Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to present a petition on behalf of Canning constituents and Western Australians calling for the government to reject the adoption and notion of a charter or bill of rights in Australia. The petition has been approved by the Standing Committee on Petitions and I welcome this opportunity to say a few words about the petition and reiterate the views of the signatories. There has been a significant debate about a charter of rights in recent months; in fact, former Prime Minister John Howard spoke in Western Australia last week about this very issue. Coinciding with the 60th anniversary last December of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Attorney-General commenced the consultation process into the necessity of a charter of rights. The signatories to the petition have entered this national debate and today I present their petition about the introduction of an Australian bill of rights. The 600-plus signatories confirm their strong support for the ‘protection of God-given human rights’, but they believe that those best placed to protect these rights are elected representatives of the people. The petition says that the signatories:

… are opposed to a Charter of Rights which would allow judges to determine if laws are incompatible with human rights.

It goes on to say:

We … wish to see elected representatives of the people, not unelected judges, determine the laws protecting these rights. It is then for judges to uphold those laws through the courts … this current system has functioned well.

The petitioners rightly note that Australia’s democratic nature means that the protection of human rights is already well-founded. We have protections in the Constitution and in a multitude of state and federal laws. Australia has embedded freedoms and its human rights record is among the best in the world; it is actually envied. The Liberal Party itself is founded on the core notion of individual rights, and the coalition does not believe that a bill of rights is the best way of protecting human rights in Australia.

There is widespread concern that the effect of a statutory charter of rights would result in the transferring of public power from elected representatives of the people to unelected judges. Attempts to codify the fundamental human rights could in fact restrict rights rather than embed them in law. The breadth of power then placed in the courts to determine the scope of these rights not only would result in significant judicial lawmaking but could also result in the clogging of the court system to the nth degree. As my colleague Senator Brandis said recently:

It is easy to say that everybody in Australia supports a greater recognition of human rights; of course we do. But the very specific issue of whether there should be a charter of rights is not an issue which commands widespread support, or even much community support, outside the subset of the cultural elites.

Let me take this opportunity to commend the organisers of the petition, particularly principal petitioner Gary Kleyn and those who widely circulated it. Signatures have come from far and wide. As Australians we respect the democratic process, and by circulating this petition those signatories are playing a role in that process and putting their views on the record. I therefore present the petition on behalf of the signatories.

The petition read as follows—

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

We the undersigned are opposed to a Charter of Rights which would allow judges to determine if laws are incompatible with human rights. We support the protection of God-given human rights but wish to see elected representatives of the people, not unelected judges, determine the laws protecting these rights. It is then for judges to uphold those laws through the courts. We note that this current system has functioned well. Australia is one of the freest countries in the world with a human rights record the envy of people all over the world.

We call upon the Australian Parliament to reject a Charter of Rights. We pray that the Government may receive the wisdom from God to act in a just and fair manner in this matter.

from 642 citizens

Petition received.