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.
-
New report: Two years after Medevac, asylum seekers still waiting in hotels for urgent medical treatment
Two years after the repeal of Medevac laws, asylum seekers who were transferred from Manus Island and Naru are still languishing in hotels waiting for essential medical treatment. This dire situation is highlighted in a new report Healthcare denied: Medevac and the long wait for essential medical treatment in Australian immigration detention released today by…
-
Forum: Health Care Denied in Australian Immigration Detention
Join an expert panel discussing barriers to health care experienced by asylum seekers in Australian immigration detention. About this event PIAC is proud to launch its latest report, ‘Healthcare denied: Medevac and the long wait for essential medical treatment in Australian immigration detention’. The report reveals that despite the intentions of the Medevac scheme, the…
-
Parliament must reject ‘worse than feared’ Religious Discrimination Bill
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has called on Federal Parliament to reject the Religious Discrimination Bill after its contents were finally released yesterday. ‘Unfortunately, the Religious Discrimination Bill is even worse than we feared, and may lead to more discrimination in the Australian community, not less,’ PIAC CEO Jonathon Hunyor said. ‘This extraordinary legislation…
-
Opinion: Australia must raise the age of responsibility to 14 or keep trapping children in a quicksand of criminality
Op ed by PIAC Senior Solicitor Emma Bastable, and Luke McNamara from UNSW Centre for Crime, Law & Justice.
-
Opinion: Religious Discrimination Bill still discriminates against many, despite removal of Folau clause
Op ed by PIAC Policy Manager, Alastair Lawrie.
-
Axing ‘Folau clause’ small step forward, but bigger problems remain in Religious Discrimination Bill
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has cautiously welcomed media reports the so-called ‘Folau clause’ has been dropped from the Commonwealth Government’s planned Religious Discrimination Bill. However, those same reports have confirmed that much more serious problems with the Bill – including extraordinary ‘statement of belief’ and religious exception provisions – remain. ‘It is disappointing…
-
A better path, a safer future. How do we raise the age of criminal responsibility?
A joint seminar with the UNSW Centre for Crime, Law and Justice (CCLJ) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). Right now, in every Australian state and territory, children as young as ten can be arrested, charged and sent to jail. This is despite decades of medical, social and legal research highlighting the harm this…