Liberty Victoria is alarmed at the Prime Minister’s response to comments by the United Nations that various aspects of Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers contravenes the UN Convention Against Torture.
“The Prime Minister’s assertion that Australians are ‘sick of being lectured to’ by the United Nations is yet another attempt to belittle the bearer of bad news without honestly acknowledging what is in the report,” said George Georgiou SC, President of Liberty Victoria.
An alarming trend has evolved in calls being made for tougher laws whenever a perceived or real problem of rising crime appeared, Liberty Victoria said today.
“Such is the case with recent suggestions that Victoria has a gaping ‘black hole’ in its laws, making it a choice destination for motor cycle gangs,” said Liberty President George Georgiou SC. “There is no black hole.”
We write to set out our concerns regarding the Data Retention Bill presently before the Parliament.
We are deeply troubled by the provisions of the Bill, even with the amendments passed by the House of Representatives. In particular, we are concerned that:
The government has not demonstrated that this Bill is necessary, proportionate and reasonable,
To mark the 12-month anniversary of drastic Government cuts to free legal services for asylum seekers, leading refugee organisations across Australia have called on the Federal Government to ensure access to justice and reinstate free legal representation.
Liberty Victoria has welcomed the Andrews Government’s decision to scrap an offensive and counter-productive Crimes Act provision. Section 19A was introduced into the Crimes Act by the Kennett government in 1993 in response to a tabloid panic about armed robbers brandishing blood-filled syringes and threatening AIDS.
Is it legal for a neighbour to fly a drone over your backyard? Can you stop someone filming you from above at the beach? Answers to such questions are sought by the unmanned systems industry and human rights community through clear national law reform.
To mark Privacy Awareness Week, Liberty Victoria and the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS) today detailed plans for reform in order to resolve these questions and tackle growing concern about the right to privacy at a time of increased private drone use.
