Page 189 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
do so consistent with human rights jurisprudence and consistent with regard to the principles of proportionality.
Those are the very important benefits that come with the establishment of the Human Rights Act. The common law is no defence if parliaments choose to remove common law rights, and you can do so simply through statute. So there is a need to ensure that those people—ourselves—who make such laws also are bound by these principles. And that is why the Human Rights Act here in the ACT is so important. I commend Ms Bresnan on presenting this motion today and wholeheartedly endorse it.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (12.18): I rise to speak also in support of this motion. I think the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a very important moment for us to stop and reflect on what has been achieved in those 60 years and what remains to be achieved. I invite all members in this place to take that opportunity to reflect on the event of this anniversary and on the opportunity of discussing it in light of Ms Bresnan’s motion.
As has been touched on already, the universal declaration was drawn up at a very necessary time as a response to the Second World War and the dreadful atrocities that were seen at that time. I think that that history and those lessons that humanity learned during those years are reflected very well in the preamble of the universal declaration. I would particularly like to quote today article 1 of the universal declaration, where it simply says:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
It goes on, but they are the key words that I wanted to emphasise in the context of today’s discussion. Ms Bresnan’s motion calls on the Assembly to recommit itself to the principles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations and to their promotion within the Australian Capital Territory. The point I particularly want to highlight again is the language that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. In my mind, and I think in the mind of common acceptance, that does refer to all people, whether they are gay or lesbian, whether they are suffering from HIV or AIDS, no matter their religious beliefs, no matter where they came from, and no matter which political party they may choose to belong to.
Upholding the universal declaration requires constant vigilance. As Amnesty International have observed in their press release marking the 60th anniversary, this anniversary is not only a time for celebration; it is also a time for action. I think that is a timely call to us in this Assembly to reflect on those words and to make a personal commitment to that action.
The Amnesty website also has this line, which I thought summed it up very well and would like to repeat in this place:
Every single person has rights—that is the essence of our humanity. Each of us has the duty to stand up, not just for our own rights, but also for those of others.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .