Media release: Politically motivated Bill is unnecessary & will punish refugees, victims of domestic violence
The Morrison Government is attempting to push the Strengthening the Character Test Bill through parliament for the fourth time; and it is resorting to political attacks in the attempt to do so. The Bill is unnecessary and will do harm. Despite what the Government is saying, the Bill has nothing whatsoever to do with serious offences.
This Bill:
- Targets minor offenders.
- Is totally unnecessary.
- Will subject people who are of no danger to society to the rigours of indefinite detention, or deportation.
There are no exceptions for children. - Will discourage people from reporting family violence, when they are financially dependent on the perpetrator.
More information: Read our media release
EGZ17 must not be sent back to Afghanistan
Remember the pseudonym EGZ17.
EGZ17 is the pseudonym of an ethnic Hazara Shia man, whom the Government, specifically Alex Hawke, wants to be able to send back to the Republic of Afghanistan. A decision that he could safely be returned to Kabul was made in 2017 by the Immigration Assessment Authority, before the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan. The Government set about to deport him. After that takeover, he appealed the decision on the grounds that the newly named Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was in effect a new country, and that the decision to deport EGZ17 was legally unreasonable. A judge of the Federal Court agreed.
Read moreThe Big Smoke: We’re the only western nation without a bill that protects us from our government
Our ex-president Stephen Blanks spoke to The Big Smoke about the need for a constitutional Bill of Rights for Australia. The article points out that the Australian Constitution protects only a handful of our human rights and for decades the major political parties have ignored calls to implement a Human Rights Act.
Read moreSydney Criminal Lawyers: Liberties Council Maintains Ending Indefinite Detention Is a Moral and Legal Obligation
Dr Martin Bibby, co-convenor of our Asylum Seeker Action Group, spoke to Sydney Criminal Lawyers about Independent MP Andrew Wilkie's Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Immigration Detention Bill 2021.
Read moreABC: Breakfast with Scott Levi
Commenting on the Religious Discrimination bills, our President Pauline Wright told Scott Levi: "Sadly these bills do or would allow people to override existing human rights protections and anti-discrimination laws and effectively give a licence to discriminate in the name of religious freedom. So people’s fears in that regard are founded. In my view, it is a flawed proposal because it basically puts religious views above other sorts of human rights that are really important" Pauline told Scott.
Read moreInnovationAus: Reworked data-sharing legislation returns to Parliament with Labor’s support
'Controversial legislation paving the way for a significant expansion in the sharing of public sector data will return to Parliament this week with significant amendments and newfound support from the Opposition,' writes InnovationAus. It notes that the legislation 'offers a “new path” for the sharing of data held by the federal government currently blocked by secrecy provisions'.
The Bill, in the works for nearly four years, had 'not moved since Labor labelled it “deeply flawed” and signalled it would vote against it in April last year' but is now listed for debate this week.
Our concerns about the bill were raised in the article, along with those of other civil and digital rights groups:
The New South Wales Civil Liberties Council said it was “fundamentally flawed and violates community expectations”, and that it could enable “the robodebt scenario in an accelerated form”.
Read the full article: Reworked data-sharing legislation returns to Parliament with Labor’s support
Submission: Review of the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill 2021
NSWCCL has made a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Review of the National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other measures No. 1) Bill 2021.
The Bill would amend several acts and would increase the powers of Australian intelligence agencies.
These changes raise a number of questions about what this entails for Australians and, in particular, the work of journalists and media organisations. CCL is concerned that the proposed amendments will carry undesirable consequences.
Our concerns include:
- The breadth of circumstances in which heads of intelligence services can act without Ministerial approval, as well as their capacity to then delegate powers to junior staff members.
- Could baking for a lamington drive or turning chipolatas at a sausage sizzle held by a local community group constitute ‘support’ for a listed organisation? Such support could be relied upon by the Minister to authorise activities to enable intelligence to be produced - despite having been provided innocently by someone unaware that the group is listed.
- The proposed amendments have the potential to limit the freedom of journalists and media organisations and inhibit the provision of information to the public. They could be misused and weaponised against media organisations to hinder journalists’ abilities to freely report on legitimate news.
- Is it appropriate for staff immunities to extinguish the rights of affected Australians to obtain a legal remedy in respect of any loss or damage they may suffer if their computer or device is affected during intelligence activities?
