The tragic death of Ms Dhu could have been prevented, said the Western Australian State Coroner today. The Coroner found that many of the police officers entrusted with her care acted unprofessionally and treated Ms Dhu inhumanely.
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MEDIA ALERT
Time: 8:45AM (AWST)
Date: Friday 16 December
Where: Steps of the Perth Central Law Courts, 501 Hay St, Perth WA 6000
The Western Australian State Coroner will hand down her findings in the inquest into Ms Dhu’s death in custody this Friday. She will also decide on whether to release harrowing footage showing Ms Dhu’s final hours.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court will today commence hearing the case against the Victorian Government to ensure no child is sent to Barwon maximum security adult jail. The Human Rights Law Centre and Fitzroy Legal Service are bringing the case after the government two weeks ago agreed not to transfer any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children to the prison.
Read MoreThe South Australian upper house has passed a suite of bills that will advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) South Australians. The bills proposed a range of reforms including recognizing the relationships and families of same-sex couples and improved access to birth certificates for transgender and intersex people.
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Ethan realised when he was about 3 or 4 years old that, even though he didn’t know what trans was, he just didn’t feel like he was a girl. And even the support of a loving family couldn’t change the fact that he could face years of discrimination stemming from his birth certificate not reflecting his true gender.
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The South Australian upper house has passed a suite of bills that will be an enormous advance towards equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) South Australians. The bills proposed a range of reforms including recognizing the relationships and families of same-sex couples and improved access to birth certificates for transgender and intersex people.
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In less than three weeks, over 100 children just like Moubani will experience their first Christmas in safety and freedom. This time last year they were trapped behind detention centre fences and terrified of being sent back to Nauru.
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Community leaders and rights advocates have condemned the Liberal National Coalition for their role in the defeat of legislation that was set to improve access to birth certificates for trans, gender diverse and intersex people
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I’m proud to support the work of the Human Rights Law Centre as its new Chair and today, I’m pleased to launch our Annual Report for 2015/16 during our Human Rights Week Appeal.
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Today we are in the Supreme Court of Victoria arguing that no child should be detained in Barwon maximum security adult prison – the State’s hardest and most notorious jail.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory’s broad police protective custody powers will be scrutinized tomorrow in the High Court in a challenge brought by the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and the Human Rights Law Centre on behalf of Aboriginal man, Anthony Prior.
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Today marks the beginning of Human Rights Week, a fantastic opportunity to celebrate human rights and to double your human rights impact. Thanks to our generous sponsors, your donations will be matched – dollar for dollar this week only.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court will tomorrow begin hearing the case against the Victorian Government to ensure no child is sent to Barwon maximum security adult jail.
Read MoreA new Supreme Court case has been launched against the Victorian Government to ensure no child is held in the Barwon maximum security adult prison.
Read MoreThe state apology to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people delivered by the South Australian Premier this afternoon was welcomed by community advocates, ahead of the expected passage of a suite of reforms to tackle discrimination against LGBTIQ people.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must maintain strong and effective laws against racial hatred, Aboriginal, ethnic and human rights organisations said today in a joint letter that responds to the inquiry into the racial vilification protections in the Racial Discrimination Act.
Read MoreThe Andrews Government has today taken the extraordinary step and agreed not to transfer any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children to Barwon maximum security adult prison.
Read MoreFURTHER DETAILS: As part of the last minute back down, the Victorian Government has committed not to transfer any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child to an adult jail. The only extremely limited possibility for transfers is in exceptional circumstances and, even then, only on the advice of the Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner that the transfer is in the best interests of that child.
Read MoreLawyers who visited children held at Barwon maximum security adult prison yesterday say that the conditions are cruel and intolerable.
Read MoreThe Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) has filed a case in the Victorian Supreme Court challenging the lawfulness of the Government’s decision to send Aboriginal children as young as 16 years to Barwon maximum security adult prison.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre told the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee the proposed ‘lifetime ban’ for people who are living in our community, or who have been warehoused on Nauru or Manus Island is both cruel and unnecessary, and would permanently separate families.
Read MoreLawyers and advocates were today told that transfers of children from youth detention facilities to Victoria’s maximum-security adult prison are imminent.
Read MoreThe UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, today condemned the Australian Government’s treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum, saying that Australia’s human rights record has been tarnished.
Read MoreWe are currently seeking a Senior Policy Advocate for a 9 month parental leave backfill position. The Senior Policy Advocate will lead the Unit’s work in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ over-imprisonment, particularly young peoples’ over-imprisonment, alongside the Unit’s Director and Lawyer.
Read MoreAn exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced lawyer and advocate. We are currently seeking a Director of Advocacy to lead our work on business and human rights. The successful candidate will also be required to work on our other strategic priority areas and assume a leadership role within the organisation, in particular by managing aspects of the centre’s legal practice in its Melbourne office.
Read MoreIn October 2016, Queensland Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk announced at state conference her cabinet’s commitment to introduce a Human Rights Act in Queensland. If passed, Queensland will become the third Australian jurisdiction to protect and promote human rights in law. The announcement comes of the back of a community campaign for human rights protection in Queensland.
Read MoreDoor stop and photo opportunity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community advocates and families ahead of vote in SA parliament on LGBTIQ equality bills.
Read MoreAfter three years the Australian Government has finally acknowledged that our offshore centres on Nauru and Manus Islands are unsustainable and that it needs to find a way forward. However, today’s announcement reveals it still hasn’t found one.
Read MoreHuman rights groups including the Human Rights Law Centre, GetUp, the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce, the Refugee Council of Australia and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre respond to the Turnbull Government’s announcement of a refugee settlement deal.
Read MoreAboriginal and human rights organisations have said high rates of homelessness and overcrowding must be considered by the NT Royal Commission as key drivers of Aboriginal children entering the child protection and youth detention systems.
Read MoreA network of more than 90 LGBTI organisations and leaders across the nation have signed a joint statement calling on supporters of marriage equality in the parliament to unite and work together to find a pathway to achieve marriage equality in this term of Parliament.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has told the Northern Territory Royal Commission and the Queensland youth justice review that current youth justice laws breach children’s human rights and must be changed.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has condemned the Turnbull Government’s secretive deportation of a man from Australia to Nauru last night.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has called on the Turnbull Government to urgently clarify whether or not its proposed ‘lifetime ban’ will apply to over 320 men, women and children who are already in the community after being brought back to Australia from Manus and Nauru, many of whom the HRLC represents.
Read MorePrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning announced government plans to amend the Migration Act to permanently ban people seeking asylum in Australia by sea from ever being able to stay or from ever coming to Australia to visit loved ones.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory’s harsh police protective custody powers will come under scrutiny after the High Court agreed to hear a legal challenge brought by the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) on behalf of Mr Anthony Prior.
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A network of almost 90 LGBTI organisations and leaders have again come together releasing a statement calling for parliament to block the plebiscite legislation.
Read MoreThe Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, unveiled a much-needed initiative to help combat the growing problem of governments preventing human rights defenders from engaging with the UN or punishing and even imprisoning them when they do so.
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A network of almost 90 LGBTI organisations and leaders have again come together releasing a statement calling for parliament to block the plebiscite legislation.
Read MoreAustralia is failing to provide a safe and free environment for civil society and to ensure that people are free to speak out and peacefully protest on issues that they care about, said a UN Human Rights expert today. Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, has been in Australia for a two-week official visit, meeting with government, MPs and civil society organisations.
Read MoreAfter 10 years of impact working as a national human rights organisation out of Melbourne, the Human Rights Law Centre has opened a Sydney office.
Read MoreMonday night’s Four Corners episode, The Forgotten Children: The young refugees stranded on Nauru, is further evidence that all people currently warehoused by the Australian government on Nauru and Manus must immediately be brought to safety in Australia.
Read MoreOvernight the Government released the Marriage Amendment (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill, which proposes marriage equality but contains concerning exemptions that would allow discrimination against same-sex couples.
Read MoreContinuing violent attacks against refugees on Manus Island are further evidence that Australia’s offshore detention centres must close and that the innocent people held there for the last three years must be brought to safety in Australia.
Read MoreQueensland has an historic opportunity to bring its abortion laws into line with clinical practice and common sense, the Human Rights Law Centre told Queensland parliament this week.
Read MoreToday the Western Australian Coroner conducting the inquest into Ms Dhu’s death in custody reserved the decision to publicly release harrowing footage of Ms Dhu’s death. The Coroner will deliver the decision at a date in the future.
Read MoreToday the Western Australian Coroner presiding over the inquest into Ms Dhu’s death in custody will consider whether to publicly release harrowing footage of Ms Dhu’s death.
Read MoreAustralia’s youth justice practices breach international human rights law, Amnesty International and the Human Rights Law Centre told the United Nations in a statement read before the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Read MoreThe secrecy provisions of the 2015 Border Force Act have compromised Australians’ basic democratic rights and damaged Australia’s international standing, the Human Rights Law Centre told the United Nations overnight in a statement to the Human Rights Council.
Read MoreToday’s announcement by the Australian government at the Obama Leaders’ Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis doesn’t address the future of around 2000 people currently languishing in offshore camps on Manus Island and Nauru said the Human Rights Law Centre, Getup and the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce.
Read MoreFleeing persecution, Nayser Ahmed was separated from his family en route to Australia. While they rebuild their lives in Sydney, he remains stuck on Manus Island. In this Fairfax produced video Daniel Webb speaks to The Age's Nick McKenzie about Nayser and his family and the situation for the men on Manus Island. Watch video here.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre worked with Transgender Victoria, FTM Shed, Minus 18 and other trans, gender diverse and intersex organisations to put together a video to inform parliamentarians about the importance of reforms to Victoria’s birth certificate laws. Watch the video here.
Read MoreA network of organisations and leaders of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities released a statement today condemning the Plebiscite (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, the Victorian Legislative Assembly will debate proposed birth certificate reforms that will remove barriers for trans, gender diverse and intersex people accessing birth certificates that reflect the gender they live as.
Read MoreAdvice from one of Australia’s top constitutional barristers, Bret Walker SC, has confirmed that there are no legal barriers to the parliament introducing amendments to the Marriage Act that would come into force automatically upon a successful plebiscite vote.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre and GetUp are launching a major campaign today featuring the stories of the men imprisoned on Manus Island and their families in Australia, calling on the government to allow the men be brought to safety in Australia to rebuild their lives.
Read MoreAs the Northern Territory’s Royal Commission holds its first public hearing, leading Indigenous and human rights organisations are calling on the Federal and Northern Territory Governments to immediately protect the human rights of young people currently in detention.
Read MoreThe Australian Government’s offshore detention regime edged closer to collapse today as Wilson Security committed not to retender for any further offshore detention services when its current contract expires in 2017.
Read MoreA Queensland parliamentary committee has rejected a proposal to bring Queensland’s abortion laws into line with clinical practice and common sense. At the same time the committee neglected to recommend a clear path for long overdue law reform.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed the announcement by the Turnbull Government of a Royal Commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory. The HRLC had expressed extreme disappointment over the government’s lack of consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations when initially announcing the inquiry.
