Abstract
The Commonwealth (that is, federal) government of Australia has launched a National Human Rights Consultation process to determine whether current protection of human rights in Australia is inadequate and, if so, what measures should be taken to enhance human rights protection. The Australian Constitution protects only a few rights and contains no comprehensive Bill of Rights. The current debate is anti-theoretical and has been characterised by absolute faith in democracy and a misunderstanding of the nature of a Bill of Rights and what effect it would have on the relationship between the courts and the legislature. Lack of public knowledge about constitutional matters has been exploited by elements of the conservative press who oppose enhanced rights protection. The conclusion is that ultimately progress in relation to human rights depends on improved civics education.
Highlights
On 10 December 2008 – World Human Rights Day - the Commonwealth government of Australia announced that it would initiate a National Human Rights Consultation (NHRC) process. (Note 1) That process has begun
Part 5 examines the way the human rights debate has been conducted in Australia, focussing in particular on its anti-theoretical nature and the role played by the conservative press, against the background of a public which is poorly informed about constitutional matters
The article concludes with Part 6, which offers some predictions as to what the outcome of the NHRC process might be and, irrespective of that outcome, what lessons the process has to offer in relation to civics education in Australia
Summary
On 10 December 2008 – World Human Rights Day - the Commonwealth government of Australia announced that it would initiate a National Human Rights Consultation (NHRC) process. (Note 1) That process has begun. X Are these human rights currently sufficiently protected and promoted? X How could Australia better protect and promote human rights?. The purpose of this article is to comment on the state of the human rights debate in Australia and on its implications for legislative reform. Part 2 of the article explains the constitutional background against which the NHRC process is taking place. Part 3 examines current protection of human rights, while Part 4 considers the attempts that have been made to incorporate a Bill of Rights into the Constitution, culminating in the establishment of the NHRC. Part 5 examines the way the human rights debate has been conducted in Australia, focussing in particular on its anti-theoretical nature and the role played by the conservative press, against the background of a public which is poorly informed about constitutional matters. The article concludes with Part 6, which offers some predictions as to what the outcome of the NHRC process might be and, irrespective of that outcome, what lessons the process has to offer in relation to civics education in Australia
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