Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Tue, 08/02/2022 - 18:04
Liberty Victoria calls on all members of Parliament to reject the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 (Cth) (“the Bill”) in its current form to ensure that LGBTIQ people, and in particular vulnerable LGBTIQ kids, are not subjected to discrimination in education and other vital services.
Liberty Victoria is opposed to discrimination on the basis of the attributes of religious belief and religious activity, just as on the basis of the other attributes protected under our laws, including the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) (EOA). The Commonwealth Parliament would do well to follow the example of State and Territory laws in this field.
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Mon, 17/01/2022 - 08:41
The decision by the Hon Alex Hawke MP, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, to cancel Mr Novak Djokovic’s visa and to deport him has drawn attention to Australia’s dysfunctional visa cancellation and detention regimes and to the troubling use of the Minister’s God-like personal powers.
Liberty Victoria has repeatedly warned about the dangers of such powers.[1]
This submission focuses on stream 2 relating to people in custody as outlined in the terms of reference published in October 2021 . It makes recommendations in relation to limiting the expansion of prisoner numbers, rehabilitation in prison, reintegration programs, controlled access to internet, prisoner's rights, health care, and ensuring adequate oversight of prisons.
Liberty Victoria strongly opposes the Bill and calls for an inquiry into the character
visa cancellation and refusal framework.
Our principal concerns with the Bill can be summarised as follows:
(1) No compelling case has been put forward by the Government to justify the
amendments. They do not achieve their intended purpose;
(2) The amendments set an arbitrary and inconsistent standard of ‘character’;
(3) The amendments, far from creating an objective standard, create
considerable uncertainty;
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Wed, 03/11/2021 - 09:39
Liberty Victoria has published a detailed comment in response to the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021, available on its website.
Liberty Victoria welcomes the introduction of pandemic specific legislation with much improved accountability and transparency provisions, which do not exist for the current state of emergency powers.
This documents comments on the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 and includes consideration of aspects of the Bill that are positive, as well as areas where the Bill can be improved
While the objectives of the Bill in seeking to increase engagement in the community and to enhance community safety are laudable, the manner in which they are sought to be achieved is inapt and the proposals go well beyond what is required to meet those objectives.