Read MoreLeading Australian NGOs have provided the Government with a blueprint for action on business and human rights. A joint statement released today by the Australian Human Rights Commission sets out a suite of recommendations for Australia’s implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Read MoreNew legislation introduced by the Victorian Government into parliament today will remove barriers to trans, gender diverse and intersex people accessing birth certificates that reflect their gender identity.
Read MoreThe Prime Minister of PNG, Peter O’Neil today announced that the Australian-run detention centre on Manus Island is to be closed. While not committing to a specific date, O’Neil said in a statement that “Both Papua New Guinea and Australia are in agreement that the centre is to be closed.”
Read MoreViolent attacks on refugees on Manus Island are further evidence that Australia’s offshore detention centres must close and the innocent people held there for the last three years must be brought to Australia.
Read MoreThe UN’s human rights chief, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed extreme concern about the serious allegations of violence, sexual assault, degrading treatment and self-harm contained in leaked incident reports from Australia’s offshore processing centre on Nauru.
Read MoreThe Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has the power to examine the response of the Australian Government and its contractors to child sexual abuse on Nauru, according to legal advice released today.
Read MoreFollowing today’s release of leaked incident reports from Australia’s detention centre on Nauru, a coalition of human rights and refugee organisations have called on the Australian Government to urgently bring the people seeking asylum to Australia.
Read MoreThe UN’s human rights chief, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on Australia to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre expresses extreme disappointment over the lack of consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
Read MoreAustralia’s abusive offshore detention centres are sustained by a vast network of global banks and investment funds that are failing to meet their responsibility to respect human rights.
Read MoreThe Victorian Government today announced support in full or in part for 45 of the 52 recommendations made through the independent Human Rights Charter Review.
Read MoreOn the eve of a case in the Northern Territory Supreme Court challenging the Alcohol Protection Order regime, Aboriginal organisations, doctors and lawyers have united in calling on the Northern Territory Government to rethink harmful alcohol laws that negatively impact Aboriginal people.
Read MoreWith the future of marriage equality in Australia uncertain, same-sex couples in Victoria will now benefit from a raft of changes that improve recognition of their relationships.
Read MoreYesterday Queensland’s Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee released a report recommending that Queensland introduce a Human Rights Act.
Read MoreQueensland must reform its outdated abortion laws, the Human Rights Law Centre said in a submission to the Queensland Parliament’s inquiry into abortion law reform. The HRLC called on the Queensland government to decriminalise abortion and ensure women can safely access abortion services.
Read MoreIn a historic vote, the United Nations Human Rights Council has agreed to appoint an Independent Expert dedicated to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people from violence and discrimination worldwide.
Read MoreAt Saturday’s election, an estimated 400,000 people will vote who, if it wasn’t for our legal action, might otherwise have been prevented from voting. Their votes may well decide who governs our country.
Read MoreThe United Nations Human Rights Council is on the cusp of establishing an Independent Expert to tackle violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Human Rights Law Centre joined in a statement delivered to the Council in Geneva overnight supported by 627 civil society organisations representing 151 countries.
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Australia is a multicultural success story and the contribution of refugees are a key part of that success. Australia has successfully accepted over 7 million migrants since 1945 including around 800,000 refugees and humanitarian entrants.
Read MoreThis year marks our ten year anniversary. For ten years we’ve delivered justice for individuals and systemic change; for Indigenous peoples; for people seeking asylum and refugees; for LGBTI people, women and more.
Read MoreThe Commonwealth Government should ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), and all states and territories should increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years, the Human Rights Law Centre has said in a submission to the Federal Children’s Commissioner.
Read MoreUnfortunately, we are witnessing the unmistakeable trend of governments chipping away at many of our vital democratic foundations. Press freedom is being undermined, critical voices are being stifled and governments are eroding the right of Australians to gather and speak out about issues that they care about.
Read MoreEach year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) hosts the Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct where representatives from civil society, business, governments and trade unions meet to discuss and promote better business practices.
Read More25 years since Australia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), one in six children in Australia live below the poverty line and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to face significant disadvantage.
Read MoreSubaita and Moubani faced imminent deportation to Nauru. Terrified at the prospect of raising a child in an offshore camp we know is harmful and unsafe, Subaita asked for our help.
Read MoreThanks to everyone who helped make the 10 Years of Impact: Human Rights Dinners in Melbourne and Sydney such a success. Much fun was had and the events raised over $90,000. Thanks to all who either bid competitively in our fundraising auctions or generously made donations. This support is absolutely critical to our work.
Read MoreThree weeks ago I sat in parliament to hear Daniel Andrews, the Premier of Victoria, apologise to me. He apologised for old unjust laws that criminalised homosexual conduct.
Read MoreTo support/coincide with our End-of-Financial-Year Fundraising Appeal, our friends at The Saturday Paper will donate 20% to us from every subscription they receive from June 7 to July 7 using the promo code GiveHRLC.
Read MoreThis year marks our ten year anniversary. For ten years we’ve delivered justice for individuals and systemic change; for Indigenous peoples; for people seeking asylum and refugees; for LGBTI people, women and more.
Read MoreAfter 10 incredible years our Director of Advocacy, Ben Schokman, has decided the time is right for him to pursue new challenges and opportunities.
Read MoreThe HRLC's Expungement Legal Service can assist people to apply for historical convictions for decriminalised homosexual activity to be expunged. We provide free and confidential legal help to anyone affected by these laws in Victoria. Our team is staffed by LGBTIQ identifying lawyers and includes a volunteer lawyer with personal experience of the climate and police attitudes before the old laws were repealed.
Read MoreLee Carnie is the latest lawyer to join the HRLC team. She commenced in May 2016 in the LGBTI Rights Unit.
Read MoreAn exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Lawyer to work in our Indigenous Rights Unit. We are seeking a highly motivated, dynamic and collaborative individual. This position is aimed at lawyers with at least 5 years relevant, post-admission legal practical experience.
Read MoreRights groups have applauded the Victorian Government for today's formal state apology to people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Advocacy, Anna Brown welcomed Premier Daniel Andrews’ heartfelt speech and said the apology recognises the harm that these discriminatory laws have caused
Read MoreWestern Australia’s Independent Inspector of Custodial Services released a damning report on Friday showing that Western Australia’s policy of locking people up for unpaid fines disproportionately impacts vulnerable Aboriginal women.
The Human Rights Law Centre’s Senior Lawyer, Ruth Barson, said that the Inspector’s report is another reminder that Western Australia’s policy of locking people up for unpaid fines is unfair and out of date.
Read MoreHuman rights lawyers have raised concerns that a parliamentary committee has sought to silence organisations that advocate to protect the environment.
Read MoreBusiness can have a significant impact on the human rights of people in countries where they operate, particularly where those countries have weak regulatory and governance systems. Where Australian businesses are responsible for human rights abuses, it is vital that they are held accountable and that victims are able to access a remedy.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre’s Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser, welcomed the appointment, saying he looked forward to Ms Hilton’s leadership protecting and promoting human rights in Victoria.
Read MoreA joint parliamentary committee has today urged the Australian Government to do more to abolish the death penalty worldwide including prohibiting the Australian Federal Police from sharing information about drug crimes that could lead to imposition of the death penalty.
Read MoreToday the Commonwealth Attorney-General George Brandis announced the appointment of Mr Edward Santow as Human Rights Commissioner, the Hon Dr Kay Patterson as Age Discrimination Commissioner and Mr Alastair McEwin as Disability Discrimination Commissioner.
Read MoreThe North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) today filed submissions in their case appealing a decision of the NT Court of Appeal, Mole v Prior, concerning an Aboriginal man who was taken into protective custody.
Read MoreEach year we join with the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre and King & Wood Mallesons to produce a special Children's Rights Edition of our monthly bulletin, Rights Agenda.
Read MoreOn the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the Western Australian Government is being urged to adopt justice targets to address the State’s appalling rates of Aboriginal peoples’ over-imprisonment.
Read MoreThe North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) today sought permission from the High Court to appeal a Northern Territory decision concerning police powers of ‘protective custody’.
Read MoreA Human Rights Act would be a force for good in protecting the rights of all Queenslanders and would deliver significant benefits, the Human Rights Law Centre has told the Queensland Parliament’s Human Rights Inquiry.
Read MoreAs the coronial inquest into Ms Dhu’s tragic death in police custody concludes, her family has called for a meeting with Premier Barnett to ensure he is taking action to address Aboriginal deaths in custody.
Read MoreAs governments can bestow rights, equally they can take them away. We must not be complacent, writes the HRLC's Emily Howie.
Read MoreThe Australian Government’s response overnight at the UN in Geneva to a major review of its human rights record has failed to address the serious concerns raised by the international community.
Read MoreThe New South Wales government’s anti-protest laws will unreasonably restrict and disproportionately punish people for standing together and speaking out on issues that they care about, said the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreAs Australia undermines international efforts to address Burma’s significant human rights challenges, it also misses an opportunity to establish its credentials as a global human rights leader, the Human Rights Law Centre has warned today.
Read MoreThe HRLC has welcomed the announcement that the Australian Government will undertake a national consultation on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Read MoreWith the coronial inquest into Ms Dhu’s tragic death in police custody recommencing on Monday, family members and human rights lawyers are urging the Western Australian Government to urgently scrap the practice of locking people up for unpaid fines.
Read MoreWhistleblowers who reveal human rights abuses face the risk of prosecution and jail and require much greater legal protection, said the Human Rights Law Centre in a submission to the review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth). The Act is currently being reviewed by former Integrity Commissioner Philip Moss for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Read MoreThe global gay and lesbian community has been asked to help a gay refugee couple currently living in fear after the Australian Government’s punitive refugee policies have left them languishing on a tiny island where homosexuality is a crime.
Read MoreSpanish giant Ferrovial has been warned in a new investor alert that it will be exposed to serious legal, financial and reputation risks associated with the Australian offshore detention centres, if its takeover bid for Broadspectrum is successful.
Read MoreSpanish giant Ferrovial has been warned in a new investor alert that it will be exposed to serious legal, financial and reputation risks associated with the Australian offshore detention centres, if its takeover bid for Broadspectrum is successful.
Read MoreThe Australian Government should remove unjustified limits on basic rights and freedoms in Australia, said the Human Rights Law Centre today. HRLC Director of Advocacy and Research, Emily Howie, welcomed the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report, Traditional Rights and Freedoms – Encroachments on Commonwealth Laws, that adds to the growing evidence of Australian laws that infringe on rights. Read More
The Human Rights Law Centre is proud to have partnered with GetUp! and the Australian Churches for Refugees Taskforce to create and coordinate the #LetThemStay campaign for the 267 people linked to our High Court case.
Read MoreAustralia’s political parties must stop eroding many of the vital foundations of Australia’s democracy, the Human Rights Law Centre has said in a new report. Civil society leaders joined the launch at Australian Parliament House to highlight the critical role that civil society plays in a healthy and robust democracy.
Read MoreLast night was the first time in three days that the HRLC legal team had been allowed to speak with our client. HRLC’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, said that it was unusual and unreasonable that access be so restricted.
Read MoreFollowing the Human Rights Law Centre's public statement earlier this afternoon that its legal team had been prevented from speaking with the clients for the last three days, the government agreed to allow Baby Asha’s mother to speak to her lawyer, Daniel Webb, by phone early this evening.
Read MoreThe Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, has announced that ‘Baby Asha’ will be moved from a Brisbane hospital – where medical staff had been refusing to discharge her – and into community detention.
Read MoreThe Australian Government appears to be rapidly moving to clear the way for fast-track deportations without notice of many of the 267 vulnerable people the Human Rights Law Centre represented in the recent High Court challenge to Australia’s role in offshore detention.
Read MoreThree UN human rights experts urged the Western Australian parliament not to adopt a proposed law that would criminalise peaceful protests and silence environmentalists and human rights defenders.
Read MoreOn Monday night our Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, delivered a speech at the #LetThemStay community event in Melbourne...
Read MoreThe HRLC’s Director of Advocacy and Research, Emily Howie, said that the Australia needs to improve its human rights record and that the HRLC has advocated for the establishment of an Australian human rights ambassador to promote and coordinate human rights within and across foreign policy since 2009.
Read MoreLaura Wilson is HRLC's new addition, commencing in February 2016 as a Lawyer in the Indigenous Rights Unit.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, has welcomed news that the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, has written to the Prime Minister explaining that he wants the 267 men, women and children facing deportation following this week's High Court decision, to call Victoria home.
Read MoreThe child at the centre of rape allegations is not a client of the Human Rights Law Centre and is not one of the 267 people linked to last week’s High Court challenge. Neither the HRLC or GetUp was involved in the decision to take the story to the media.
Read MoreThe United Nations has intervened in the plight of 267 vulnerable people that the Australian Government intends to deport to offshore camps, warning the Government to adhere to its obligations under the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against torture and other cruel treatment.
Read MoreThe High Court has ruled that the Australian Government’s role in funding and participating in offshore detention on Nauru does not breach Australian law, but it did not give a blanket authority for the Government’s actions.
Read MoreThe High Court will hand down a decision tomorrow morning in a test case challenging the lawfulness of the Australian Government’s role in offshore detention on Nauru. The HRLC's Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, said his client, her husband and their one-year old baby are terrified of being sent back to Nauru.
Read MoreAustralia is lagging behind in the global movement to prevent and address corporate human rights abuses and a group of leading NGOs is urging the Government to do something about it.
Read MoreA new research project is aiming to better understand and tackle the harm caused by so-called gay conversion therapy and the ex-gay movement in Australia.
Read MoreThe announcement by the Queensland Attorney-General that the Queensland Law Reform Commission will examine how historical convictions for consensual homosexual conduct can be removed from a person’s criminal record has been welcomed by community and legal groups.
Read MoreThank you!
The official count is complete and we're thrilled to report that thanks to your generous support, we reached our target of raising $200,000 during our Human Rights Week Challenge.
Read MoreWe're very pleased to share our Annual Report for the 2014/15 financial year.
Read MoreStanding up for human rights is serious business, but here at the Human Right Law Centre we also enjoy a laugh and hope you do too.
Read MoreToday, the Human Rights Law Centre has joined with other leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, community and human rights organisations to launch a ground-breaking blueprint for change to focus on building communities instead of prisons, and developing smarter criminal justice solutions.
Read MoreIf we do not take a drastically different approach, the trajectory of our Corrections system seems as negative and inevitable as the lives of those disadvantaged and victimised individuals it houses, writes the Centre for Innovative Justice's Rob Hulls.
Read MoreThe Victorian Parliament has passed a new law to protect the privacy, safety and dignity of women accessing reproductive health services.
Read MoreThe coronial inquest into Ms Dhu’s tragic death in police custody has heard that Ms Dhu was in a violent relationship with her partner, Dion Ruffin, at the time of her arrest. Mr Ruffin was taken into custody together with Ms Dhu and was known to police as someone with a violent criminal history.
Read MoreA new and exciting opportunity has arisen for a lawyer to work as part of our Indigenous Rights Unit. This position will work alongside the Unit’s Director and Senior Lawyer and will play a vital role in contributing to all aspects of the Unit’s work. This position will be based in Melbourne.
Read MoreThe coronial inquest into Ms Dhu’s tragic death in police custody begins in Perth tomorrow morning.
Read MoreThe Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, yesterday met with Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur and expressed concern over the detention conditions in Australia’s offshore processing centres and encouraged the Prime Minister to reconsider Operation Sovereign Borders.
Read MoreAustralia must ensure that its opposition to the death penalty is consistently reflected across all its laws, policies and practices, the Human Rights Law Centre has told the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade’s Human Rights Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee is currently inquiring into Australia’s advocacy for abolition of the death penalty.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory’s youth justice system needs a thorough overhaul in light of fresh allegations of mistreatment emerging after the resignation of the Northern Territory’s Corrections Commissioner, Mr Ken Middlebrook.
Read MoreRainbow families and community advocates are calling on Members of Parliament to support the Adoption Amendment (Adoption by Same-Sex Couples) Bill 2015 to be debated in the Victorian Parliament tomorrow.
Read MoreThe High Court has today found the Northern Territory’s ‘paperless arrest’ laws valid, but imposed significant limitations on their operation.
Read MoreAustralia’s treatment of asylum seekers received unprecedented condemnation from the international community as the Government appeared before the Human Rights Council in Geneva overnight for its major four yearly human rights review in a process known as the ‘Universal Periodic Review’.
Read MoreAustralia’s human rights performance will face intense scrutiny next week as the Government appears before the Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major four yearly human rights review. At the "Universal Periodic Review" (UPR) other countries will have the opportunity to question Australia about its human rights record and make a series of recommendations for improvement.
Read MoreThe Victorian Parliament should pass a new bill to protect the privacy, safety and dignity of women accessing reproductive health services, the Human Rights Law Centre told the Victorian Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee yesterday.
Read MoreAccording to the most recent statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–64 years are around half as likely to be employed as non-Indigenous people.
Read MoreThe United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has issued an urgent call to the governments of Australia and Nauru to find a decent solution for 'Abyan' - a refugee being held on Nauru who is 15 weeks pregnant after reportedly being raped on Nauru in July. The UN has spoken directly with Abyan.
Read MoreAs the UN celebrates it's 70th birthday, the HRLC's Anna Brown looks at Australia’s involvement in the success and also the need to confront the current weakness of our leadership on human rights.
Read MoreJoin us for a panel discussion in Melbourne about Australia's foreign policy ambitions and failures with Tim Costello, Andrew Hudson and Emily Howie.
Read MoreAustralia’s treatment of prisoners falls short of new international standards adopted by the United Nations General Assembly last week.
Read MoreIn the lead up to Australia’s review by the UN Human Rights Council, the HRLC and other NGOs along with the Australian Human Rights Commission visited Geneva to brief UN member states on the human rights situation in Australia and key issues that should be considered as part of the review.
Read MoreIn 2014 the HRLC’s Ben Schokman was awarded a nine-month Myer Innovation Fellowship to research and design new and innovative approaches to address the over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The fellowship involved examining “justice reinvestment” initiatives operating overseas and considering their potential application in the Australian context.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is thrilled that our very own Director of Advocacy and Litigation, Anna Brown, has been nominated as one of Victoria's finalists for the 2016 Australian of the Year Award for her work tackling important human rights issues.
Read MoreThe full bench of the High Court will sit on Wednesday and Thursday to hear a challenge to the lawfulness of the Australian Government’s role in offshore detention.
Read MoreThe full bench of the High Court will this week hear a challenge to the lawfulness of the Australian Government’s role in offshore detention on Nauru. The hearing will proceed despite an eleventh hour announcement that the facility on Nauru is set to become an ‘open centre’.
Read MoreThe announcement by Victorian Minister for Equality Martin Foley that the Government will this week introduce laws to remove discrimination faced by same-sex couples in the area of adoption has been welcomed by community and legal groups.
Read MoreDuring the month of October our hilarious friends at The Katering Show are generously donating all proceeds from the sale of their aprons to the HRLC!
Read MoreAustralia has been accused of seeking to weaken criticism of Cambodia’s appalling human rights record during negotiations on an important resolution at the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Read MoreIn 1988 Alan Raabe became one of the 548 victims of Queensland's war on homosexuality - he shares his story with the HRLC.
Read MorePeople should be free to meet with United Nations investigators without fear of being sent to prison, writes the HRLC's Daniel Webb.
Read MoreIndividuals who have unfair convictions from unjust laws that criminalised homosexuality should be able to have their names cleared – and a major research report from legal and community organisations has developed a blueprint for reform in Queensland.
Read MoreThe UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Francois Crepeau, announced overnight he was postponing his imminent official visit to Australia due to the lack of cooperation from the Australian Government including on the risk of reprisals against those who spoke to him.
Read MoreThe HRLC has joined with Human Rights Watch to produce a report detailing how Australia can “lift its game” on human rights at home and abroad in order to strengthen its bid for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has sent an urgent request to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to investigate the mistreatment of young people (under 18 years) in Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, the Northern Territory’s main youth justice facility.
Read MoreA law proposed in the Queensland parliament this afternoon will restore the ability of same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships and hold state sanctioned ceremonies.
Read MoreVictoria’s Charter of Human Rights would be made more effective, practical and accessible through a range of recommendations made in a report following a review of the Charter’s first eight years of operation.
Read MoreThere are some immediate, simple steps, new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull can take to improve human rights in Australia. Our Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser outlines five priorities.
Read MoreThe latest Australian prison statistics released yesterday show the crisis of Indigenous imprisonment in Australia is getting worse.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is proud to support the push for a Human Rights Act in Queensland.
Read MoreAdvice from one of Australia's top constitutional barristers has confirmed that a referendum on marriage equality is completely unnecessary because the High Court has already established that parliament has the power to introduce the required changes.
Read MoreEqual opportunity laws should proactively tackle discrimination and promote equality, according to a large coalition of community organisations and legal experts.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomes the news that the Victorian Government will back the creation of safe access zones to ensure women can safely and privately access health services without being harassed or intimidated.
Read MoreA group of leading community and legal organisations has today urged the Victorian Government to change Victoria’s Human Rights Charter to ensure it is more accessible, more effective and simpler to use.
Read MoreAustralia’s regional processing centre in Nauru is not a safe or appropriate environment for asylum seekers, according to a damning Senate Committee report released today.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today expressed grave concerns over statements by the newly formed Australian Border Force that they would be stopping individuals in Melbourne’s CBD.
Read MoreLecturer in the Faculty of Law at Monash University, Sangeetha Pillai, examines the problems with the three significant expansions to the current grounds for citizenship loss contained in new laws proposed by the Government.
Read MoreA Melbourne abortion clinic is looking to Spring Street to create safe access zones after the Supreme Court of Victoria this morning found that whilst the Melbourne City Council had made mistakes in the way it dealt with the clinic, it would not be compelled to take action to prevent women being harassed and intimidated as they entered the clinic.
Read MoreThe full bench of the High Court will hear an important human rights case next week in Canberra about the Northern Territory's excessive police powers.
Read MoreThe High Court will sit in Canberra on 7-8 October to consider the lawfulness of the Australian Government’s role in offshore detention on Nauru, in a case brought by a group of people seeking asylum.
Read MoreStripping environmental groups of the right to take legal action under Federal environmental laws will undermine core democratic freedoms, a leading human rights organisation has warned.
Read MoreA proposed law designed to ensure women can safely and privately access abortion services in Victoria has been welcomed by the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreA Court of Appeal decision today highlights the need for reform to the system of investigating police complaints in Victoria.
Read MoreIn the lead up to Australia’s review by the UN Human Rights Council, the Australian NGO Coalition has released a series of Fact Sheets and held a briefing event to inform UN member states about the human rights situation in Australia.
Read MoreThe Citizenship Bill currently before the Australian Parliament is badly flawed and should not be passed, the Human Rights Law Centre said in its submission to the Parliamentary Committee investigating the Bill. Read More
More than 850 asylum seekers and 87 refugees are detained indefinitely in poor conditions on Manus Island two years after Australia announced it would process and resettle “boat people” in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
Read MoreAustralia should demonstrate its international human rights leadership by leading action at the Human Rights Council to address the urgent human right situation in Egypt, human rights organisations said in a joint letter to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre and Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) have written to the Australian National Contact Point (ANCP) expressing disappointment at the ANCP’s decision not to investigate our complaint concerning G4S Australia Pty Ltd relation to conditions and abuse of asylum seekers detained at the Manus Regional Processing Centre.
Read MoreThank you to all the wonderful supporters who donated to our End of Financial Year Appeal. We raised just over $100,000 from 164 donors. We're facing unprecedented human rights challenges in Australia and this support is critical to our impact. Thank you.
Read MoreAustralia is using ever more radical measures to prevent people from seeking its protection and demonstrating increasing contempt towards the United Nations human rights system, the Human Rights Law Centre told the UN Human Rights Council this week.
Read MoreLegislation being rushed through Parliament contradicted the Federal Government’s claims that its actions detaining asylum seekers offshore are legal, the Human Rights Law Centre said today. The changes are being brought in response to a High Court case the HRLC commenced in May.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has urged changes to make Victoria’s Human Rights Charter more accessible, more effective and simpler to enforce in its submission to the eight year review of the Charter.
Read MoreA West Australian Aboriginal family have asked the High Court for permission to appeal against a decision that they pay legal costs to the Western Australian Government, following an unsuccessful stolen generations test case.
Read MoreIntense secrecy and speculation has shrouded the allegations that the Australian Government paid the crew of an asylum seeker boat headed for New Zealand to return to Indonesia. Here’s our take on what’s happened and what it means for our asylum seeker policy.
Read MoreThe United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has delivered a scathing assessment of Australia’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva overnight.
Read MoreThe Northern Territory’s youth justice practices risk breaching international human rights law by failing to prioritise the best interests of young people.
Read MoreA legal bid to ensure safe access for patients and staff at an East Melbourne fertility clinic will be heard before the Supreme Court today.
Read MoreThe United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has condemned Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers in a statement delivered to the UN Human Rights Council overnight.
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Sally Goldner is Executive Director of Transgender Victoria, Treasurer of Bisexual Alliance Victoria and the presenter of “Out of the Pan”, a weekly radio show on 3CR covering pansexual issues. Editor-at-large of Right Now, Andre Dao, recently had a quick chat with her about her activism.
Read MoreHuman rights lawyers have raised concerns that a parliamentary inquiry into charity tax law could be used to lay the groundwork for attempts to stifle important voices in the environmental movement.
Read MoreProperly paid parental leave isn't a 'rort' - it's a human right, writes the HRLC's Rachel Ball.
Read MoreA group of leading Australian and international human rights organisations are calling for an overhaul to the way the Australian government campaigns to end the death penalty, today launching a new strategy document: ‘Australian Government and the Death Penalty: A Way Forward’.
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An independent inquiry is needed into the violent bashing of an Aboriginal man in custody in the Australian Capital Territory. Less than 3 hours after being remanded, Steven Freeman was the victim of a severe assault and was taken to Canberra Hospital where he was placed in an induced coma for almost a week.
Read MoreA case has today been commenced in the High Court of Australia on behalf of a group of 10 asylum seekers and their families challenging the lawfulness of the Australian Government’s offshore detention arrangements.
Read MoreI want to tell you about one client who was denied the chance to be part of our High Court case against off-shore processing.
Read MoreThe Government’s budget proposal to reduce parental leave payments is a retrograde step that will further entrench women’s inequality.
Read MoreThe announcement from Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo that Indonesia will lift its decades-long ban on journalists travelling to its troubled Papuan provinces is a welcome step in the right direction.
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The Victorian Attorney-General recently announced the 8-year review of the Victorian Charter. The review is a significant opportunity to strengthen the legal protection and practical realisation of human rights in Victoria. This page provides information and resources about the review, making a submission, and the HRLC's key recommendations for reform.
Read MoreThe rapidly increasing over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples caught up in the criminal justice system is one of the most significant human rights issues in Australia. Today, the Human Rights Law Centre has joined with other leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, community and human rights organisations to launch a ground-breaking blueprint for reversing the tide by focusing on building communities instead of prisons, and developing smarter criminal justice solutions.
Read MoreThe Australian Government has secretly returned 46 asylum seekers to Vietnam without any transparency or due process. Late on Friday 17 April, when news first broke that the asylum seekers were in Australian custody somewhere on the high seas, the Human Rights Law Centre sent a an urgent communication to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
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Australians don’t talk about self-harm, they don’t know much about self-harm, and they often don't realise it is the leading cause of death amongst 15-24 year olds in this country. The 2014 Children’s Rights Report seeks to change this by recommending a National Research Agenda on self-harm. This will help us find out more information to better understand the problem and develop solutions, which is a push in the right direction for Australia.
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The Australian Government recently passed legislation to amend the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the Maritime Powers Act 2013 (Cth) making it even more difficult for asylum seeker children and children born to asylum seeker parents to be processed and settled in Australia.
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Australia was recently reviewed by the UN Committee against Torture for its compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, commonly referred to as the Convention Against Torture.
Read More‘How did it come to this?’ asks the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Professor Gillian Triggs about Australia rejecting fundamental human rights along with the international monitoring processes designed to give them effect.
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At the most recent United Nations Human Rights Council in March, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture tabled a report outlining the current international benchmarks expected of countries when it comes to detaining children in criminal and civil contexts. The HRLC’s Senior Lawyer, Ruth Barson, said the report is a reminder that Australia needs to change its youth justice policies in order to meet international standards.
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John Tobin is a Professor in the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne. In 2011 he was awarded a national citation for outstanding contribution to student learning in the area of human rights, and is currently working with Professor Philip Alston from NYU on a comprehensive commentary on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Editor at large of Right Now, Andre Dao, recently caught up for a chat.
Read MoreVictoria is on the cusp of a reform that would see the State’s last law to directly discriminate against same-sex couples consigned to the dustbin of history, writes the HRLC's Anna Brown.
Read MoreA recent report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows Victoria has seen one of the largest jumps in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rates in the country.
Read MoreAustralia’s steadily deteriorating human rights performance has been highlighted in a major report compiled by nearly 200 organisations around Australia. It will be presented to the United Nation’s peak human rights body in the lead up to a major review of Australia that takes place every four years.
Read MoreToday the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) will commence a High Court challenge against the ‘paperless arrest’ regime in the Northern Territory that gives police new detention powers.
Read MoreMany children will benefit from removing discrimination in adoption laws, the independent review of Victoria’s adoption laws has been told in submissions lodged by community groups this week.
Read MoreThe United Nations’ peak human rights body will tonight be urged to question Australia on its increasingly regressive approach to human rights in the lead up to a major review.
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Samah Hadid is an international human rights and social justice campaigner, as well as an advocacy specialist. Most recently she was the Australia Director for The Global Poverty Project. She has previously completed a fellowship with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and selected as the Australian Youth Representative to the UN in 2010. Editor at large of Right Now, Andre Dao, recently caught up for a chat.
Read MoreProposed legislation being debated today in the Western Australian Parliament risks criminalising peaceful protest in breach of international human rights guarantees.
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The mother of fifteen year old Melbourne boy, Tyler Cassidy, who was shot dead by police in 2008, has progressed her individual communication to the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee aimed at highlighting Australia’s failure to ensure police-related deaths are properly investigated by an independent body.
Read MoreThe Queensland government’s commitment to abolish voter ID requirements introduced by the previous government has been welcomed by the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreThe United Nations Special Rapportuer on Torture has found that various aspects of Australia’s asylum seeker policies violate the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
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Australia’s counter-terrorism and migration laws unnecessarily and disproportionately interfere with fundamental rights and freedoms and ought to be repealed, the Human Rights Law Centre has said in a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) inquiry into “Traditional Rights and Freedoms”.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed today’s announcement by the Victorian Government that Michael Brett Young will lead the 8 year review of Victoria’s Human Rights Charter. Read More
The Government of Nauru should take urgent steps to respect and protect journalists, strengthen judicial independence and enact specific legislation protecting human rights defenders, the International Service for Human Rights and the Human Rights Law Centre said in a joint briefing paper on Nauru published today.
Read MoreConfirmation that the Attorney-General sought the resignation of the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission reveals the depths of the Government’s willingness to undermine Australia’s independent human rights watchdog, said the Human Rights Law Centre. “This is a blatant political attack to punish the Commission for doing its job reporting on the harm being inflicted on children in detention,” said the HRLC’s Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser. Read More
Graeme Innes AM is a lawyer, mediator and company director. He was a Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission for nearly ten years, responsible for issues relating to disability, race and human rights. Editor at large of Right Now and HRLC volunteer, Andre Dao, recently had a quick chat with him about what he’s been up to.
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Sector leaders have called for a bipartisan commitment to permanently end the policy of mandatory and indefinite detention of asylum seeker children and families following the release of the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry report. Our joint media release with Child Rights International, UNICEF Australia, Save the Children Australia, Plan International Australia and others...
Read MoreProposed new data retention laws create significant risks that private information of Australians will be unlawfully accessed and misused, said the Human Rights Law Centre in a submission to the Senate inquiry into the draft legislation.
Read MoreIf Australia wants to pursue its own military drone program, far greater levels of transparency and rigorous safeguards are absolutely essential, the Human Rights Law Centre will tell the Senate's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee during its inquiry into Australia's potential purchase of its own drones.
Read MoreAlmost six months since Julieka Dhu’s tragic death in police custody, her family still have no answers as to how she died.
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Australia should repeal excessive restrictions on the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, according to a new report to be considered by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Read MoreParliament should pass a proposed law to preserve and enhance the proper oversight of counter-terrorism and national laws that have serious repercussions for human rights.
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Read our in-depth overview of the High Court case and decision regarding the detention of 157 asylum seekers on an Australian custom vessel at sea.
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The High Court will tomorrow hand down its decision on a legal challenge to the Australian Government’s high seas detention of 157 Tamil asylum seekers on board a customs vessel for nearly a month.
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