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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 831 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

The committee is chaired by Professor Hilary Charlesworth, who is an internationally acclaimed scholar in the area of human rights law. Other members are Dr Larissa Behrendt, professor of law and indigenous studies at the University of Technology, Sydney, and a visiting scholar at the Australian National University, and Ms Penelope Layland, journalist, author, poet and past associate editor of the Canberra Times.

Accordingly, I wish to table the terms of reference for the committee, which include conducting an inquiry into whether it is appropriate and desirable to enact legislation establishing a bill of rights for the ACT. If the committee determines that it is, the terms of reference include considerations of: what form such a bill of rights should take, with special reference to whether it should be an ordinary statute or a declaration of the Assembly; what rights it should contain; whether it should apply to all citizens or only the actions of government and its officers; the bill's relationship to Commonwealth law; whether there can be exemptions to provisions of the bill; and whether it can be overridden by the Assembly.

The committee will establish its own procedures and approach to the task and will operate independently from government. It is charged with extensive community consultation in addressing its terms of reference, as I believe this should be seen as a joint venture of the committee and the people of the ACT. At this stage it is envisaged that the committee will report to the government around the end of the year and that any subsequent legislation will be introduced to the Assembly in the autumn session of 2003.

People may say that we in the ACT do not need a bill of rights, since our human rights are adequately protected here. However, many of our basic human rights are not listed anywhere; they are not protected by the Constitution; they can be eroded by legislation or sanction of practices. We trust that the socially accepted standards of our society will prevent this. However, it is not enough that there is general satisfaction with how we are currently treated as citizens. With the development of new technologies and global activities, it is becoming ever easier to erode the freedom of individuals, very often in ways that are not violent or public.

Governments and citizens need to be reminded of the rights this nation has adopted as part of the international community. We need to enunciate and debate the principles underlying our approach to human rights. I am sure that this process will result in the community becoming much more aware of what they consider to be a just and fair society and more willing to ensure both that the government plays its part in providing for this and that citizens have a means of identifying their rights and taking action if these are not respected.

This government was elected on a promise to investigate the establishment of a bill of rights. We are committed to carrying out that promise.

I move:

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