Page 1501 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 2012
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The government currently fulfils these obligations through the Education Act 2004. The Education Act provides that every child has the right to receive a high quality education and that education in government schools is free. In this respect, the ACT exceeds the requirements agreed on by the international community within the international covenant, as it provides free education for children at both the primary and high school levels.
These amendments will reinforce the provision of quality education provision in the territory which has resulted in the ACT achieving the highest levels of adult literacy in Australia.
This proud history and the significance of our efforts in the human rights arena will be acknowledged as the ACT becomes the first Australian jurisdiction to formally recognise the importance of education in a human rights context. In the words of the self-made American President James A Garfield, “Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be … maintained.”
As is the case with existing rights under the act, once these amendments are enacted, the government will ensure that ACT legislation is consistent with this right.
Section 28 of the Human Rights Act will provide the framework for determining whether any limitations on rights can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Any law that may limit the right to education must be a reasonable limitation that can be “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”, and the least restrictive means available to achieve the purpose of the limitation.
The immediate obligations of the right to education will require that I consider the right to education in meeting my obligations under section 37 of the Human Rights Act to present a written statement about a bill’s compatibility with the act. In addition, the right to education will need to be taken into account by the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety when it is performing the duties of a scrutiny of bills and subordinate legislation committee, when considering the human rights compatibility of any bill tabled by the executive.
To assist agencies to understand the scope of this additional right, the human rights unit is developing a fact sheet which will be publicly available and promoted across government. Education for public authorities on the Human Rights Act will, of course, also include information on the right to education. This is in addition to the human rights unit’s practice of early engagement with all relevant government agencies to ensure that human rights issues are identified and considered as part of the policy development and law-making process.
Section 30 of the Human Rights Act, the general interpretation provision, will also extend to the operation of the right to education, ensuring that, to the extent possible, territory law is interpreted in a way that is consistent with this additional right.
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