Consultation news
Men-only membership and more discussed at Mildura
With more than a touch of irony, it happened that the venue selected for our Mildura roundtable was a club with a men-only membership policy. Despite this, the roundtable at Mildura was a great success, and the packed crowd not only took the irony of the location with good humour, they used it as a springboard for some stimulating human rights discussions.
The large group was varied, made up of individuals, community group workers and community leaders. Of these, some believed that the current system of human rights protections was adequate and felt that further legislation was not necessary, whereas others felt that legislating human rights was the best way to protect our human rights into the future.
Meanwhile, another group felt it should be recognised that at certain times, people should have a right to discriminate, for example in an employment situation. They also described many examples where the rights of individuals may be conflicting.
Yet despite people voicing very different opinions, there was an air of unity in the room. Every speaker and listener gave respect and understanding to those with differing views.
One particular suggestion, which was well received by the group as a whole, was the need for a change in culture to help stimulate people to treat each another with dignity and respect. While no one underestimated the enormity of such a shift in society, some people left the roundtable feeling that things were already beginning to change, that the shift in culture had started there, in that very room. This was both inspiring and humbling to hear.
So thanks to Mildura, which showed itself to be an engaged community, with many varied and interesting views to share.
Tammy Williams