Inquiry into the Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024

Liberty Victoria is appalled by the introduction of a Bill that, among other things, seeks to jail people for at least a year if they fail to assist with their own removal even where they are owed Australia’s non-refoulement obligations. The Bill also undoes protection findings to broaden who may be removed from Australia to the country from which they fled and excludes visa applications from countries left up to the Minister of the day to designate.

Inquiry into Right Wing Extremist Movements in Australia

Liberty Victoria has been very concerned by the re-emergence of far-right extremism over recent years, and we have made submissions on that issue to:

a. The Commonwealth Parliament’s Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security’s (PJCIS) Inquiry into Extremist Movements and Radicalism in Australia in February 2021;1

b. The Victorian Parliament’s Legal and Social Issues Committee’s Inquiry into Extremism in May 2022; 2 and

Banning book featuring same-sex parents violates human rights

Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Thu, 09/05/2024 - 16:04

The recent move by a NSW council to ban books featuring same-sex couples represents an
ongoing attack on the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community. This is deeply troubling to Liberty
Victoria. It follows a disturbing trend both in Australia and around the globe. This trend
includes the cancellation of ‘drag queen story time’ from public spaces in Victoria, in some
cases following threats and intimidation.

Statement of Concern – Media and Political Commentary on Direction 99

Recent political and media attacks on legal procedures governing visa cancellation are of immense concern. They threaten the rule of law and the integrity of institutions and outcomes. The Tribunal is an expert body established by the Government as a vital check on administrative decision-making power. Attacks like these impair that function. It is fundamentally necessary that institutions like the Tribunal are independent and able to perform its role without intimidation or influence. 

Liberty Victoria and the Rights Advocacy Project - Statement on proposed expansion to police designated area search powers

Submitted by admin on Tue, 25/06/2024 - 09:00

Liberty Victoria and the Rights Advocacy Project are deeply concerned about the proposal to expand Victoria Police’s existing designated area search powers under the Control of Weapons Act 1990, which allow for the stopping and searching of any individual in a specific area without a warrant or any reasonable grounds.

Voltaire Award Winner 2024

Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Tue, 02/07/2024 - 12:01

 

 
 

Statement on Police Disclosure in Criminal Proceedings

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/08/2024 - 17:26

Liberty Victoria is deeply concerned by recent reports in The Guardian of a 15-year-old child being charged with murder and remanded in custody for almost a year on the basis of fundamentally flawed evidence in circumstances where police had failed to disclose relevant and exculpatory evidence. The case highlights ongoing issues of Victoria Police failing to properly abide by its duty of disclosure. Disclosure is of fundamental importance in every case, however it is gravely worrying that Victoria Police failed to abide by their obligations in circumstances where a child was being held in custody as a result of, in Justice Hollingworth’s words, a “corrupted process”.

Inquiry into Right Wing Extremist Movements in Australia (Response to Questions on Notice)

On 17 June 2024, we had the honour of giving evidence for the Inquiry into Right Wing Extremist Movements in Australia to the Commonwealth Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee (the Committee).

When giving evidence we took three questions on notice:

(1) Responding to the submission by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) on the topic of encrypted messaging services;

(2) The extent of limits that may be placed on speech to prevent and deter hate speech and violent extremism; and

Statement on Proposed Immunity for Those Involved in the Lawyer X Scandal

Submitted by admin on Tue, 13/08/2024 - 09:57

It is a fundamental principle of the rule of law that no one is above the law. The law must apply equally to all of us, including those given power over citizens to act on behalf of the State. 

Liberty Victoria is deeply concerned that the Allan Government intends to make those involved in the Lawyer X scandal immune from civil and criminal proceedings. 

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