Human Rights Awareness

Highlighting the need for a Human Rights Act to protect diverse communities in Australia which would aid in an effective contribution by these communities in the Emergency responder space.

As detailed in the Australian Human Rights Commission website Australia is the only liberal democracy in the world that does not have a national act or charter of rights that explains what people’s basic rights are and how they can be protected. Some states and territories in Australia have their own Human Rights Act, but Australia needs a national Human Rights Act to ensure that the rights of all people are protected, all of the time.

It is not controversial that people from CALD backgrounds face greater challenges when dealing with unfamiliar systems especially given language barriers and lower literacy. The notoriously patchwork quilt approach to protecting human rights in Australia with multiple jurisdictional avenues to prevent discrimination exacerbates the negative experience of diverse persons dealing with a human rights complaint. Any complaint about an abuse if not conciliated through these avenues cannot be resolved without access to the court system. These laws only prohibit discrimination and don't set out the basic human rights we all should have and any remedies available.

In 2017 the United Nations Human Rights Commision urged Australia to adopt comprehensive federal legislation giving full legal effect to the treaties dealing with human rights. Caldern welcomes the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights Inquiry into Australia's Human Rights Framework Inquiry into Australia's Human Rights Framework (aph.gov.au) tabled in May 2024 and the recommendations for a Human Rights Act .