[LINK] Human rights must not be party political

[Ben McGinnes]

On 13/12/10 12:15 PM, Rick Welykochy wrote:
> Emily Howie and Phil Lynch wrote:
>>
>> The new government is in danger of taking a regressive step.
> [SNIP]
> 
>> In his Human Rights Week address last week, the state
>> Attorney-General, Robert Clark, spoke for the first time about his
>> plans for the Victorian charter. While stopping short of saying he
>> will repeal it, the attorney described the charter as ''riddled
>> with flaws'', saying that it ''could not continue in its current
>> form''. It will be reviewed next year.
> 
> It is good to see this important issue being discussed.
> 
> To prevent what seems to be political interference in the existing
> Bill of Rights in Victoria, it is important that we now move towards
> a national bill enshrined in the constitution.

Absolutely right.  If they do roll it back I will at least be able to
cite it as the exact reason why Australia needs a constitutional Bill
of Rights instead of a legislative Charter of Rights.

> Outcomes that are often inconvenient for the government and can may
> shine a negative light on its dealings with the citizenry.  I
> suspect this is at the root of comments made by AG Clark along the
> lines of ""riddled with flaws". Why can't it continue in its current
> form? A very strong case must be made before defanging this
> legislation.  Perhaps such decisions should be left to the we the
> people.

It comes down to the politicians' view of "we the people," to whit we
have elected them so now they get to decide exactly what we want.


Regards,
Ben

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