The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Human rights finally take centre stage > Comments

Human rights finally take centre stage : Comments

By George Williams, published 24/12/2007

A Charter of Rights would strengthen and broaden the scope of our democratic system.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. Page 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. All
George Williams and the Gilbert & Tobin Centre of Public Law apparently believe a "Traditional Owners" living in their "Traditional homelands" communities and houses do NOT have

- right for family to live with them ;

- right for family to visit them ;

- right for friends to visit or stay with them ;

- right for qualified tradespeople to visit and conduct repairs ;

- right to run a business under fair, reasonable and equitable terms and conditions;

- right to construct or live in a house (under fair, reasonable and equitable terms and conditions) ;

- right to obtain a fair, reasonable and equitable terms and conditions lease for their home (constructed with government monies) ;

- right to receive legal assistance to have legal issues arising considered judicially ;

- right to work (under fair, reasonable and equitable terms and conditions) ;

Reading George Williams or the Gilbert & Tobin Centre of Public Law commenting about human rights...
Posted by polpak, Tuesday, 25 December 2007 4:55:53 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Hey, George. Great article - up to your usual standard of excellence and informed debate.

Pity the same can't be said for many of these contributors, who apparently think your article gives them a base for an outpouring of their vacuous and unrelated verbal diarrhoea.

The only thing I would add to your insightful thoughts on this matter is that we should not do things by half - nor should we "re-invent the wheel". The UN has thought through these issues of human rights in great detail for over five decades and has published them in a string of Charters, Conventions and Protocols - from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, via the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - all the way to the recent discussion on the Human Rights associated with access to pharmaceutical drugs.

The proposed Charter should include the all the human rights described therein. And, most definitely, no defacto veto power should be left in the hands of judges.
Posted by Doc Holliday, Wednesday, 26 December 2007 7:45:34 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Ah, yes indeed, Doc holiday.... very wise words... if only!
Derek@Booroobin, you too make valid points, but you lose me when referring vaguely to a disadvantaged majority suffering under minority priveledge. Do you mean, perhaps, the taxation advantages given to religious organisations? The generous superannuation for ex parliamentarians? the huge payouts to retiring CEO's?
Posted by ybgirp, Wednesday, 26 December 2007 10:35:49 AM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
ybgirp,

I only refer to issues of human rights.

Those other things you talk of don't come into that category.

I mean legislation, for instance, in just one field of human endeavor that proclaims to give choice but then creates legislation and regulations, and associated legislation and regulations that strictly limits, reduces and eventually denies choice; that forces people to only take what is served up by the State; that recognises and confers human rights according to International Human Rights Law but strictly limits its application to one small group of people who, if they had legislated human rights in the first instance along with everyone else, would not then need special privileges then denied to the majority; that gives some people a voice, but denies that right to others; that involves some people in the decisions that affect and are made about them; that denies Natural Justice and procedural fairness to some, but gives it to the majority; that denies the rights of people to judicial appeal and oversight but rather leaves it in the hands of clearly biased Government Ministers, who cleverly crafted the relevant legislation, and their chiefly government appointed Boards; etc. And all of this under just one government, and one Minister in different consecutive portfolios.

If this active discrimination and perversion of Parliamentary practices and government is representative of the whole, it should be of concern to everyone.
Posted by Derek@Booroobin, Wednesday, 26 December 2007 11:21:26 AM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
In the West, the government is going to bring in a Human Rights act whatever.
The same government that has overridden three referendums because the wishes of the majority were against the wishes of the government.
That is called Democracy. Labor style. We are in for an interesting time.
Posted by mickijo, Wednesday, 26 December 2007 12:18:01 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Derek@Booroobin,
your explanation would benefit from examples of anti-human rights legislation - or legislation that discriminates. Are you afraid of being labelled? presumably the denial of civil unions to same-sex-oriented people is one example of a minority being discriminated against. Give us an example of the majority suffering?
Posted by ybgirp, Thursday, 27 December 2007 7:32:30 AM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. Page 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy