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Qld government urged to pass Bill of Rights
Following a recommendation from the Queensland Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee to pass the proposed Queensland Bill of Rights, Australian Lawyers Alliance has called for the state to pass the legislation as soon as possible.
Jerome Doraisamy
ALA welcomed the recommendation of the committee to pass the Human Rights Bill 2018, which came down on Monday night, saying that the legislation is expected to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“All Queenslanders will benefit from having their rights protected in law and we would like to see the legislation in place as soon as possible. Based on the experience in Victoria and ACT, people with disabilities, those facing homelessness, the elderly and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in particular will benefit from the legislation.”
The Queensland Bill of Rights will ensure, ALA noted in a statement, that public authorities are required to consider the impact on everyone’s human rights when making decisions and developing legislation.
“Human rights laws are positive and effective mechanisms for safeguarding the dignity and well-being of everyone,” said Mr Spinda.
“These laws ensure that everyone’s rights are properly protected, and people have the power to hold governments to account. The Queensland Bill of Rights is a positive and effective mechanism for safeguarding the dignity and wellbeing of everyone. We encourage other states and territories, and the federal government, to consider the broader introduction of these types of laws.”
In the committee report, chairperson Peter Russo MP said that the committee’s task was to “consider the policy to be achieved by the legislation and the application of fundamental legislative principles – that is, to consider whether the bill has sufficient regard to the rights and liberties of individuals, and to the institution of Parliament”.
In recommending that the Human Rights Bill be passed, the committee thus deemed the objectives of the bill to satisfy those criteria.
However, the committee also included in its report a statement of reservation, in which it acknowledged concern as to whether the bill would appropriately add any additional substantive legal protection for our community’s most vulnerable to what already exists in Australian law.
“There are benefits to identifying certain rights but there are also concerns in connection with practical absurdities and the potential misuse of the rights that will become obvious as the bill is implemented in the years ahead. It is imperative that there is a timely review of the operation of the bill,” it wrote.
There are also concerns, the committee continued, regarding the potential for frivolous complaints being lodged with the Human Rights Commission, but the overraching issue moving forward, it said, is the “philosophical concern that goes to the very heart of the separation of powers”.
“The introduction of a declaration of incompatibility will significantly alter the relationship between the court, the parliament and the executive – which will distort the separation of powers. What follows is the likely politicisation of litigation and the embroiling of the judiciary in political decision making.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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