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COVID vaccination mandates do not contravene Australia’s human rights laws
By AAP FactCheck, expert commentary by Maria O’Sullivan and others WHAT WAS CLAIMED COVID-19 vaccination mandates are at odds with the 1986 Human Rights Commission Act OUR VERDICT False. Experts say the legislation in question does not have any relevance to vaccine mandates in Australia. Queensland Liberal National Party (LNP) senator Gerard Rennick says there are human…
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If you don’t have a COVID vaccination certificate, could you be banned from restaurants, shops and theatres?
By Maria O’Sullivan Vaccine passports are an increasingly likely proposition in Australia. Last week, national cabinet “welcomed” a new COVID-19 digital vaccination certificate, which will be made available through the Medicare app or myGov. This week, government services minister Linda Reynolds confirmed Australians who have had two doses would be able to access a certificate. Australians are…
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COVIDSafe and Identity: Governance Beyond Privacy
By Kate Galloway and Melissa Castan There has rarely been a greater test of our structures of governance than the flurry of lawmaking amidst the declared emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-containment and restrictions on public (physical) engagement are starting to take their toll. Consequently, while fearful of the worst-case scenario of this terrible disease, some individuals…
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Human Rights in the Age of Covid: New Challenges, Old Solutions?
By Maria O’Sullivan In 2020, human rights law is being tested to its limits. As we are now all aware, in March 2020, the World Health Organization declared that an outbreak of the viral disease COVID-19 had reached the level of a global pandemic and called for governments to take urgent action to stop the spread…
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Is protesting during the pandemic an ‘essential’ right that should be protected?
By Maria O’Sullivan Protests are increasingly breaking out around the world as people begin to chafe against lockdown restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In the US, President Donald Trump is fuelling the spread of protest movements nationwide with tweets to “liberate” certain states. This month, car convoy protests were also held here in Australia, as well as in Poland and Brazil.…
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Explainer: what are the laws mandating self-isolation and how will they be enforced?
By Maria O’Sullivan and Caroline Henckels Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that anyone entering Australia must enter a 14-day self-quarantine period. Some questions have been raised as to how this new mandate would be administered and enforced. The answer to these questions relies on a somewhat complex patchwork of state and federal laws and…
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law 