Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

It's always good to hear the member for Berowra talk about the importance of labour!

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, I present the committee's report entitled Human rights scrutiny report: report 11 of 2020.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I thank the Deputy Speaker and the minister at the table. I am pleased to present the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights 11th scrutiny report of 2020, which was presented out of session on 24 September 2020. As usual, this report contains a technical examination of legislation with Australia's obligations under international human rights law. It sets out the committee's consideration of 32 bills introduced into the parliament between 24 August and 3 September this year and 63 legislative instruments registered on the Federal Register of Legislation between 28 July and 11 August 2020. The committee is seeking further information in relation to six bills and one instrument.

For example, the committee seeks further information about the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (High Risk Terrorist Offenders) Bill 2020. This bill would establish an extended supervision order scheme for high-risk terrorist offenders who have completed their custodial sentence or been subject to a continuing detention order. It would enable a court to impose any conditions on a person which it was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, were reasonably necessary and reasonably appropriate and adapted for the purposes of protecting the community from the unacceptable risk of the person committing a terrorism offence. This could include requiring that the person remain at specified premises within certain times, not leave their state or territory or even Australia, not communicate with specified persons or classes of person, and not access specified technology, such as social media. It would also enable evidence to be withheld from the offender but still used against them, as well as triggering monitoring powers under other acts.

The committee notes that an extended supervision order scheme engages and may limit a number of human rights—for example, the committee seeks further information as to whether the proposed scheme engages the absolute prohibition against retrospective criminal laws, as the scheme would apply to persons who are currently in prison and may constitute an additional penalty in some circumstances. The committee also seeks further information with respect to several other human rights, which may be permissibly limited where a limitation is prescribed by law, pursues a legal objective, is effective to achieve that objective, and is proportionate.

In addition, the committee seeks further information about the Higher Education Support Amendment (Job-ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote Students) Bill 2020, which would alter the cost of higher education for students, including increasing the cost of several areas of study, and introducing a minimum pass-rate for students to continue to be enrolled as Commonwealth supported students.

The committee notes that these measures engage the right to education, and may engage the right to equality and non-discrimination, and seeks further information in order to form a concluded view. I encourage all parliamentarians to carefully consider the committee's analysis. With these comments, I commend the committee's report 11 of 2020 to the chamber.

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