Equal Opportunities, Human Rights and Social Justice

We envisage Australia as a future world leader in advocating and upholding human rights and equal opportunity. Recognition and celebration of diversity will help to create a unified Australia.

Recommendation 1
International Human Rights Law and Australia

We recommend that Australia strive to become a world leader in the field of human rights and equal opportunities by:

• Incorporating into domestic law, as a minimum, the international agreements and principles Australia has adopted
• Increasing public awareness and encouraging debate concerning human rights and equal opportunities (including discussion of legislative or constitutional change to protect fundamental individual rights) to be considered in the implementation of government policy
• Responding to domestic and external criticism in an open and constructive manner through policies directed at correcting injustices
• Adopting a high profile in the international community by advocating policies that place fundamental human rights, at times, above national sovereignty.

Recommendation 2
Globalisation and Corporate Governance

We recommend that Australia strives to prevent the subjugation of fundamental human rights to corporate policy by:

• Advocating the establishment of an International Corporations Monitoring Tribunal composed of impartial experts, to examine the social and economic impact of corporate policy and to recommend action designed to ensure the maintenance of a base standard of human rights protection, focusing particularly on labour standards in the developing world. We recommend maintaining the highest standards of social justice in commerce by:
• Establishing a legal framework for ensuring responsible, and accountable corporate commerce, with a view to achieving greater social justice.

Recommendation 3
Marginalised Sectors within the Australian Community

We recommend that Australia implement programs to combat the marginalisation of sectors within our community, that exist despite the positive initiatives that have been taken. In particular, we recommend that such programs address the inequitable provision of public services and encourage the private sector to distribute services in a manner that provides equal access for all.

Recommendation 4
Cultural Diversity

We recommend the elimination of negative stereotyping of minority groups in Australia by:

• the recognition of cultural diversity within the education system, in particular within the Civics Education and Studies of Society and the Environment (SOSE) curricula
• the media implementing policies to provide responsible representation of all groups within Australian society
• the government formally recognising and celebrating Australia's cultural diversity by adopting a national public holiday (perhaps replacing an existing public holiday).

Recommendation 5
Legal and Criminal Justice Systems

We recommend ensuring wider access to, and equity within, the legal system for minority groups (including youth, indigenous people, people from non-English-speaking backgrounds and the socio-economically disadvantaged). This can be achieved by:

• improved education about criminal justice and human rights issues
• increased funding to improve the efficiency of the Legal Aid system
• law enforcement professionals and members of the judiciary receiving further training aimed at increasing their cross-cultural
• sensitivity and skills for interacting with minority groups.

Recommendation 6
Human Rights for Refugees and Asylum Seekers

We recommend that all refugees and asylum seekers be afforded respect, compassion and human rights by:

• exploring more flexible and humanitarian arrangements for the processing of asylum seekers
• minimising the time spent to process their applications
• acknowledging that all refugees and asylum seekers are potential Australian citizens
• allocating excess offshore refugee places to resident long-term holders of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs)