Tasmania needs its own Human Rights Act

Comment | The Examiner & The Advocate | 7 December 2022

THIS Saturday, December 10, is International Human Rights Day, celebrating the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Universal Declaration was overseen by the then president of the UN, Australian Dr Herbert Vere Evatt; adopted by the General Assembly; and since signed by 192 countries.

Sadly, despite Australia’s driving role in developing the Universal Declaration, we are the only Western common law democracy without a national Human Rights protection law. Some interstate jurisdictions have moved to fill that gap. The ACT passed the nation’s first Human Rights Act in 2004, followed by Victoria in 2006 and most recently by Queensland 2019.

These state-based Acts have secured a range of rights protections, including education access, housing security, freedom of movement for people with a disability, and protecting Aboriginal cultural rights. They’ve also delivered practical benefits to citizens such as interpreters at court proceedings and challenging insurance companies’ refusal to accept mental illness claims Yet the Rockliff government argues Tasmanians do not need equivalent comprehensive protection of our fundamental human rights.

Many would disagree, especially those most vulnerable to human rights abuses.

Significantly, the widely respected Tasmanian Law Reform Institute (TLRI) definitely disagrees. Back in 2007 the TLRI unequivocally recommended we should have a Tasmanian Human Rights Act, to address the “incomplete” and “fragmented” patchwork of protections offered by our state laws.

The TLRI report stated a legislated Charter of Rights should include economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights as fundamental rights for protection. A Charter of Rights would foster greater community awareness of those rights and, importantly, it would also put those rights front and centre of government decision-making when developing laws, policies and delivering services.

The Legislative Council also supported action, passing my motion in the last parliamentary sitting week calling on the government to progress consideration of a Human Rights Act in acknowledgement of the fact that 2023 will be the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Let’s use this International Human Rights Day to step up and answer that call to take action and protect Tasmanians under our own Human Rights Act within the next year.

Meg Webb is the Independent Member for Nelson

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