What you can do to stop the death penalty

The death penalty was finally abolished in Australia in 1985. However, it could still be re-introduced. CCL is working to ensure that does not happen and YOU CAN HELP us to stop the death penalty being re-introduced.

In 1973 the federal government abolished the death penalty for all federal crimes. The same legislation also abolished the death penalty in the Territories.

By 1985 all the Australian States had abolished the death penalty completely. However, because Australia is a federation of States, the States can still re-introduce the death penalty.

CCL is working to ensure that the States cannot re-introduce the death penalty. CCL is working with federal parliamentarians to introduce the Second Optional Protocol (abolishing the death penalty) into Australian law. Australia ratified the optional protocol in 1990. By introducing the optional protocol into Australian law and binding the States, the federal Constitution will ensure that any attempt by the States to reintroduce the death penalty will be unconstitutional.

What you can do

You can write to your federal member of Parliament, and/or the senators in your State, explaining your opposition to the death penalty and asking them to support moves in the federal parliament to introduce the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR into Australian law.

You can also write to the Attorneys-General: both the federal Attorney-General and the Attorney-General in your State. you should ask her or him to support federal moves to introduce the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR into Australian law.

You can also help by contributing to CCL's "Liberty Fund". Donations help CCL organise functions and with lobbying efforts in Canberra and elsewhere.

How to write to your federal Member and State Senators

You can write or email your federal member of the House of Representatives or the Senators in your State.

You should express your opposition to the death penalty and ask them to support federal moves to introduce the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR into Australian law.

How to write to the Attorneys-General

You can write or email the federal Attorney-General and the Attorney-General of your State. The table below has links to the websites of all Australian Attorneys-Generals. Citizens of the Northern Territory and the Australian Captial Territory only need to write to the federal Attorney-General (who administers the federal legislation that abolishes the death penalty in all the Australian Territories).

You should express your opposition to the death penalty and ask them to support federal moves to introduce the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR into Australian law.

What you can do to stop the AFP

19 April 2005: CCL has condemned the Australian Federal Police for cooperating with Indonesian police in the arrest of nine Australians who might face the death penalty. Read our media release. CCL believes that before the AFP cooperates with foreign police forces, there should be an agreement that the death penalty will not be pursued in investigations that rely on AFP intelligence.

CCL recommends that you write to express your concern about the AFP cooperation with police forces in countries that retain the death penalty. The AFP needs to be held accountable for being involved in cases where the death penalty could apply.

CCL recommends that you write to: