Human Rights 2019 - Free and Equal: A National Reform Agenda for Human Rights in Australia

In December 2018 the Australian Human Rights Commission launched the national conversation on human rights to explore what makes an effective system of human rights and how such a system would work in 21st Century Australia. Part of this conversation is about how we could frame the idea of freedoms and rights in the positive. Many of our freedoms and rights exist in the absence of legal restriction - but what power do they have in today’s world if we can’t ‘see’ them? What recent events seem to show is that there is a clamour for freedoms and rights that are visible and tangible. An Australian Human Rights Act is one way we can make such freedoms more visible but it is not the only way. Let’s open up the discussion to all the possibilities. We have an opportunity now, at this moment in our history, to embrace the positive framing of rights and freedoms. We should seize the opportunity to look beyond the immediate issues to provide enduring protection for all Australians.
Bio: Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM was appointed as President of the Australian Human Rights Commission in July 2017, after seven and a half years as President of the Australian Law Reform Commission. In 2014, she was acknowledged for her contributions to public policy as one of Australia’s ‘100 Women of Influence’ and was awarded the Australian Women Lawyer’s award. In the Australia Day Honours list, 2015, Professor Croucher was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2016 Macquarie University conferred on her the title of Emeritus Professor.