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Academic freedom and the suspension of Roz Ward
By Sarah Joseph The co-founder of the now-controversial Safe Schools Coalition, La Trobe academic Roz Ward, has been suspended by her university following a Facebook post in which she called the Australian flag racist, and suggested that it be replaced with the socialist red flag. New Matilda has reported that La Trobe University’s reasons were as…
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The Historic Conviction of Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré was the President of Chad from 1982 to 1990. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Senegal on Monday (30 May) for crimes against humanity committed during his brutal reign, including sexual slavery, rape and ordering the killing of up to 40,000 people and torture of many thousands more. This was a momentous…
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Indigenous reconciliation in Australia: still a bridge too far?
By Melissa Castan, Castan Centre and Kerry Arabena, University of Melbourne Australia is being held back by its unresolved relationship with its Indigenous population. Drawing on attempts at reconciliation overseas, this series of articles explores different ways of addressing this unfinished business. Today, we survey where Australia is at. Recent news that Patrick Dodson had become a…
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Dutton’s duty: the Minister’s responsibility to provide a safe and lawful abortion
In the absence of comprehensive human rights protection in federal legislation, vulnerable and marginalised individuals have on occasion been able to utilise the law of tort to hold the powerful to account. A notable example is the judgment of Bromberg J in S99 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, handed down in the Federal…
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Why Indonesia Should Not Resume Executions
Yesterday, following reports and rumours from two weeks ago, Indonesian police confirmed that the country is about to lift its de facto moratorium on the death penalty. This is a clear step backwards, both legally and morally. It has been a year since the “drama” (as the Indonesian Security Minister calls it) surrounding the executions…
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If not Manus, then what? Possible alternatives for asylum seekers and refugees in PNG
By: Maria O’Sullivan Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announced on Wednesday that Australia’s offshore detention centre on Manus Island is to be closed. This decision follows the PNG Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that the detention of asylum seekers and recognised refugees in the processing centre is unconstitutional. The Australian government has not yet…
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law 