1 July 2014
On 1 July 2004 the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) set the pace by enacting its Human Rights Act.
At its 10th anniversary, on 1 July 2014, Mr Chander Khera, ACT Member of ACHRE Executive, attended the “Ten Years of the ACT Human Rights Act” Conference held at the Australian National University, Canberra on 1 July 2014.
The then Chief Minister of the ACT, Jon Stanhope, told the delegates that 10 years ago the introduction of human rights legislation in the ACT faced many obstacles. There were dire predictions of legal chaos, he said. Ten years have passed and none of those predictions have come true. The Act is still here and working well.
But, a lot still needs to be done. ANU Professor Hillary Charlesworth said more attention on HR education is necessary to increase knowledge and use of the ACT Human Rights Act among the ACT lawyers. In the present climate, there is a particular need to focus on issues related to racial vilification, she added.
Mr Corbell, the ACT Attorney General said because of the ACT Human Rights Act transparency in law making is increasing. The legislation in the ACT now needs to be consistent or in harmony with its Human Rights Act. . This harmonisation has become “part of the ACT governance” Mr Corbell said.
Professor Jeremy Gans of University of Melbourne told the conference, the ACT Human Rights Act has had three impacts in Australia. First, it removed the hoodoo that a Human Rights Act would create legal mayhem – it did not. The second was that despite dire predictions and misgivings, the Act has lasted ten years. As a result it has created considerable judicial precedents. The third impact was it led to Victorian human rights charter.
The Australian Capital Territory did set the pace by enacting its HR Act. But for Victoria, no other state or territory in Australia has followed ACT’s lead. Even in the ACT more work needs to be done. An increased focus is necessary on HR education. More funding is required for legal aid when it comes HR disputes. Economic, social and cultural rights still need to be included in the HR Act.