- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- Agriculture
- Animals
- Arts and Culture
- Biodiversity
- Bushfires
- Child Protection & Out of Home Care Policy
- Climate
- Community Sports and Recreation
- Cultural Heritage
- Disability
- Education
- Emergency Services
- Energy
- Forests
- Gambling
- Health
- Housing
- Human Rights
- Justice
- Land Use Planning
- Manufacturing and Industry
- Mental Health
- Multiculturalism
- Older People
- Physician Assisted Dying
- Ports and Freight
- Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
- State Finance and Taxation
- Substance Abuse and Dependence
- Transport
- Waste
- Water
- Women
- Youth
1. Background
- Australia is the only democracy in the world without a national-level charter of human rights.
- The Victorian Government has gone a limited way towards remedying this lack, by passing the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (the Victorian Charter). However, certain internationally recognised human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights and the right to self-determination are not covered by the Charter. Furthermore, the Victorian Charter is comparatively weak in that it does not allow individuals to seek compensation for a breach of human rights, it does not ordinarily apply to the acts of private bodies, and it can too easily be overridden.
- The National Human Rights Consultation, which reported in October 2009, concluded that human rights are not adequately protected in Australia at the national level. The Victorian and Australian Greens support much stronger protection of human rights, and it should be noted the Consultation Report made several recommendations that echo the Greens’ policy, such as the need to entrench human rights in all public decision making, and to promote human rights education. The Consultation recommended the introduction of a Human Rights Act at the national level similar to the Victorian Charter, but which would allow individual victims to sue a public authority for violating their human rights.
- The Greens welcome the report of the Consultation, but support a stronger model with broader scope than that advocated. So far as protection of civil and political rights is concerned, discrimination remains an unwanted reality in Victoria. The Greens welcome changes announced (on 27 September 2009) to the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995, aimed at ensuring that religious groups and others can no longer discriminate against individuals on the grounds of race, disability, age, physical features, political belief or activity, and breastfeeding.
- In addition, the Victorian Charter states that a person must not be held in slavery or servitude, or forced to work. However, the disturbing reality within Victoria is that people are trafficked into forced labour and prostitution. A coordinated effort by national, state and local authorities is required to prevent the trafficking of people, prosecute the traffickers and protect the victims.
- The Greens support the Victorian Charter and the enactment of a national Charter of Rights, but recognise that the struggle for the full realisation of all human rights in Victoria has a long way to go.
2. Principles
The Australian Greens Victoria believe that:
1. Every human being has inherent, inalienable human rights by virtue of birth.
2. Universal human rights must be respected and protected in all countries.
3. Economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights are universal, interdependent and indivisible.
4. Cultural, religious, gender and other differences often give rise to specific needs and circumstances that must be taken into account in order to ensure equal rights for all.
5. The impact of any public policy decision upon the human rights of any individual or group must be a fundamental consideration in the design and implementation of that policy.
3. Goals
The Australian Greens Victoria will work towards:
1. Australia’s international human rights obligations being fully implemented by Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, local government and their agencies.
2. The Victorian Government respecting, protecting and promoting human rights in all of its legislative, administrative and other functions.
3. Human rights education being entrenched in the Victorian school curriculum.
4. The elimination of unjustified discrimination on the basis of gender, sexuality, marital status, disability, age, physical appearance, religious or political belief or any other ground from all public policy administration and public institutions, including all schools and organisations that receive public funding.
5. A Victorian society that protects and values the rights of all people, with particular protections for the most vulnerable.
4. Key priorities
The Australian Greens Victoria will work towards:
1. Making the protection and promotion of human rights a fundamental element in all public policy decisions.
2. Supporting, ensuring the realisation of, and strengthening the continued operation of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights.
3. Gaining the acceptance by Victorians of a right to self-determination for inclusion in the Victorian Charter of Human Rights.
4. Supporting the extension of the Victorian Charter to include economic, social and cultural rights.
5. Ensuring that any decisions affecting human rights in Victoria are necessary, reasonable, proportionate, and consistent with international human rights law and imposed in a transparent and accountable manner.
6. Ensuring that non-government entities, including individuals and corporations, respect human rights and are held accountable for human rights violations.
7. Supporting the entrenchment of legal protection for human rights at the national level, and giving effect to their implementation in Victoria.
8. Creating an avenue for individuals to make a complaint of violation of their human rights, for the complaint to be impartially adjudicated, and for a binding and meaningful remedy to be applied if the complaint is upheld.
9. Building consensus in Victoria that arbitrary discrimination on any of the grounds listed in the Equal Opportunity Act, by any group or organisation, is unjustifiable. Recognising that consensus building will require support for religious groups seeking to overcome barriers towards acceptance of individuals on the basis of sexuality, marital status or other discriminatory grounds.
10. Raising community awareness of services available to assist individuals subject to exploitation or abuse, and improving the range and quality of such services.
11. Allowing and encouraging the United Nations Human Rights Council and other international human rights monitoring bodies to investigate alleged and potential human rights abuses within or connected to the state of Victoria.
12. Opposing the death penalty in all cases, and ensuring that Australian and Victorian authorities do not co-operate with foreign authorities in cases that may lead to the death penalty.