Civil rights
Media and commentary related to our work protecting and advancing civil rights. This includes police accountability, justice in youth detention, asylum seeker rights, discrimination, access to justice and Raise the Age.
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‘It broke my mind’: Former youth detainee sues after being held in solitary confinement
When Daniel* was taken into custody for the first time at the age of 17, he had never experienced any mental health issues. He was on remand for more than a year as he waited to face trial, and by the time a jury found him not guilty he was “different in the head”.
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NSW petition to raise the age gets 63,000 signatures
Public Interest Advocacy Centre CEO Jonathon Hunyor said locking up children fails our community. “The verdict from medical, legal and child development experts is clear: criminalising children causes lifelong harm,” he said. In March, a NSW budget estimates hearing revealed 293 children aged between 11 and 13 had spent time in custody in 2021. More…
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2SER interview: e-scooters – safety issues and concerns
While e-scooters offer a convenient and sustainable mode of transport, there has been an increasing number of media reports about accidents involving e-scooters and injuries to pedestrians on footpaths. People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by the use of e-scooters on footpaths. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has been working with Disability Voices Tasmania, which is…
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Passenger kept from boarding after Jetstar’s refusal to assist with wheelchair makes discrimination complaint
Erin Turner Manners, a senior solicitor at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre – which is representing Jones – said he was “one of many passengers who have encountered poor treatment, including effective denial of service, trying to access air travel as airlines and airports continue to fail people with disability”.
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Stranded: disability discrimination complaint highlights Jetstar failure to provide assistance to wheelchair user
Sydney man Tony Jones has lodged a disability discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission after Jetstar refused to help him transfer from his electric wheelchair to a Jetstar aisle chair, in contravention of Jetstar’s own policy. As a result, Mr Jones was left stranded at Sydney airport, unable to travel on the flight…
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Voting rights for blind and vision impaired people: iVote complaint lodged with Australian Human Rights Commission
Blind Citizens Australia has lodged a discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission against the NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) and NSW Electoral Commissioner to ensure blind and vision impaired people can cast a secret, independent and verifiable vote at the 2023 NSW State Election. The action follows the decommissioning of the iVote online voting…
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Blind advocates allege NSW’s removal of online voting system is a breach of human rights
Ellen Tilbury, a senior solicitor at PIAC, said it was crucial to Australia’s democracy that all members of society were able to fully participate in the electoral process. “For people who are blind and vision impaired, iVote, the electronic assisted voting platform, enabled them to do that really for the first time independently and secretly,…
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2SER interview: Raise The Age
Right now, politicians are sending children as young as ten years old to be locked away in prison. PIAC is calling on MPs to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old and instead invest in solutions that work. 2SER Breakfast spoke with PIAC Solicitor and Gomeroi women, Emma Bastable about the NSW Raise the…
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Pandemic policing: The impact of COVID-19 fines on the justice system
As NSW continues to emerge from the pandemic, and the Government focuses on a return to “business as usual”, thousands of people across the state are still saddled with debt from fines. Legal practitioners are calling for a global solution to the millions of dollars that remain unpaid, and greater support for the vulnerable communities…
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“Tough on borders”: how Australia’s immigration detention system fails refugee and asylum seeker health
Public Interest Advocacy Centre reports have found that adequate health care had not been delivered to Medevac refugees, particularly regarding mental health care services and mitigating transmission risks during the COVID‐19 pandemic.