Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Thu, 24/02/2022 - 09:21
On Thursday 10 March 2022, Liberty Victoria’s Rights Advocacy Project (RAP) will launch its report, A Policy for Equality: Painful Periods as a Workplace Issue. The Report shines a spotlight on the discriminatory and non-inclusive treatment of people who menstruate at work, and the social and economic advantages of changing the current approach.
The Report proposes reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and provides policy templates to be implemented by individual organisations and public authorities.
Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Wed, 16/02/2022 - 16:55
The Morrison Government is seeking to re-introduce the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Character Test) Bill 2021 (Cth) (the Bill) — which has already been rejected by Parliament twice because it is unnecessary and will result in unfair outcomes for vulnerable people.
This Bill has been before Parliament for 1,200 days and a number of Parliamentary Inquiries have looked into the Bill and experts have overwhelmingly criticised the bill and recommended that it be rejected. The Senate did just that in October 2021 when it refused to pass the Bill.
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.
