Moment in History to Enshrine our Humanity

Talking Point | The Mercury | 7 December 2022

THIS Saturday, December 10, is International Human Rights Day, a global anniversary celebration of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

On this date in 1948, overseen by the then-Australian president of the UN, Dr Herbert Vere Evatt, the Universal Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly, with 192 countries having signed up since.

Sadly, despite Australia’s driving role in developing the universal declaration, we are the only Western common law democracy without a national human rights charter or protection law.

Some interstate jurisdictions are moving to fill that gap.

The ACT passed the nation’s first Human Rights Act in 2004. This reform has a proven track-record for local Territorians on a range of rights, including education access, housing security, freedom of movement for people with a disability through to providing interpreters at court proceedings.

Victoria’s 2006 Human Rights Act’s track record includes protecting Aboriginal cultural rights, housing and education access, as well as challenging insurance companies’ refusal to accept mental illness claims.

The most recent Human Rights Act was implemented in 2019 by Queensland. It has already assisted vulnerable people, such as domestic violence survivors, pregnant mothers and people with a disability, avoid homelessness, among other protections.

Yet the Tasmanian government argues Tasmanians do not need equivalent comprehensive and coherent protection of our fundamental human rights.

Many Tasmanians most vulnerable to human rights abuses would disagree, including:

SURVIVORS, their families and friends, whose stories have been told during the Commission of Inquiry into the government’s response to child sexual abuse in institutions.

TASMANIANS languishing on waiting lists for safe, secure roofs over their heads

TASMANIANS living with a disability, and many more.

Significantly, the widely respected Tasmanian Law Reform Institute definitely disagrees.

Back in 2007, the TLRI unequivocally recommended a Tasmanian human rights act, to address the “incomplete” and “fragmented” patchwork of protections offered by our state laws.

The TLRI report stated Tasmania’s proposed human rights law should include economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights as fundamental rights for protection.

The TLRI identified a legislated Charter of Rights would provide a single, comprehensive statement of Tasmanians’ human rights, and would foster greater community awareness of those rights.

Importantly, it would also put those rights front and centre of government decision-making when developing laws, policies and delivering services.

It is worth noting more than 400 submissions were made during the consultation stage of that project, the largest number ever received by the TLRI, 94 per cent of which supported a Tasmanian human rights act.

Given the 15-year delay since its 2007 report, the TLRI is currently finalising an updated report expected to be released early next year.

The Legislative Council has also entered the debate.

During the last parliamentary sitting week, the Upper House passed my motion calling on the government to progress consideration of a Human Rights Act in acknowledgment of the fact that 2023 will be the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

When signing that declaration in 1948, signatories recognised it was not an end in itself, but a commitment to keep working to translate those fundamental rights into reality, to protect the freedom, equality and dignity of all.

The UN has called for jurisdictions globally to honour the 75th anniversary of that commitment by reviewing and strengthening their human rights laws.

What better way for Tasmania to step up and answer that call than to implement our own human rights act within the next year?

Let’s use this International Human Rights Day to commit to delivering Tasmania’s overdue law reform as our celebration of next year’s 75th birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Meg Webb is the Independent member for Nelson.