Fairbrother Russell: Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Fairbrother Russell: Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:638;Page:8767] 
RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Labour) 
: 
 I welcome this opportunity to speak to Part 2 of the Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill. I do so as someone who has spent most of his professional life advocating for a narrow aspect of human rights issues. It is a pleasure to speak at the Committee stage of this particular bill just as it was in the second reading debate because in my view this amendment is long overdue. 
Part 2 is important because it addresses section 106(1) of the Employment Relations Act 2000. That Act is an inspired piece of legislation that has been under constant attack by the National Party—but unsuccessfully to date. As time goes on we are seeing in our labour force the fruits of this Act which is taking us back to fairly based employment laws. Section 106(1) of the Employment Relations Act provides that section 104 must be read subject to certain provisions of the Human Rights Act 1993 in relation to employment matters. That is the difficulty that is overcome by Part 2 because section 33 of the Human Rights Act allows for discrimination in the armed forces. There must have been many people back in 1993 when this Act went through who winced at the prospect of discriminating against women in the armed forces. But as the climate has changed in just 15 years and the age of enlightenment is upon us we can move to tidy up some of the idiosyncrasies that exist even in the Human Rights Act. 
This process is a constant reminder to us to be ever vigilant that human rights advocacy and legislation must be at the forefront of all the work that this Parliament does. At the end of the day questions of justice fairness equality and democracy depend upon a strong human rights basis. We have an economy that is booming and in strong times but a strong economy is only as good as the human rights ethic that underscores the fabric of the society that the economy is supposed to work for. That is why this change to the Human Rights Act through the Employment Relations Act as amended by the Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill is welcomed. Once more it is a small correction sending out larger signals on the greater horizon. So I adopt the iceberg principle whereby although only one-tenth is above the surface of the sea nine-tenths is under water as we see in this bill. The ramifications of this Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill will in fact be deep and serious as we correct the Human Rights Act by amending the Employment Relations Act 2000. 
It is my privilege and pleasure to speak at this Committee stage. I would also like to have the opportunity to speak at the third reading debate on some of the wider principles involved in this legislation. One of the niceties of standing in the House working in Parliament and working in select committees is to see the intricate web that exists between various pieces of legislation. One of the hallmarks of our Parliamentary Counsel Office is that it recognises and is alert to the consequential amendments that occur. One could say of course that if Part 2 was not in this bill nothing much would be lost because the provisions in the Employment Relations Act 2000 would be redundant. But what this signals is the care taken to make sure that our legislation remains tidy and user-friendly. Every Act that is not amended by removal when it is made redundant leaves untidy ends so some litigator or more important a lay person researching the law will have to spend unnecessary hours trying to understand why an Act exists seemingly in a vacuum. 
Part 2 of this bill is not only a celebration of the role that women play in our society but an acknowledgment to the Parliamentary Counsel Office in this establishment—to those many highly qualified lawyers who put together the legislation that we debate and who address the consequential issues that arise. It is an act of diligence on their part an act of careful scrutiny and the results are reflected in Part 2. I support the passing of this bill. 
Part 2 agreed to.