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ASEAN Human Rights Declaration: a step forward or a slide backwards?
By Paula Gerber One of the outcomes of the 21st Summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh, was the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration by the ten member states. It has been hailed by some as a landmark development, “a legacy for our children,“ said Philippine Foreign…
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The same-sex marriage implications for Australia from the US election and abroad
The same-sex marriage implications for Australia from the US election and abroad By Paula Gerber The main stories coming out of the recent elections in the United States have of course been that Barack Obama won a second term, and which party controls the House and the Senate. However, the election produced a number of…
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Wiping the slate clean: historic convictions for gay sex must be expunged
By Paula Gerber Most of the current media relating to gay rights focuses on marriage equality. But for some older gay men, another issue is even more important. Sex between consenting men ceased to be a crime in Australia between 1975 and 1997, with South Australia being the first state to decriminalise sodomy and Tasmania…
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Marriage equality defeat: where to from here?
By Paula Gerber The 98 to 42 defeat of the Marriage Equality Bill in the House of Representatives this week has almost been overshadowed by the circus that surrounded the lead up to the vote, including Liberal Senator Cory Benardi’s vile comments regarding bestiality, and Nationals Senator Ron Boswell’s offensive remarks about same-sex parents. But…
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Marriage is best for raising children … that’s why we need marriage equality
By Paula Gerber The Sydney Morning Herald recently published an opinion piece by Patrick Parkinson titled About time we all cared more about marriage, in which he argued that allowing same-sex couples to marry will diminish the institution of marriage. Our government should be doing more to promote and support marriage, he asserted, because it…
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UN Expert Committee says Australia must do much better at protecting children’s rights
By Associate Professor Paula Gerber, Deputy Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Committee) has just issued its five-yearly report on Australia’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Although couched in diplomatic language, the report contains damning findings regarding…
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law 