Protecting human rights in Australia without a charter

Abstract

In 2010, after a national consultation, the Australian government announced its rejection of the proposal that a federal statutory charter of rights should be adopted. In this article, the author places the Statutory Australian charter in the context of the traditional British suspicion of broad statements of human rights. This suspicion has been changing in many Commonwealth countries since 1945. Australia is now one of the few nations without an enforceable statement of basic rights. The position in other countries is contrasted. The sources of the continuing Australian resistance to a Charter are described. So are the weaknesses in the current legal protections for vulnerable minorities. Nevertheless, Common and Statute Law and access to UN committees can sometimes fill the gap. The weaknesses of electoral democracy in Australia, as a guardian of minority rights, are illustrated with recent instances.