Julian Burnside: Language, Arts, Law

Arts in Melbourne: Circus Oz - back in town with a great new show: more polished than ever before.

Their best show in 25 years. Bookings Circus Oz office (03) 9646 8899 or Ticketmaster 136 100

Human Rights in Australia and elsewhere

Read the landmark decision in Hamdan v Rumsfeld

Write to your Senators: oppose the expansion of the Pacific Solution
and reject the Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill 2006

Campaign for a Bill of Rights in Australia: The Justice Project and
New Matilda Human Rights Act Campaign and human rights resources

Recent case on the rights of people held in custody: Re Rigoli [2005] VSCA 325

Victorian Court of Appeal encourages submissions based on
international human rights norms: Royal Womens Hospital v Medical Practice Board case

And see:

• The Justice Project (Australia)

• Civil Rights Network (Australia)

• NSW Council for Civil Liberties (Australia)

• The Justice Project (Australia)

• American Civil Liberties Union (US)

• Watching Them Watching Us (UK)

• Privacy International (UK, US)

• A summary of the UN human rights treaties

• Council of Europe Report on US rendition of people for torture in European countries

Federal Member for Chisholm, Anna Burke, has a petition calling for

work rights and health benefits for all community-based asylum seekers

High Court dismisses appeal from Nauru Supreme Court – Ruhani v Director of Police

Recent refugee decision: Federal Court discusses government’s duty of care for asylum seekers in detention

Recent refugee decision: Full Federal Court requires Government to prove that removal of refugee would be safe

Palmer Report on the detention of Cornelia Rau (1.2 mb pdf file – may take a couple of minutes to load)

Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre: Report on Nauru, the blighted home of Australia’s “Pacific Solution”

Amnesty International report on Guantanamo Bay, 13 May 2005

Other refugee resources: click here

The Justice Project: click here

Famous cases: click here

Speeches:

NSW Council for Civil Liberties 4 March 2005; speech in honour of John Marsden’s life membership award.

Honesty Matters – Jesuit Lenten series, Xavier College 23 Feb 2005

Why Bother - 6^th annual Peggy Glanville-Hicks address

The Art of Dissent – 3^rd annual Music Council of Australia address

Hope and Experience: Human Rights in Australia speech to the Sth Aust Law Conference, July 2004

Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture Newcastle University March 2004

Crimes against Humanity: Melbourne Rotary Club Speech, in debate with Sen. Amanda Vanstone, on 16 February 2004

Don Dunstan Human Rights Oration, Inaugural lecture: 26 September 2003

Who’s Afraid of Human Rights? Lionel Murphy Memorial Lecture 2002

"Towards a Just Society - Beyond the Spin" Stephen Murray-Smith Memorial lecture 2002

Hypocrisy and Human Rights Deakin University Law School Oration 2002

Australia's Treatment of Refugees: the Tampa case

Asylum Seekers, Illegal Immigrants or Smuggled People?

Authoritarianism in the Name of Freedom

Human Rights and Asylum Seekers

Australia’s Treatment of Refugees – The View From Outside. You might agree or disagree with the morality of indefinite mandatory detention, but Mr Ruddock and Mr Howard appear to be guilty of crimes against humanity by virtue of their treatment of asylum seekers: see a legal analysis of section 268.12 of Australia’s Criminal Code.

Opinion:

New Matilda

The Age opinion pages

Sydney Morning Herald opinion pages

New York Times opinion pages

Guardian opinion pages

Margot Kingston’s Web Diary

The web’s best summary of recent articles and books worth reading:

Arts and Letters Daily

All the news that's fit to suppress:

The Chaser - satire & news

Crikey.com.au