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COVID policies exposed flaw in human rights laws, HRLC says
If a Charter of Human Rights existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of concerning decisions and policies could have been avoided, the Human Rights Law Centre has argued.
Naomi Neilson
In a submission to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s COVID-19 inquiry, the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) said having a charter that places human rights at the centre of decision making would have improved the government’s COVID-19 responses.
HRLC senior lawyer Arif Hussein said that without the charter, the COVID-19 pandemic “exposed a fundamental flaw missing in our law and policy making: the consideration of human rights”.
“A Charter of Human Rights will ensure human rights are at the heart of government responses to future pandemics and other crises.
“A federal human rights act or charter will help prevent human rights violations, provide a powerful tool to challenge injustice, and foster understanding and respect for human rights,” Mr Hussein said.
Referring to the vaccination rollout, the HRLC submitted the “poorly implemented” process, which hit marginalised communities the worst, could have been avoided with the charter.
“When problems arose during the rollout, a charter could have provided an avenue for people from high-COVID-19-risk communities to enforce their right to health by ensuring they were prioritised for a vaccine,” the HRLC submission read.
The charter would have also assisted with balancing the rights of Indian-Australian citizens affected by the government’s travel ban.
The submission stated the charter would have provided “stronger grounds” for people affected by the decision to take action.
“A charter will embed lasting change.
“The three human rights charters/acts operating successfully at the state and territory level … operated to quietly improve people’s lives, in small and big ways, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The sooner there is an Australian Charter of Human Rights, the better the management of future pandemics can be for everyone in our community,” HRLC submitted.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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