National Human Rights Consultation Submission 

AGWW-7M84ZY 

Name: Alison Gilbert 

Submission Text: 

Dear National Human Rights Consultation Committee,
 

 
Australia has often been called "The Lucky Country", and in many ways it
 
is. However, this is also a stereotype which hides numerous individual
 
sufferings and inequalities, often only heard of through word of mouth, or
 
in rare cases through the media.
 

 
I have had access to many of these stories and situations by working as a
 
community worker in a neighbourhood centre, and a community transport
 
coordinator for disabled and elderly people. I've also experienced
 
injustice first hand as a single mother, and as a housebound invalid.
 

 
I believe in living in a civilised society, and that means contributing and
 
working towards making the local and wider community sustainable and fair,
 
with rights for all, and with particular assistance to those who have
 
difficulty accessing those rights. These include children, the elderly, the
 
sick and disabled, indigenous Australians,"boat people" and other
 
marginalised and disadvantaged individuals and groups.
 

 
It is an anachronism that Australia is the only democratic nation in the
 
world that doesn't have human rights protection. We live without the
 
security of knowing that we will be protected by a Human Rights Act in the
 
event of needing it. It's only those who have not yet needed it who may
 
feel secure. We cannot depend on community outrage to save us (this
 
requires resources which are not usually available to those who need it),
 
or the unlikely chance that "A Current Affair" will pick up our story.
 

 
My experience of living in the U.S.A showed me that constitutional rights
 
are a valued and integral part of the relationship between people and their
 
country. We can learn from the experiences of other cultures when drawing
 
up our own Human Rights Act, and from Victoria and the A.C.T's.
 

 
It is imperative that this opportunity for a Human Rights Act for
 
Australians is not lost. I request that we are given legislative protection
 
now.
 

 
Yours sincerely,
 

 
Alison Gilbert
 
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