Category: CLArion

February is a key month for human rights in Australia. Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights is finalising its report and recommendations after a year-long inquiry into the nation’s human rights framework. Chair Josh Burns is due to hand the blueprint for the future to the Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, by the end of March. Many issues in this CLArion will be top of mind as this report changes hands. They include treatment of Indigenous Australians, forensic disasters in laboratories and courtrooms, secrecy across government, and questionable cultures like those permeating police forces and others breeding in newly-emerging far-right groups. The crucial issue of homelessness is also likely to feature strongly.

Throughout Australia, politicians and advocates are increasingly acknowledging that embedded core values and standards are the bedrock of our society’s now and future well-being and prosperity. They drive trust and respect for each other and for our institutions, without which we disintegrate into disaffected camps focused selfishly, rather than on common challenges and the public good in times of stress. In other nations, these fundamental principles stand on the pillars of federal and state/territory human rights Acts. There are significant signs in this issue of the CLArion that Australia is headed in a firmly positive direction over the coming years towards a better and more rightful future for all of us.