Bill of Rights Flashcards
Does Australia have a Bill of Rights at Federal level?
No, instead, protections for human rights can be seen in the Constitution and in legislation passed by the Commonwealth Parliament or State or Territory Parliaments.
What states/territories have legislation protecting human rights?
The ACT, Queensland and Victoria all have legislation protecting Human Rights. These laws only apply in those states or territories.
What 5 explicit individual rights are in the Constitution?
the right to vote (Section 41);
protection against acquisition of property on unjust terms (Section 51 (xxxi)
the right to a trial by jury for federal indicatable matters (Section 80);
freedom of religion (Section 116);
and prohibition of discrimination on the basis of State of residency (Section 117).
What was held by the High Court in terms of implied constitutional protection?
In the 1992 in deciding the cases of Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Wills and Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v the Commonwealth the majority of the High Court held that there is an implied freedom of political communication under the Constitution. In particular, the High Court decided that Australia’s form of parliamentary democracy (dictated by the Constitution) necessarily requires a degree of freedom for individuals to discuss and debate political issues.
What are the 2 ways that a Bill of Rights can be created?
Through legislation and embedded in the constitution
How could a Bill of Rights be created through legislation?
This would require the same process for the creation of any other piece of legislation, and could be amended or repealed the same as any other Act of Parliament.
How could a Bill of Rights be embedded in the Constitution?
This could only be included (and then removed) as a result of a successful referendum.- America’s Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to their Constitution.
What are some attempts to include a Bill of Rights in the Constitution?
Prompted by the amendments to the American Constitution the creators of the Constitution debated including a Bill of Rights in ours. This proposal was eventually defeated. some believe that this was because including a Bill of Rights would have contradicted the discriminatory sections contained in the Constitution.
1944 referendum
human rights bill 1973
1988 referendum - the Constitutional Alteration (Rights and Freedoms) Bill 1988
2019-Private Members Bill
What was the 1944 referendum?
The 1944 referendum poposed providing the Federal Government with the following additional heads of power:
-Freedom of Speech and Expression
-Religious Freedom
-Freedom of want, and
-freedom of fear
Whilst this would not have equalled a Bill of Rights it would have given power to make laws in these areas to the Federal Government, and also avoid differences between the sates (Inconsistency Rule- Section 109). However, this was never put to the Australian public, instead they were asked to vote on 14 new heads of power being given to the Federal Government to help rebuild the nation after WWII. This referendum also failed, with only 45% overall voting yes, and 2 states obtaining a majority of votes.
What was the Human Rights Bill 1973 (Cth)?
In 1973 Senator Lionel Mitchell attempted to introduce the Human Rights Bill -trying to incorporate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Australian Domestic.
In addition to covering the rights outlined in the ICCPR, the bill also allowed to these rights to be enforced against, but in civil action as well. It also attempted to introduce an Australian Human Rights Commissioner.
The Bill faced significant opposition and failed to pass. Following the double dissolution election in 1974, the bill lapsed.
What was the 1988 Referendum-the Constitutional Alteration (Rights and Freedoms) Bill 1988?
This referendum was not about introducing a comprehensive bill of rights into the Australian Constitution,. however, it did intend attempt to introduce more specific rights.
Rights were: freedom of religion, rights in relation to trials, and rights regarding the compulsory acquisition of property.
The ‘yes’ vote in this referendum was the lowest ever recorded. No state obtained a majority and only 30.79% voted in favour.
What was the 2019 private members bill that concerned a federal bill of rights?
MP Andrew Wilkie introduced the Australian Bill of Rights 2019 (Cth) into the House of Reps. After reaching the 2nd reading stage it was removed from the Parliamentary agenda. The bill sought to incorporate the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child, the Covention against Torture, and others into domestic law. The bill also attempted to ensure all states upheld these laws under section 109, and award the Human Rights Commissioner greater powers.
