Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Thu, 25/08/2022 - 12:00
Liberty Victoria is pleased to announce that Sitarah Mohammadi and Sajjad Askary are the 2022 Liberty Victoria Young Voltaire Human Rights Award recipients.
The Young Voltaire Human Rights Award honours a person or group of people who are no older than 30 at the date of their nomination for an outstanding contribution to or action on free speech, human rights and/or civil liberties, with particular emphasis on progressing freedom, respect, equality and dignity. It celebrates those who speak out, write, campaign, whistle-blow, take action, or a stand against authoritarianism.
Comment on the Reason Party’s Health Legislation (Conscientious Objection) Bill 2022 (Vic)
1. Liberty Victoria welcomes the Reason Party’s Health Legislation (Conscientious Objection) Bill 2022 (Vic) (the Bill) and congratulates Fiona Patten MLC on its introduction. It should be passed.
2. The Bill is short and sweet. It significantly enhances the enjoyment of human rights, and reduces unjust restrictions on them. It makes two welcome and important substantive changes to laws in the health field.
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Tue, 09/08/2022 - 15:50
Climate change has wrought devastating consequences in Australia — bushfires and floods have caused significant loss of life and mass displacement; bleaching events have affected large parts of the Great Barrier Reef; and rising sea levels are threatening Country protected by First Nations peoples since time immemorial.
Climate change has wrought devastating consequences in Australia — bushfires and floods have caused significant loss of life and mass displacement; bleaching events have affected large parts of the Great Barrier Reef; and rising sea levels are threatening Country protected by First Nations peoples since time immemorial.
Liberty Victoria is opposed to the proposed new offence of engaging in grossly offensive conduct in public. It should not become law.
The Bill seeks to respond to particular conduct by Mr Richard Pusey that understandably outraged the community, and in particular his recording of dying police officers.
Two dominant issues have contributed to a recent increase in right-wing extremism: shared grievances and crises of identity. The underlying social and structural issues that are fuelling systemic inequality, injustice, racism as well as a declining trust in institutions, government authority and the media all contribute to an understanding of why there has been growth in far-right extremist views within Victoria, Australia and globally.
We welcome the opportunity to provide a submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee’s Inquiry into the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Australia (the Inquiry).
The Federal Government should develop a national program to implement UNDRIP and schedule it to the definition of human rights in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth), so that all new legislation is assessed for compatibility with it along with other foundational international human rights instruments.
Sentencing a parent or caregiver has a direct impact on a child, in particular where the caregiver is incarcerated and separated from their children. The imprisonment of a parent can have socio-economic impacts, compound pre-existing disadvantage and significantly affect their mental and physical health. Parental imprisonment can inflict different harms on children, including unemployment, substance misuse, low academic attainment and anti-social behaviour
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Tue, 17/05/2022 - 09:53
Liberty Victoria is awarding the 2022 Voltaire Empty Chair Award to Mehdi Ali, a refugee from Ahvaz, Iran who had been held in detention by Australia since 2013 including at the Park Hotel in Melbourne. He was held in detention by Australia for almost a decade, from the age 15 until he was 24. He has now been afforded protection in the United States.
Mehdi has been a powerful and tireless advocate for refugees and people seeking asylum in detention, including onshore detention.
