MEDIA RELEASE
Report tabled for the inquiry into Petition 32-21 No Rights Without Remedy
The Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety published a report today, recommending that the ACT Government support and enact the terms of the petition.
The petition proposes changes to the Human Rights Act 2004 to:
- ‘Enable a complaint about any breach of the Human Rights Act to be made to the Human Rights Commission for confidential conciliation, and
- if conciliation is unsuccessful, enable a complaint about a breach of the Human Rights Act to be made to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal for resolution.’
The Committee heard from a range of legal groups, civil rights groups, the Human Rights Commission, ACT Policing, Legal Aid ACT, ACT Ombudsman and the Minister for Human Rights. The Committee acknowledged that ACT Policing already has many processes that adequately enable complaints, including those in regard to human rights breaches, to be dealt with appropriately. Therefore, in supporting the Petition, the Committee considers that the current approach to discrimination issues could be applied to human rights issues, resulting in no change for ACT Policing.
Under the Assembly’s standing orders, the Government is required to respond to committee reports within four months of tabling.
The report is available at: https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/parliamentary-business/in-committees/recent-reports
23 June 2022
STATEMENT ENDS.
For further information please contact:
Committee Chair, Mr Peter Cain MLA on (02) 6205 1927
Committee Secretary, Kathleen de Kleuver, on (02) 6207 0524 or at LACommitteeJCS@parliament.act.gov.au