Sev Ozdowski, ‘Why We Need an Australian Bill of Rights Now’

LAWS1112 - Law, Justice and Society

SAMPLE EXTRACT: Interpretation Dr. Sev Ozdowski advocates, in his article ‘Why We Need an Australian Bill of Rights Now’ , that ‘the Australian system of protection of civil rights and fundamental freedoms is far from perfect’ ; going further to present a charter of rights as a solution to the issue of protecting Australia’s human rights interests. He first reasons through this by highlighting various gaps in the level of protection provided through the Australian Constitution, the democratic system and the common law. Following this, Ozdowski considers the culture of human rights in Australia, bringing attention to the misconceptions the public has on Australia’s civil rights status. He then narrows his approach to the issue, discussing more specifically the implications of certain laws and the roles they play in removing Australians’ rights; for example anti-terror laws and industrial relations laws. The presentation of his arguments in this manner is supported with various comments by relevant authorities in addition to references from a number of primary sources such as legislation, acts and case authorities.