We fear that the proposed amendments have the potential to add to an incremental erosion of the civil rights and freedoms of Australians.
Read moreSBS: Religious Discrimination Bill should be passed with caveats, two inquiries recommend
Our president Pauline Wright told SBS: "When you've got the ability to make a statement of belief that is going to be exempt from anti-discrimination laws, you've got something that is fundamentally flawed."
However, the Senate Inquiry recommended that 'the draft religious discrimination bill should be passed by the Senate after amendments to some of the more contentious sections of the bill'. The article notes dissent from Liberal, Labor and Green MPs, adding that 'Critics of the bill said they do not think problematic sections like section 12 on the statement of belief can be improved' calling for a 'complete overhaul of legislation'.
MS Wright noted that the whole process has revealed the importance of having a national Human Rights Act - or Bill of Rights - to deal with the issue of competing rights.
"In our view the bill should be withdrawn and taken back to the drawing board. And consult with the people who are going to be affected by it," she said.
"Consult with the LGBTI community as well as religious groups, and ensure all the competing rights are properly taken into account - because at the moment, they're not.
Full article: Religious discrimination bill should be passed with caveats, two inquiries recommend
Submission: Anti-Racism Framework
NSWCCL made a submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission welcoming its plan to develop a National Anti-Racism Framework.
In particular, we support:
- building a stronger legal framework to improve protections against racial discrimination
- constitutional recognition of First Nations peoples
- implementation of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- effective anti-racism and racial equality initiatives
Submission: Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Immigration Detention Bill 2021
NSWCCL has made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration Inquiry into the Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Immigration Detention Bill 2021.
In our view, passing the Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Immigration Detention Bill into law is morally and legally necessary. The Bill corrects the deviation from human rights and international norms in the course the government has taken in its treatment of refugees and unauthorised arrivals under the domestic legislative framework.
There are 1,513 people in immigration detention facilities, including 1,276 in immigration detention on the mainland and 237 people in immigration detention on Christmas Island. There are also 137 people effectively in detention on Nauru and another 145 people effectively in detention on Manus Island and PNG. The suffering of unauthorised entrants to this country under Australia’s system of indefinite mandatory detention is well documented. Indefinite detention is inhumane and cruel. Loss of liberty is one of the greatest punishments that humans bestow on each other. As a nation, we are guilty.
Read moreCovid cases in Villawood Detention Centre
There are currently over 500 detainees in Villawood Immigration Detention Centre. Now that COVID has entered, they are all at risk.
Djokovic could leave but many refugees cannot.
As the Djokovic saga ended, the media attention has moved on, but many asylum seekers and refugees remain in detention.
Some of these men have spent most of their teenage years detained by the Australian Government. NSWCCL continues to campaign for their release.
For one of their stories, view this video.
Six detainees in Villawood have COVID.
The Federal Government is responsible.
CCL, and numerous organisations have been warning the Morrison Government of the threat COVID-19 poses to those in detention. These include the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases and the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control.
Most have been urging the government to close immigration detention centres and release the detainees into the community, because of the risk of COVID-19 infection getting in. The worry was, and is, that the conditions inside are such that if any detainee, or any guard for that matter, contracted the virus, it would spread quickly throughout the centre.
Read moreThe Age: ‘Dangerous in a democracy’
Our President Pauline Wright commented that 'the new reasoning used by Mr Hawke [to cancel Djokovic's visa] “smacked of arbitrariness” and highlighted the undue extent of the minister’s discretionary powers.' in The Age.
Full article: ‘Dangerous in a democracy’: Civil rights groups’ alarm at government’s Djokovic case The Age 16 Jan 2022
A ‘wake up call’ to see Immigration Minister’s powers ‘in action’
"To see the sweeping powers that our minister does have is a wake up call for a lot of people within Australia ... It does set a dangerous precedent that people could be deported for what they believe."
Our President Pauline Wright speaking to Sky News about the deportation of Novak Djokovic.
The rights of climate and environmental protestors must be respected
NSWCCL joins with other human rights groups and environmental groups in condemning the increasingly harsh and disproportionate laws and actions taken against climate and environmental protestors in recent years, and supports victims of such laws and actions. This phenomenon is not discrete to New South Wales, with a prosecution of a climate defender dismissed in Western Australia this week, and a significant public campaign against proposed changes to clamp down on protest in the United Kingdom.
Read moreLad Bible: Civil Rights Groups Explain Why Novak Djokovic's Deportation Is Concerning
Stewart Perrie comments in Lad Bible that the deportation of Djokovic "has raised a few eyebrows in the realm of civil liberties". He quotes our President:
Pauline Wright, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said the government was drawing a long bow to think he was a poster boy for the anti-vaxx movement.
"Do the comments in 2020 disentitle him from playing a tennis game in Australia in 2022?" she said.
The Canberra Times: NSW govt could face RAT court challenge
The Canberra Times quotes NSWCCL's secretary Michelle Falstein and ANU Associate Professor Ron Levy, discussing the potential for a legal challenge if NSW forces residents to report their positive COVID-19 rapid antigen test results.
Read moreSubmission: Inquiry into Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 and related bills
NSWCCL has made a submission to the Inquiry into Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 and related bills.
It is our view that the suite of bills, in their current form must be withdrawn for reconsideration and redrafting, or opposed. They do not get the balance right between the important task of protecting religious adherents and non-believers from religious discrimination; and protecting others from discrimination by religious adherents and non-believers.
Read moreSubmission: Privacy Act review
Update: The Privacy Act Review Report was released on 16 February 2023. NSWCCL was pleased to see that many of the recommendations the Council made in our submission were supported in the review.
A key recommendation in the review is ensuring the collection of, use and disclosure of personal information is fair and reasonable, including whether the “impact on privacy is proportionate to the benefit”. The Council supports the inclusion of non-exhaustive legislated factors that are relevant to determining whether the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information is fair and reasonable in the circumstances. However, it considers that clear guidance and examples of how these factors may apply in practice must be provided.
The standard of ‘fair and reasonable’ must be assessed by reference to the perspective of the individual, rather than being assessed from an APP entity’s perspective. We consider that having clear guidance from the outset, rather than waiting to see how the courts interpret such new provisions, will empower APP entities to appropriately assess whether any proposed data collection, use or disclosure would be unfairly prejudicial to, or unreasonable having consideration to the expectations of, the individual. In particular, to the extent that these factors do require consideration of what is ‘fair and reasonable’ from the perspective of the individual, the APP entity should be required to consider and satisfy each factor. This is because the protection of personal information and right to privacy should be fundamental to the Act, and should not be readily outweighed by business considerations.
The review has also proposed “direct right of action” that allows individuals to seek compensation in the Federal Court for a breach of privacy, which privacy advocates have long called for. To access the action, a claimant would first need to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
The Council supports the creation of a direct right of action. The NSWCCL considers it important that individuals can personally litigate a claim for breach of their privacy under the Privacy Act. However, the ability of individuals to do so is currently limited. The creation of a direct right of action would therefore give individuals greater control over their personal information by providing an additional avenue of redress under the Privacy Act. This, in turn, would encourage better compliance by APP entities of their privacy obligations under the Act.
However, the expansion of the OAIC’s funding is critical given that several proposals contained within the Discussion Paper involve the broadening of the OAIC’s current remit. Chronic underfunding will erode the effectiveness of any privacy protections the OAIC seeks to implement and support. To properly conduct both its existing and proposed activities, the OAIC must be adequately funded and consulted in respect of the resources it requires. The OAIC received limited funding to support its privacy initiatives in the 2021-2022 Federal Budget, despite a significant expansion in its activities with the onset of its Digital Economy Strategy.
NSWCCL made a submission to the Review of the Privacy Act 1988 advocating for urgent reform to modernise the Act and ensure it is fit for purpose in the digital economy. Privacy is a fundamental human right that is central to the maintenance of democratic societies and achieving respect for human dignity. In this regard, the NSWCCL submits that the right to privacy should be the paramount object of the Act and considers the two primary areas of concern in debates relating to privacy are:
- (a) the intrusive observation of one’s actions (whether by surveillance, listening, data analysis or other mode); and
- (b) the discussion and the misuse of personal information.
NSWCCL supports in-principle many of the proposals outlined in the Discussion Paper and commends the Attorney General’s Department for reflecting the legitimate privacy concerns of a broad spectrum of society. Many Australians are concerned about gaps and ambiguities in the existing privacy regime that undermine the right to privacy. This is especially important in the context of unprecedented integration of digital technology in our everyday lives.