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83% of Australians want tougher privacy laws. Now’s your chance to tell the government what you want
By Associate Professor Normann Witzleb Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter has called for submissions to the long-awaited review of the federal Privacy Act 1988. This is the first wide-ranging review of privacy laws since the Australian Law Reform Commission produced a landmark report in 2008. Australia has in the past often hesitated to adopt a strong privacy framework. The new…
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Mental health, happiness of Australian children among the worst of rich countries, according to UNICEF reporT
By Professor Paula Gerber and Sue West A report published by UNICEF last week examined the happiness and wellbeing of children in the world’s richest countries. The data from the report was used to also compile a “league table”, and the results are a source of shame for Australia. Not only did we rank 32 out of…
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Data privacy: stricter European rules will have repercussions in Australia as global divisions grow
By Associate Professor Normann Witzleb A big year for privacy just got bigger. On July 16, Europe’s top court ruled on the legality of two mechanisms for cross-border transfers of personal data. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) struck down the “EU-US Privacy Shield”, an intergovernmental agreement on which thousands of US companies based…
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Temporary Migrants as a Vulnerable Group during COVID-19
By Associate Professor Heli Askola The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many countries to adopt drastic measures, including border closures and national lockdowns, to curb the spread of the virus. Many of these are having devastating effects on migrants worldwide. In the Australian context, the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis ignores the vulnerabilities of…
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Silent prayer should have no place outside abortion clinics
By Tania Penovic and Ronli Sifris Introduction On June 3rd the Health Care (Safe Access) Amendment Bill 2020 was introduced into South Australia’s House of Assembly. The aim of this Bill is to establish “health access zones”(commonly known as “safe access zones”) around abortion clinics, prohibiting anti-abortion conduct from taking place with a 150m radius…
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Was there slavery in Australia? Yes. It shouldn’t even be up for debate
By Stephen Gray and Thalia Anthony Prime Minister Scott Morrison asserted in a radio interview that “there was no slavery in Australia”. This is a common misunderstanding which often obscures our nation’s history of exploitation of First Nations people and Pacific Islanders. Morrison followed up with “I’ve always said we’ve got to be honest about our history”.…
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law 