Liberty Victoria Statement on Federal Election

The Federal Election will be held this Saturday, 3 May 2025.

Liberty Victoria does not endorse any candidate or party in this, or any other, election. Instead, we seek always to defend and extend human rights and civil liberties and encourage our supporters and all Australians to think deeply about where their candidates stand on these issues. 

Our four working groups have each set out three priorities that we would ask you to consider when you fill in your ballot to choose our government for the next three years.  If you are fortunate,  these issues may not personally impact you or those you love. If that is the case, we ask that you consider them for the sake of the people you don’t know but for whom they may be life changing. At Liberty Victoria we see them as important to shaping the kind of country we all live in for the next three years and beyond.

 Government and Equality

• The need for a Federal Human Rights Act – does the candidate support legislating a Federal Charter of Human Rights?
   
• Access to information for the public – will the candidate advocate for open and transparent government? 
   
• Hate speech and anti-vilification laws – does the candidate strike the right balance in supporting freedom of expression whilst also seeking to prevent hate speech and vilification?

Criminal Justice

• The importance of judicial officers as the independent umpire - will the candidate protect judicial integrity, independence and the separation of powers? 
   
• Smart and effective reform to the criminal justice system - does the candidate understand the need to address systemic issues to make meaningful and fair long term change?
   
• Protection of the fundamental right to a fair trial - does the candidate respect the rights of an accused person and the presumption of innocence?

 People seeking refuge and asylum

• Fair and effective law-making and processes for refugees and migrants - does your candidate recognise sensible and effective reform as essential to restore integrity, provide consistent and efficient processes, and prevent severe harm to people seeking asylum?
   
• An end to insecurity and destitution for people seeking asylum – will the candidate support a secure pathway to permanency, ensuring access to work, study and Medicare through the process to avoid destitution and associated health risks?
   
• Abolishing cruel detention and removal policies – does your candidate want to end mandatory detention and regional third-country reception, and deliver effective reform of detention practices?

Privacy 

• Freedom from interference and intrusion - does your candidate want to prevent overreach by executive agencies and prevent increased surveillance?
   
• Oversight of data retention and taking action on data breaches - will your candidate take steps to prevent private companies from harvesting personal information without meaningful consent?
   
• The right to be forgotten - does your candidate support your right to have autonomy over your personal data online? 

We have been very concerned about an increasing Trumpism in Australian Politics, something that our Immediate Past President Michael Stanton SC wrote about recently here. While we strive to avoid commenting on individual candidates, Mr Dutton has made statements expressing hostility to civil liberties organisations and appears to deliberately misrepresent our role and position on issues.  In light of these political trends, we feel compelled to make our supporters aware of direct opposition to our fundamental principles expressed by the leader of a major party.  We know that there are good people on all sides of politics dedicated to improving our democracy, but we’d ask you to consider whether we are in danger of following a kind of authoritarian populism that we’ve seen emerge overseas. 

Lastly, and as we’ve observed previously, at this stage in the electoral cycle it should be remembered that prisoners in Australia serving sentences of three years’ imprisonment and longer are prohibited from voting in federal elections. Liberty Victoria is strongly opposed to this systemic disenfranchisement. Rehabilitation of offenders has long been recognised as one of the great objectives of the criminal law, and the stigmatic exclusion from participation in the democratic process does nothing to assist in that process.

Thank you for considering how your vote will send a message about what matters, including the importance of human rights and civil liberties.