Latest articles and news by Liberty Victoria

  • President's report: the gist of Liberty

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 29, 2009
    Michael Pearce SC Two important events for Liberty are looming and I hope all members will make an effort to attend. The first is on Friday evening 29 May and is the official launch of ‘The Gist of It’. This is an innovative program sponsored by Liberty, Amnesty and the Australian Lawyers Alliance... Read more

  • Equality and freedom of religion

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 29, 2009
    Anne O'Rourke Liberty Victoria recently completed a submission into the freedom of religion inquiry being undertaken by the Australian Human Rights Commission. While endorsing freedom of religion as recognised by a number of international instruments, our submission centred on the balancing of... Read more

  • Freedom of speech at sporting events

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 29, 2009
    Andrew Vincent With flagship events like the Melbourne Cup and the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Victoria has long been regarded as the premier state for major sporting events. In order to cement that position, the Brumby Government has introduced the Major Sporting Events Bill 2009. The Bill consolidates... Read more

  • Royal Commissions, ensuring independence

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 29, 2009
    Georgia King-Siem In January 2009, the Attorney-General announced that the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) would review the operation and provisions of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth). The ambit of the inquiry extends to all federal government ad hoc non-judicial non-executive public... Read more

  • Inquiry into surveillance in public places

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 29, 2009
    Georgia King-Siem As part of its broader inquiry into surveillance regulation in Victoria, the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) has now turned its attention to surveillance in public places. Previously, the VLRC has looked at surveillance in the workplace. The consultation paper released in... Read more

  • Free speech and inter-communal conflict

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 29, 2009
    Dr Larry Stillman The past year or so has seen pressure from some lobby groups in the Jewish community against a number of public events in Melbourne and Sydney as well as Fairfax media or the ABC for what it claims is anti-Israel bias.     Most recently, there has been a very strong response to... Read more

  • Understanding and applying human rights

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 29, 2009
    Dr Diane Sisely December 10, 2008, marked the day 60 years ago when the world agreed on the principles and values necessary to safeguard if people are to be able to live a decent life, with dignity and respect. The document agreed, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has perhaps never been... Read more

  • Domestic violence and the duty to protect

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 29, 2009
    Nerida MulveyIn 2006, the UN General Assembly mandated an in-depth study on all forms of violence against women. The study outlines due diligence obligations of states, asserting: ‘States have an obligation to protect women from violence, to hold perpetrators accountable, and to provide justice and... Read more

  • Accounting for the lethal force

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 8, 2009
    Brian Walters, 8 April 2005 Victoria has a problem with police shootings and a system of control and inquiry that is patently inadequate. Police have to deal with some dangerous people, and violence sometimes is unavoidable. But when an agency of the Government takes the life of a citizen, the... Read more

  • Power and the rule of law

    Liberty Victoria Updates
    Post date: May 8, 2009
    Brian Walters, December 2006 … the common values that bind us together as one people – respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual, a commitment to the rule of law, the equality of men and women and a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces tolerance, fair play and compassion for those in... Read more

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