Login
Human rights laws should be at centre of government COVID response
The Human Rights Law Centre has called on the government to place all human rights at the centre of the COVID-19 response now and in the future.
Naomi Neilson
Before the Senate committee tasked with investigating the government’s response to COVID-19, the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) said the pandemic has brought into focus the importance of using human rights issues to shape further actions.
Mr de Kretser added that out of the crisis, there is an opportunity to build a fairer and more compassionate community with human right at its heart, particularly for older people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people in detention, in insecure work and refugees and people seeking asylum who are at risk.
The HRLC submission recommended key measures of safeguarding human rights in the pandemic, from reducing the number of people held in immigration detentions and ensuring proper democratic scrutiny and accountability.
“We are at a pivotal moment. The actions we take today are crucial to keeping people safe during this crisis and shaping the country that emerges on the other side,” said Mr de Kretser. “We must ensure our governments are responding appropriately, fairly and in a way that promotes, rather than undermines, human rights and democracy.”
Mr de Kretser added that the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded Australia of the critical importance of human rights and as the crisis subsides, there should be an emphasis on the priority to ensure that there are better services, laws and policies.
“An Australian Charter of Human Rights would help ensure that values we all share, like fairness, dignity and compassion, are placed at the heart of government action,” he said.
***
Voting is now open for The Lawyers Weekly Award, to be presented to one individual for making substantial, consequential achievements in advancing the Australian legal profession since 2000. Finalists for this prestigious award have been confirmed as those listed below. To vote for your preferred winner, click here.
Julian Burnside AO QC (barrister)
Bernard Collaery (barrister, former Attorney-General of the Australian Capital Territory)
Kate Eastman SC (barrister and co-founder, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights)
The Hon Robert French AC (former chief justice, High Court of Australia)
Sue Kench (global chief executive, King & Wood Mallesons)
The Hon Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC (chief justice, High Court of Australia)
The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG (former justice, High Court of Australia)
Jane Needham SC (barrister and former president, NSW Bar Association)
Geoffrey Robertson AO QC (barrister)
Professor Gillian Triggs (assistant secretary-general, United Nations and former president, Australian Human Rights Commission)
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
