National Human Rights Consultation Submission 

AGWW-7RD27P 

Name: Hannah Withers 

Submission Text: 

Australia is desperately behind other democracies in the world
 
by not having a federal statutory bill of rights within its human rights
 
framework. Whilst everyday Australians may not understand why or how a bill
 
of rights might affect them in their cuurent position, once they become
 
part of a minority within the Austrlain community they may feel
 
differently. A bill of rights is necessary not only in order to better
 
protect economic, social and cultural rights, rights of race minorities,
 
aged persons and discrimination rights, I also feel one of its biggest
 
advantages would be to ensure courts are able to ensure effective and
 
timely implementation of international human rights treaties that australia
 
has signed. It is appalling that we can sign treaties in order to look good
 
in the eyes of the international community but fail to implement domestic
 
laws in order to ensure the purposes and objects of the treaty are
 
fulfilled.
 
My biggest objection with Ausralia at the moment with respect to human
 
rights is its disgusting treatment of asylum seekers and refugees.
 
Mandatory detention is horrific and blatantly against provisions within the
 
ICCPR against arbitrary detention. Although the Rudd government has been a
 
lot better in this regard I think the national consultation on human rights
 
really needs to discuss Australia's treatment of asylum seekers and
 
encourage education of the public in order to change many everyday
 
Australians' skewed perceptions that they are somehow threatening our
 
supposed 'way of life' and as such are unwanted within our community.
 
Australia needs to learn to be more of a caring global citizen and less
 
selfish in its approach to human rights.
 
Furthermroe, I also find it appalling that women are still only earning 84
 
cents to the male dollar within the work place. I will be graduating from
 
arts/law this year and find it extremely scary that I will face more
 
challenges in order to get employed than male counterparts and will most
 
likely be paid less jupon receiving a job than a male in the same position.
 
This is simply outrageous. I have previously heard statistics that girls on
 
average do better at school and that there are more female law students
 
than males, so why should we be paid less for the same work? In this day
 
and age in a democratic society this is simply unacceptable.
 
I think the national consultation also needs to address disability
 
discrimination, and the implementation of all of the convention on the
 
rights of peoples with disability into domestic law.
 
Finally, I would really like to see racism in Australia addressed. 

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