ACHRA condemns government move to strip powers from Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

31/03/2003

The Australian Council of Human Rights Agencies (ACHRA) today condemned Commonwealth Government moves to degrade the independence of the country's federal human rights body.

The Australian Human Rights Commission Legislation Bill 2003 seeks to amend the law under which the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) performs its functions. Under the legislation introduced in Federal Parliament on Thursday, the HREOC would have to get permission from the Attorney-General before intervening in human rights court cases.

"Such a move would be a dangerous violation of HREOC's role as an independent body responsible for monitoring Australia's compliance with its human rights obligations," said ACHRA chair, Dr Diane Sisely.

"Human rights and equal opportunity agencies perform an important role of maintaining the checks and balances that are vital to a democracy that is committed to human rights," she said.

"Compromising HREOC's independence and intervention powers would lead to a serious erosion of human rights protection in this country," she warned.

The HREOC's intervention powers allow it, with the leave of the Court, to present written and oral argument in legal proceedings involving human rights and discrimination issues.

"The proposed change would mean HREOC would be in the ludicrous position of having to ask the Attorney-General permission to intervene in cases where the Government was one of the parties, such as the Tampa litigation and a recent Family Court case on the rights of transgender people to marry," Dr Sisely said.

"Without powers of intervention, any government would be free to make any decision on human rights without legal input from an impartial expert body," she said.

ACHRA is a new human rights group that was formed in February 2003 by state and territory Equal Opportunity and Anti-Discrimination Agencies. It is made up of Commissioners/Presidents from those agencies.