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Closing the Gap, very slowly
By Marius Smith Today was Close the Gap day in Australia as not one but two key reports were released. The first is the Commonwealth Government’s official Closing the Gap report and the second is the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Close the Gap – Progress and priorities report. The Commission’s document is effectively a “shadow report” put together…
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Referendum on banning the Burqa? No thanks
By Paula Gerber and Farinaz Zamani Ashni Pauline Hanson is once again fuelling the flames of racism and xenophobia in Australia by suggesting that we should hold a referendum on banning the burqa. Hanson has joined a number of politicians who have a similar preoccupation with what Muslim women should wear. Following the high profile anti-terrorism…
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AFP will have blood on its hands if Bali pair Chan and Sukumaran are executed
By Ronli Sifris In recent weeks there has been a renewal of public interest in the Bali Nine, largely stemming from the rejection by Indonesian President Joko Widodo of pleas for clemency to save the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. It is well known that Chan and Sukumaran have been on death row for…
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Australia can detain asylum seekers on the high seas, the High Court decides
By Maria O’Sullivan On Wednesday, the High Court handed down an important judgment on the legality of the interception of asylum seeker vessels and the detention of those onboard on the high seas. It ruled, by a 4:3 majority, that the Sri Lankan asylum seekers held at sea in 2014 on a Customs vessel were…
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Rights and the non-human animal
By Joanna Kyriakakis In news that recently made the rounds on social media, an Argentine court reportedly held that an Orangutan named Sandra was a non-human person with the right to freedom from arbitrary detention. Media reports, examples of which can be found here and here, indicated the successful use of habeas corpus to have…
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Ticking down to a possible date with executioners
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law 