Page 2670 - Week 12 - Thursday, 16 November 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
DR KINLOCH (4.17): I thank Mr Stevenson for bringing the Assembly's attention to this draft convention. I am very pleased indeed to have a chance now to read it, to read about it, and to read letters about it. I respect the force of his opinions vis-a-vis parental responsibility. However, having read the draft convention and the accompanying analysis of the draft, I cannot share Mr Stevenson's great anxiety about the danger to parental authority. Indeed, as a member of the Social Policy Committee, in terms of the matters we are now looking at, my worries are to do with the dangers to the child from some forms of parental authority. This is the opposite of the kinds of worries that Mr Stevenson is putting forward. I quite recognise there would be individual cases of problems, I can quite see that there could be dilemmas within some kinds of families, but I do not think that one can legislate for every possible contingency. So I want to say that I very much welcome this convention. I am really heartened by it. I wish that it could be taken seriously by all the countries of the United Nations.
One can think of some countries where, if these things were put into place, some really dreadful conditions would come to an end. Alas, we know that in some of those countries those conditions will not come to an end, but the intention of the convention seems to me admirable. I also wish to say that I am very glad that Australia is well to the fore in the United Nations. You will remember that Dr Evatt, long ago, was one of the very first people to speak for Australia in the United Nations, and ever since then Australia has played a good part in the UN. We have been part of UN peace-keeping forces; we have supported conventions; we have been behind the kinds of things that the UN at its best has stood for.
To be sure, there have been problems over the last four decades in relation to the UN, but I am very happy indeed to be aware that there is the possibility over the next 200, 300 or 400 years of this body, a very fledgling body beginning in 1945, reaching new heights of influence, not through technical power or institutional power but through the force of example - the force of valid and useful conventions that can speak all around the world.
There may be specific small clauses in here which can give people some problems. I would ask them to look again at the overall convention - at its intentions and at its concern for the child - and to support it with heart and voice.
MRS GRASSBY (Minister for Housing and Urban Services) (4.20): I rise to support the Chief Minister. The Commonwealth Human Rights Commission Act came into effect on 10 December 1981, and although it was not strong enough it was a most important Act which at least brought us into step with countries around the world that believe in human rights. Nevertheless, the Act is still very weak and I think could be strengthened up. I hope that we will have a government - - -
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .