Page 3889 - Week 13 - Thursday, 17 October 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The balance of the legislative package complements this Bill and extends equal employment opportunity to employees of ACT statutory authorities. The Government will be introducing the remaining Bills later in this session.
This Bill is the result of a process begun under my first Government and it has now been brought to fruition under my second Government. Equal opportunity legislation has always been a priority for Labor. Even in opposition, I produced and introduced the Human Rights Bill, and this Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Bill is the result of Labor's untiring push for this kind of protection for the residents of the ACT.
We have picked up the work done by the former Government in particular, and the invaluable contributions made by the community during the consultation process, and we have revised the draft legislation to bring it more into line with Labor policy. The current Bill directly reflects Labor's commitment to social justice and the promotion of equality of opportunity in the ACT.
The principal objects of the Bill are set out in Part I. They are: To eliminate, so far as possible, discrimination in employment, education and a range of other areas; to eliminate, so far as possible, sexual harassment in those areas; to promote recognition and acceptance within the community of the equality of men and women; and to promote recognition and acceptance within the community of the principle of equality of opportunity for all persons.
In order to reflect more clearly these policy objectives and to stress the positive concepts which lie at the base of the legislation, we have changed the name of the Bill from "Discrimination" to "Human Rights and Equal Opportunity". It is important to emphasise that this legislation is intended to protect the rights of those who are disadvantaged in our society, including women, people with disabilities and members of ethnic minority groups, and to ensure that they are offered equal opportunity to participate freely in the community.
In designing legislation which would be most appropriate and effective for the Territory, consideration has been given to the principles of the international law of human rights, legislation in force in other jurisdictions, the experience of anti-discrimination bodies interstate, including the Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, the opinions of legal experts in the field, and submissions received during the community consultation period.
Part II of the Bill sets out the grounds on which discrimination will be unlawful. These are sex; sexuality; transsexuality; marital status; being a parent or having responsibilities as a carer; pregnancy; race; religious or
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .