This document sets out the policy position of Liberty Victoria on the “No Jab, No Play” provisions in Victoria. The provisions are found in the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (No Jab, No Play) Act2015 (the Act) and will take effect on 1 January 2016. They will exclude preschool children from childcare or Kindergarten facilities unless they are up to date with the Commonwealth’s prescribed vaccination schedule. Exemption on medical grounds is allowed but not exemption on the basis of conscientious objection.
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) received Terms of Reference on 19 May 2014. The ALRC released an Issues Paper and called for submissions on 10 December 2014. Submissions closed on 27 February 2015.
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Mon, 12/10/2015 - 19:04
A mass surveillance regime will tomorrow, 13 October, convert Australia’s communications industry into a government surveillance and monitoring agency.
Liberty Victoria said today that few people would be fully aware of the vast reach of this legislation and the potential for it to be used by some government agencies to spy on individuals.
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Thu, 24/09/2015 - 09:52
The human rights group Liberty Victoria is overjoyed at the news of the release of two journalists from an Egyptian prison.
Al Jazeera staff Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy were pardoned by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and released from prison in Cairo yesterday.
Liberty President George Georgiou SC said today, “Images of the men being reunited with their families are deeply moving, and remind us of the importance of the fight against arbitrary politically motivated imprisonment of journalists.”
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Wed, 23/09/2015 - 08:41
More money is needed to support prisoners on release, leading to greater public safety and a saving of taxes.
The rights group, Liberty Victoria, said this today in welcoming the Victorian Ombudsman’s report into prisoner rehabilitation. Particularly pleasing are recommended changes to the educational opportunities for prisoners, which Liberty has long urged.
Liberty told the Ombudsman’s inquiry that prisoners should be given internet access for educational purposes under a state-first pilot program, and it supported a trial access program.
‘Age determination’ is the process by which a person’s age is assessed. In the immigration context, it refers to the processes used by the country receiving asylum seekers to determine whether a person is a minor or an adult. In Australia, the role of assessing the age of children is performed by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (the Department).
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.
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Sun, 30/08/2015 - 23:38
A fortnight before three journalists are to receive an award for their work for press freedom two of them have been jailed.
Imprisoned are al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. Their outraged colleague, Australian Peter Greste, is home after being deported but was also given a three-year sentence. Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian citizen who worked as a producer for al-Jazeera English, was given an additional six months jail.
