2; International Commission of Jurists Victoria, Submission 49, p. 8.

[76]      See, for example, Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Submission 1, pp 7-8; Liberty Victoria, Submission 12, p. 5; Victoria Legal Aid, Submission 32, p. 2; Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, Melbourne University, Submission 46, p. 13.

[77]      Submission 46, p. 13. See also, for example, Law Council of Australia, Submission 31, p. 18; Mr Benjamin Lee and Mr Chris Sidoti, Submission 61, p. 11.

[78]      Submission 79, p. 4.

[79]      Submission 45, p. 2.

[80]      Submission 31, p. 22.

[81]      See, for example, Dr Julie Debeljak, Submission 25, p. 10; Law Council of Australia, Submission 31, p.19; International Commission of Jurists Victoria, Submission 49, p. 8.

[82]      Submission 47, p. 5.

[83]      See, for example, Federation of Community Legal Centres (Vic), Submission 23, p. 3; Law Institute of Victoria, Submission 66, p. 2.

[84]      Submission 12, p. 3.

[85]      Submission 46, p. 7.

[86]      Submission 50, pp 4-5.

[87]      Submission 61, p. 12. See also Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Submission 1, p. 2; Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Submission 35, p. 5.

[88]      See, for example, Amnesty International, Submission 6, pp 3-4; Australian Privacy Foundation, Submission 17, p. 3; UnitingJustice Australia, Submission 19, p. 3; Law Council of Australia, Submission 31, p. 23; Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, University of Melbourne, Submission 46, p. 10; Mr Donald K Anton, Adjunct Professor Peter Bailey, Mr Kevin Boreham, Ms Marianne van Galen Dickie, Dr Penelope Mathew, Mr Wayne Morgan, Associate Professor Simon Rice OAM, Professor Kim Rubenstein, Ms Ruth Townsend and Mr Matthew Zagor, Submission 51, p. 2.

[89]      See, for example, Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Submission 1, pp 9-11; Dr Julie Debeljak, Submission 25, p. 7; Law Council of Australia, Submission 31, pp 25-27; Victoria Legal Aid, Submission 32, p. 2; NSW Young Lawyers Human Rights Committee, Submission 43, p. 4; Mr Donald K Anton, Adjunct Professor Peter Bailey, Mr Kevin Boreham, Ms Marianne van Galen Dickie, Dr Penelope Mathew, Mr Wayne Morgan, Associate Professor Simon Rice OAM, Professor Kim Rubenstein, Ms Ruth Townsend and Mr Matthew Zagor, Submission 51, p. 5; Law Institute of Victoria, Submission 66, p. 2; Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Submission 75, p. 5.

[90]      Submission 12, p. 6.

[91]      Submission 43, p. 4.

[92]      Submission 38, p. 2.

[93]      Submission 25, p. 7.

[94]      Submission 9, p. 1.

[95]      Submission 54, p. 5.

[96]      Submission 75, p. 5.

[97]      Submission 75, p. 5.

[98]      Submission 1, p. 10.

[99]      Submission 48, p. 6.

[100]    Submission 48, p. 6.

[101]    Submission 20, pp 3-4.

[102]    Submission 31, p. 14.

[103]    EM, p. 4. Information available on the Attorney-General's Department's website explains further that '[s]tatements will form part of, or be attached to, the Explanatory Memorandum (EM) of a Bill. Therefore statements will be presented as part of presenting the EM'. In relation to legislative instruments, '[t]he statement will form part of the explanatory statement (ES) for a legislative instrument. As part of the ES, it will be lodged with the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing before being tabled in Parliament in accordance with the Legislative Instruments Act 2003': 'Frequently Asked Questions – Parliamentary Scrutiny', www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Humanrightsandanti-discrimination_FrequentlyAskedQuestions-ParliamentaryScrutiny (accessed 14 January 2011).

[104]    Submission 50, p. 7.

[105]    Submission 46, p. 10.

[106]    Submission 31, p. 23.

[107]    Submission 50, p. 8.

[108]    Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, pp 28-29.

[109]    Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 29.

[110]    Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, p. 29.

[111]      See, for example, section 243 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, which outlines the duties of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services; section 7 of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Act 2010, which outlines the functions of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement; and section 215 of the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006, which outlines the duties of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

[112]    EM, p. 4.

[113]    See the Attorney-General's Department's website at: 'Frequently Asked Questions – Parliamentary Scrutiny', at http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Humanrightsandanti-discrimination_FrequentlyAskedQuestions-ParliamentaryScrutiny (accessed 12 January 2011).

[114]    EM, p. 4.

[115]    The committee notes that this information is included on the Attorney-General's Department's website at: 'Frequently Asked Questions – Parliamentary Scrutiny', at http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Humanrightsandanti-discrimination_FrequentlyAskedQuestions-ParliamentaryScrutiny (accessed 12 January 2011).

OPPOSITION SENATORS' DISSENTING REPORT

[1]        The Case Against a Bill of Rights [Submission to the National Human Rights Consultation on behalf of the Federal Opposition], 15 June 2009, pp. 10-11.

[2]        Senator the Hon. George Brandis, address to the Australian Financial Review Legal Debate, Sydney, 13 August 2010.

[3]        National Human Rights Committee Report, 30 September 2009, pp. 168-75.

[4]        Hon Robert McClelland MP, The Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Australia, October 2009, p. 3.

[5]        Hon Robert McClelland MP, Australia's Human Rights Framework, April 2010, p. 8.

[6]        See for instance Mr Barney Cooney, Hansard, 4 November 2010, L&C, p.28.

[7]        Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, L&C, p. 2.

[8]        See, for instance, the papers published by the Rule of Law Institute of Australia, including Coercive Powers: out of control or an invaluable investigative tool? (2010) and the submission of the Rule of Law Institute to the Senate Economics Committee's inquiry into the Corporations Amendment (No. 1) Bill 2010.

[9]        Opposition Submission to the National Human Rights Consultation, op. cit., p. 1.

[10]      Committee Hansard, 25 November 2010, L&C, p.15.

[11]      The Common Law Bill of Rights [The 2008 McPherson Lecture], The University of Queensland, 10 March 2008.

[12]      ibid, pp. 23-4.

[13]      Committee Hansard, 4 November 2010, L&C, pp. 22, 26-7.

[14]      Committee Hansard, 4 November 2010, L&C, p. 28.

[15]      op. cit. p. 175.