Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Author: Adam Fletcher

  • Hicks conviction overturned – is he owed an apology or assistance?

    By Adam Fletcher A United States Military Court’s decision to overturn David Hicks’ conviction for the crime of “material support for terrorism” represents a welcome return to the international rule of law – at least in the US. I have written previously that material support for terrorism was effectively a “non-crime” at the time of…

  • Sending People Back to Face Torture or even Death

    By Adam Fletcher On the 4th of this month the new Coalition Government introduced a Bill entitled the Migration Amendment (Regaining Control over Australia’s Protection Obligations) Bill 2013. In a way, the title is apt because the Bill would return control over Australia’s refoulement obligations to the Minister, where it used to lie under the…

  • Prisons – Help or Hindrance?

    By Adam Fletcher Prisons are rarely out of the news – just this month there has been talk of establishing a separate one for bikie gang members in Queensland where inmates would be confined for 23 hours a day. Clearly, such an initiative is based on the popular theory that more and tougher prisons will…

  • Hurting the most vulnerable: the Disability Discrimination Act does not apply to immigration law

    By Adam Fletcher I have already written on this blog about religious exemptions to the various federal anti‑discrimination laws, but there is another exemption which gets less coverage than it deserves. Section 52 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) says that the Act does not ‘affect discriminatory provisions in,’ or ‘render unlawful anything that…

  • Sex Discrimination Act amendments – crucial, but flawed

    By Adam Fletcher Last month the Government introduced a Bill amending the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status, as well as participation in a same‑sex relationship. It is currently the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry, the Castan Centre’s submission to…

  • The 2012 National Human Rights Action Plan – a Step Forward if You Live in the Right State

      By Adam Fletcher Last week (on Human Rights Day) the Government released the final version of its National Human Rights Action Plan – a major piece of the puzzle known as the Human Rights Framework. In adopting an Action Plan rather than a charter of rights, Australia joins a mixed bag of countries which,…