Today, there is no law protecting everyone’s human rights in Australia. People all around Australia are facing human rights abuse. Whether it’s people who can’t find a place to live as rents skyrocket around the country or those finding it increasingly difficult to access affordable healthcare, there is no law in Australia protecting all of our right. People with disabilities, women, and young people are particularly at risk of human rights abuses.
A Human Rights Act would safeguard all of our rights, and ensure that nobody is left behind in Australia.
Recently, a Parliamentary inquiry recommended legislating a Human Rights Act. We’re asking you to share your stories (it only takes 5 minutes) about how a Human Rights Act would impact your life.
Without a Human Rights Act protecting human rights in law, there’s not much people can do to hold those responsible for human rights abuses to account. Because of this, powerful people continue to abuse human rights.
You can help change this by sharing a story of why you want the Albanese government to protect your human rights in law. Have you experienced human rights abuses? Has someone you care about or your community? Why do you support legislating a Human Rights Act?
We want to hear from you so we can take your stories to Parliament. Stories are a powerful way to show Members of Parliament that people all around Australia need and wants their human rights protected in a Human Rights Act.
With a Human Rights Act, we can create better lives for ourselves and those around us. Share your story about why you need and want a Human Rights Act.
You can share your story anonymously, and we will only share them with your consent.
How your story will help deliver a Human Rights Act
To ensure that all our rights are finally protected in law, we’re calling on Amnesty’s activists to share their stories on how a Human Rights Act would impact their lives, putting pressure on the government to commit to legislating a Human Rights Act.
The government needs to hear from people like you to take the next step and commit to legislating a Human Rights Act. By sharing your story, you can ensure all our human rights are protected in our laws.
If you made a submission to the inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, this is a great way to promote the case you’ve already made and remind the government why you think Australia needs a Human Rights Act.
How to share your story
You can record yourself speaking to camera, sharing how a Human Rights Act would impact you, or you can answer by filling in our form and writing a few sentences on how you and/or your community would positively benefit from a Human Rights Act!
You can also post this to social media and tag Amnesty International Australia’s accounts!
Please submit your story using the below form!
What to say?
On 15 March 2023, the Attorney-General referred an inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. Following a process that has included submissions from members of the public, and Amnesty activists, the Committee recommended the government legislate an Act.
We need the government to commit to accepting the recommendations from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and commit to legislating a Human Rights Act for Australia. To get there, we need human rights activists across Australia putting pressure on the government to legislate an Act.
That why our we are asking you to explain why you support a Human Rights Act and how this law may impact your life personally. Have you or your community experienced human rights abuses? Do you feel that your rights are increasingly under threat? Are you concerned about human rights abuses you hear about in the media?
Need some Ideas?
Are you from a town with insufficient access to healthcare who needs the right to health protected, a renter speaking about how their right to housing is increasingly at risk, or a young person worried about the future of our planet and the right to a healthy environment?
There are so many everyday rights that are not currently protected in Australian law. Check out a few of our recent blogs and research projects.
Rights to a healthy environment: Too many Australians are facing the consequences of climate inaction through floods, fires, and droughts.
Housing rights: It’s no secret that Australia is facing a severe housing crisis. Pensioners are living in their cars; single parents and their children are couch surfing.
Rights to health: Australians are being turned away from hospitals and denied access to the reproductive healthcare they need, as publicly funded health organisations across the country can decide not to provide these services.
Right to vote: While in countries like Australia, it’s easy to see voting, elections, and democracy as a mainstay, these institutions are not necessarily as secure and protected as we think.
Workers Rights: The right to join a trade union and bargain collectively, including taking strike action, are fundamental human rights, recognised as such by Amnesty International, the UN and the International Labour Organisation.
What happens next?
We’ll reach out to you with some next steps! We may want to use your story to amplify the campaign on social media, we may want to work with you to capture some more content to help put pressure on the government to legislate a Human Rights Act. We’ll also share the stories with Members of Parliament so they know that people in Australia are experiencing human rights abuses and want a Human Rights Act so they can challenge those injustices. You can share your story anonymously, and we will only share them with your consent.
If you have any questions you can contact our Mobilisation Coordinator Ed at edward.krutsch@amnesty.org.au
Other useful links:
Human Rights Commission’s report, and position paper on a Human Rights Act
Amnesty’s Human Rights Act campaign page
