Australia inches closer to a national Human Rights Act
Australia is the only western liberal democracy without some form of federal charter of human rights. That may soon change, with a recent parliamentary inquiry recommending a federal Human Rights...
Tide Turning on Australia’s Inadequate Climate Policy? A Challenge from First Nations Peoples in the Torres Strait
The low-lying islands of Zendath Kes (Torres Strait) are the frontlines of the climate crisis. Without action, climate change will soon make these islands uninhabitable, rendering First Nations Guda Maluyligal...
The erasure from Australian schools of education about LGBTIQA+ people
Australia achieved marriage equality in 2017. You would be forgiven for thinking that the next step on the journey towards achieving equality for LGBTIQA+ people would be that the school...
ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
For her upcoming report to the Human Rights Council to be presented in June 2024, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Ms. Farida Shaheed, will consider...
Confronting Cyber Homophobia – Lessons from the United Kingdom and a Plea for Legal Reform in India
Priyanshu, a self-taught make-up artist and social media influencer from Ujjain, India, boasting an Instagram account with over 13,000 followers, was known for sharing content related to make-up, beauty, and...
Bringing the Right to Die to the British Isles (Part II): The Cautionary Experience of Australia’s Northern Territory
Part I of this blog discussed the legality of assisted dying in the Isle of Man at present and the proposed legalisation of assisted dying and voluntary euthanasia under the...
Bringing the Right to Die to the British Isles (Part I): The Isle of Man’s Proposed Assisted Dying Regime
On 31 October 2023, a bill that would legalise assisted dying for the first time in the British Isles passed its second reading – but not in Westminster. Rather, it...
Silencing the Indigenous Voice: How Australians Have Failed Their Own People Part II
The first part of this blog series addressed the background to the referendum and the Constitution of Australia, including how it derives from racially discriminatory beliefs which would later be...
Silencing the Indigenous Voice: How Australians Have Failed Their Own People Part I
Last week’s failed referendum affirms the deep-seated racial prejudice embedded in Australia’s public institutions, and demonstrates how this marginalisation continues to be perpetrated by the Australian populace more broadly. Following...
Queensland’s Suspension of Human Rights Act for Youth Detention
The state government of Queensland in Australia has suspended its Human Rights Act, paving the way for the indefinite confinement of children, some as young as 10 years, in police...
Depathologising Gender Identity at the United Nations: A Call to South Africa
On 29 March 2023, a cross-regional group of countries led by Argentina, called for United Nations Member States to implement laws and policies based on self-determined gender identity. This reform...
Climate Change and the Torres Strait Islands: Australia in the International Spotlight
Image Description: Over looking the Thursday Island, Torres Strait. The UN Human Rights Committee (‘UNHRC’) issued a blockbuster climate change decision on 22 September 2022, Billy et al v Australia,...
