Liberty Victoria | The price liberty is eternal vigilance

Traumatised children must not go.

Submitted by torunn on Thu, 04/02/2016 - 11:07

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has the chance to make good on his claim that he wants to be the Minister who gets children out of detention, the human rights group, Liberty Victoria, said today.

Liberty President George Georgiou SC said Mr Dutton’s comments today that if there were exceptional circumstances he was happy to look at them, was a step in the right direction and confirms that the Minister is responsible for the trauma being suffered by children fearing deportation.

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Sentencing Guidance Reference

As an organisation Liberty Victoria is deeply concerned about the gradual erosion of judicial discretion in sentencing and the move towards mandatory and/or more prescriptive models of sentencing. Part of that concern stems from the need for the legislature to carefully protect the separation of powers so that a strong and independent judiciary is able to ensure that justice is done in the individual case.

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Inquiry into the matter of a popular vote, in the form of a plebiscite or referendum, on the matter of marriage in Australia

Liberty submits that neither a referendum nor a plebiscite is an appropriate method to address matters of equality and human rights. Liberty urges the committee to reject the proposal, but to recommend instead that a Bill to amend the Marriage Act 1961 - to provide for equality in access to its provisions, regardless of the sex or gender of the parties - be enacted as a matter of urgency.

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Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 (Vic)

Liberty Victoria is opposed to the mandatory minimum sentence provisions in the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), and accordingly is also opposed to the expansion of those provisions to alleged offences against custodial officers through the Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 ("the Bill").