Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697630768899.pdf (Australia)
Dear Committee of Inquiry I apologise for failing to meet the deadline yesterday and hope you will accept this late submission via email.

1.

Australia is the only Western democracy that does not have a full range of judicially enforceable human rights.

2.

This means that while Australia has signed any international human rights treaties, Australians cannot avail themselves of these rights.

3.

The Australian Human Rights Commission, while earnest, is ineffective because its decisions are unenforceable.
4.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has concluded on many occasions that Australia’s human rights institutions do not provide “effective” remedies for people in Australia whose human rights have been violated.

5.

Australia signs the treaties but declines to implement them effectively.

6.

This duplicity undermines our international credibility.

7.
7.

Australian Bill of Rights legislation should be seen as an opportunity to use judicially enforceable human rights to be a spur to better government performance.

8.

Judicially enforceable human rights, supported by s 51(xxix) of the Constitution, should be implemented and applicable throughout the country.

9.

Judicially enforceable human rights need to apply in all of Australia, and offshore in areas we control or fund, such as in immigration detention and Territories.

10.
10.

The new legislation should implement the full range of human rights.

Thank you.

Patrick Professor Patrick Keyzer Dean of the Thomas More Law School Australian Catholic University Inquiry into Australia's Human Rights FrameworkSubmission 291