Liberty Victoria's Rights Advocacy Project Calls for Action on Visa Blindspots

Liberty Victoria's Rights Advocacy Project is calling for a fairer and more transparent bridging visa system for refugees and people seeking asylum who are waiting in the community for their protection claims to be processed, as part of its latest report ‘Bridging the Department's Visa Blindspot’.  

Improving the Response of the Justice System to Sexual Offences: A Proposed ‘Grab and Drag’ Offence

Liberty Victoria opposes changes to the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Crimes Act) to deal specifically with ‘Grab and Drag’ offences. As noted in Issues Paper I, there are many indictable offences in the Crimes Act that cover the criminal conduct sought to be targeted by these proposed laws.

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Liberty Victoria concerned about Morrison Government being prepared to send refugees back to countries where they face a real risk of death, torture or persecution

Liberty Victoria concerned about Morrison Government being prepared to send refugees back to countries where they face a real risk of death, torture or persecution

In a recent Federal Court proceeding, Alex Hawke, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, told the Court that he and his Department are prepared to knowingly breach international non-refoulement obligations when removing a person from Australia.

Liberty Victoria concerned over VicRoads part privatisation

 

Liberty Victoria is concerned about data security following the part-privatisation of VicRoads. The data that will become available to private enterprise will be very broad and Liberty Victoria is concerned about the security of it, when in private hands. The data that would  include photos which are capable of use for facial recognition, and other personal information including names, dates of birth, addresses, and motor vehicle registrations.

Liberty Victoria welcomes Court decision concerning the Biloela Family

Liberty Victoria welcomes the decision handed down by the Full Federal Court today concerning the Biloela family. A unanimous Full Federal Court has upheld the earlier decision of the Honourable Justice Moshinsky that the Minister for Home Affairs denied the youngest child of the Biloela family procedural fairness in the assessment of whether she engaged Australia’s international non-refoulement obligations.

Review of the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Act 2018 (Cth)

The ability of charity groups and non-government advocacy bodies to freely speak on political issues is therefore a key component of a healthy democracy. In this submission, Liberty Victoria discourages proposed changes to electoral laws to reduce the threshold for political campaigners from the current $500,000 threshold to $100,000. 

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Improving the Response of the Justice System to Sexual Offences

Read our submission to the @VLRC inquiry into Improving the Response of the Justice System to Sexual Offences. Liberty Victoria calls for careful rights-based reform and the introduction of a restorative justice model for suitable matters. “A restorative justice model has the potential to have a long-lasting and wide-reaching impact on criminal justice in Victoria, and improving outcomes for victim-survivors.”

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Liberty Victoria Calls on Government to find COVID-safe ways for Protest Activity

Liberty Victoria Calls on Government to find COVID-safe ways for Protest Activity

 

Liberty Victoria is disappointed in the Premier’s reported comments this week that now is not the time to be protesting. Freedom of expression, the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of association are fundamental human rights protected by the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. Those rights are also fundamental to a healthy democracy.

Liberty Victoria welcomes Ombudsmans Report into the Public Housing Hard Lockdown

Liberty Victoria welcomes today’s Ombudsman’s Report into the public housing ‘hard lockdown’ in July of this year.

As the Ombudsman said in her report, “[i]n a just society, human rights are not a convention to be ignored during a crisis, but a framework for how we will treat and be treated as the crisis unfolds.”

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