Downgrading of Australia’s open democracy status a stark reminder of the need to create an Australian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
Australia’s status as an open democracy has been downgraded in a blunt assessment released this week by a global alliance of human rights organisations.
The CIVICUS Monitor assesses which countries around the world allow people and community organisations to exercise their rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression, and which countries violate these rights. The 2019 edition sees Australia’s rating fall from “open” to “narrowed”.
Campaigns Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, Tom Clarke, said the negative assessment sadly reflected the clear trend of Australian governments chipping away at our rights and freedoms.
“Restricting free-speech, prosecuting whistle-blowers, intimidating journalists for publishing articles about government wrong-doing, cracking down on peaceful protests about the climate crisis - all of these restrictive policies add up. We need to draw a line in the sand and say ‘enough’,” said Mr Clarke.
Mr Clarke said it was time to create an Australian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to ensure the decisions and actions of our governments are guided by the values of freedom, equality and compassion.
“Powerful politicians and their corporate backers don’t always respect the rights of individual people or communities. We need to create an Australian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to help level the playing field,” said Mr Clarke.
An Australian Charter of Human Rights would benefit all of us - it would protect our rights & freedoms, reflect our values and help us navigate our differences respectfully. Together we can make it happen. Sign the petition today https://t.co/nuXrq1CWUE
— Charter of Rights (@RightsCharter) August 27, 2019
The CIVICUS Monitor is a collaboration between human rights organisations around the world to provide an evidence base for action to improve citizen participation and civic space around the world. The Monitor categorises civic space in 196 countries as either closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed or open, based on a methodology which combines several sources of data on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.
The 2019 CIVICUS Monitor downgrades Australia’s rating based on this year’s police raids on media outlets, the growing trend of prosecuting whistleblowers like Witness K and the increasing crackdown on peaceful protest.
NEW REPORT: People Power Under Attack 2019 is out. Highlights state of civic freedoms in 196 countries. Shows only 3 percent of global population living in countries with an open #civicspace https://t.co/ROUM9tVJ84 #PeoplePower19 pic.twitter.com/QK4JqBIUBC
— CIVICUS Monitor (@CIVICUSMonitor) December 4, 2019
These are all problems the Human Rights Law Centre has been calling on governments to address through, for example, passing laws to better protect whistleblowers who reveal information in the public interest. The Human Rights Law Centre has also spoken out against the introduction of excessive anti-protest laws in Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania.
For further information, please contact:
Tom Clarke, Campaigns Director, Human Rights Law Centre on 0422 545 763