MARK DREYFUS MP

The Australian Human Rights Commission Legislation Amendment (Selection and Appointment) Bill 2022 will ensure appointments to the Australian Human Rights Commission are made through a merit-based and transparent process.

The Albanese Government believes all people are entitled to respect, equality, dignity and the opportunity to participate in the social, cultural and economic life of our nation.

But principled statements about the importance of human rights are not enough – the onus is now on us, the new Albanese Labor Government, to make the necessary changes to enshrine these values in the laws of our nation.

The Respect@Work Report, and a range of more recent reports and inquiries, continue to highlight the unacceptable levels of workplace sexual harassment in Australia.

Moses Henry Cass, who was ‘Moss’ to almost everyone who knew him, and now to history as well, was a man of conviction, of courage, and of vision.  

As the First Law Officer of the Commonwealth, the Attorney-General should fulfill a vital role in defending and uphold the rule of law.  I do not believe that any of the Liberal Attorneys-General over the last nine years have fulfilled that vital function.  To the contrary, a number of their actions have harmed the rule of law.  

The ever-growing list of scandals involving the Morrison Government shows why Australia urgently needs a powerful and independent national anti-corruption commission.  

To be abused in any way at that time of life—whether it be physical or psychological or sexual or financial abuse, or even just plain neglect—is a shocking violation of what is owed to a generation of Australians who have lived and worked and contributed, and who continue to play a role in the life of the nation and the lives of those who love and care for them.

Freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief is a fundamental human right and Labor supports the extension of the federal anti-discrimination framework to ensure that Australians are not discriminated against because of their religious beliefs or activities, just as Commonwealth law currently prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, race, sex, gender identity, sex characteristics, and sexual orientation.

The Prime Minster and his deputy are right to be terrified of what an independent national anti-corruption commission would reveal about what they have been up to over the last 8 years. 

The Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021 should mark a historic day for this parliament. This should be a day on which partisan politics are set aside as we work together as Australian lawmakers to pass into Australian law measures to implement the recommendations of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins's groundbreaking report entitled Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces Report (2020). But this is not that day.