Human Rights in Australia

The current rights debate in Australia is
a long-standing one, in the context of one of the
few countries without an express bill of rights.
This book discussses historical aspects of rights
protection, including Diceyan concepts of
parliamentary supremacy and the rule of law, before
considering historical support for limits to the
power of Parliament. The book discusses theoretical
justifications for the power of judges to declare
laws inconsistent with human rights to be invalid,
including social contract theory and modern versions
of democracy. In this context, comtemporary
human rights issues are then considered. These
include the recent laws allowing groups to be
outlawed based on a politician's declaration, laws
that limit the right of an accused
person to jury trial, both at the national and
regional level, laws that restrict voting rights,
laws that restrict the ability of a person to work
in different regions within Australia, and laws that
allow a person to be detained based on an assessment
of their future risk to society. Deficiencies in
rights protection in Australia are identified and
possible solutions suggested.

Autorentext

Dr Anthony Gray is an Associate Professor of Law at the
University of Southern Queensland. He has published
extensively in the areas of human rights, constitutional law,
and private international law. A former Director of the
Queensland Law Society, he is listed in Who's Who in the World
2009 for his services to legal scholarship.

Klappentext

The current rights debate in Australia is
a long-standing one, in the context of one of the
few countries without an express bill of rights.
This book discussses historical aspects of rights
protection, including Diceyan concepts of
parliamentary supremacy and the rule of law, before
considering historical support for limits to the
power of Parliament. The book discusses theoretical
justifications for the power of judges to declare
laws inconsistent with human rights to be invalid,
including social contract theory and modern versions
of democracy. In this context, comtemporary
human rights issues are then considered. These
include the recent laws allowing groups to be
outlawed based on a politician's declaration, laws
that limit the right of an accused
person to jury trial, both at the national and
regional level, laws that restrict voting rights,
laws that restrict the ability of a person to work
in different regions within Australia, and laws that
allow a person to be detained based on an assessment
of their future risk to society. Deficiencies in
rights protection in Australia are identified and
possible solutions suggested.