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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 86 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

The government has a comprehensive commitment to preserve and build on Canberra's strengths, such as its natural environment, its diverse and tolerant community and its developing economic base. Social, environmental and financial sustainability will be a priority for my government, and we will expect a report on performance in this area.

To this end, work is progressing in my department to establish an Office of Sustainability which will be fully operational by March 2002. While the precise role of the office is still being developed, it is intended that it will progress our determination to test policy, expenditure and initiatives against a combination of economic, environmental and social parameters.

The office will have a cross-government role and will act by assessing the sustainability of proposals coming forward from departments and agencies. I expect the office to have a role in assessing proposals such as cabinet submissions, capital works bids and business support. It will have a role assessing government purchasing against agreed sustainability criteria or parameters.

Mr Speaker, I foreshadowed during the recent election campaign the possible development of a bill or charter of rights for the ACT. In the course of the campaign, I made a commitment that in government Labor would work towards the development of such a bill or charter. But I emphasised then and reiterate now that the work has to be undertaken with the community. The government, however, believes that the protection of the rights of ACT citizens is fundamental.

Issues of human rights have been highlighted both in Australia and around the world in recent times. Questions relating to mandatory sentencing, immigration, terrorism and law and order in particular are relevant to all Australians. By contrast with many other developed countries, no jurisdiction in Australia has seen fit to commit to legislation which provides a simple, clear statement of individual rights, or a charter against which legislation can be judged to determine whether it respects each person's fundamental human rights.

The rights that we take for granted include the freedom from unauthorised arrest and detention, search and seizure without proper process, freedom of speech and association, equal treatment of all citizens under the law, and freedom from harsh and inhumane treatment. Privacy is another right that is currently being allegedly eroded as governments around the world become increasingly interested in the activities and communications of its citizens.

People may say that we in the ACT do not need a bill of rights, that our human rights are adequately protected here. The fact remains, however, that many of our basic human rights are not listed anywhere. They are not protected by the Constitution. They can be eroded by legislation or sanctioned practices. We simply trust that the socially and politically accepted standards of our society will prevent that.

It is not enough if there is general satisfaction about how we are treated as citizens. We need to enunciate and debate the principles underlying our approach to government. We need to set out a list of rights as a symbol of what we stand for.

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