Discrimination consult starts

The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (GLRL) welcomes the start of a consultation process by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) into discrimination against people on the grounds of sexuality, sex and gender identity.

Currently federal law protects against discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability and age. However, there is little protection in federal law, unlike in state and territory laws, from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity.

The consultation will run to November 26. The Commission will host roundtable discussions in Sydney and Melbourne on October 28 and November 9 respectively.

The GLRL encourages community members to make submissions via the AHRC website or by mail.

In April 2010 Attorney-General Robert McCelland launched the Australian Human Rights Framework. The Framework proposes a range of key measures to further protect and promote human rights in Australia. This includes combining federal anti-discrimination laws into a single Act to remove unnecessary regulatory overlap and make the system more user-friendly.

The GLRL hopes the AHRC consultation is fed into this process.

The Framework also proposes to establish a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to examine Bills, Acts and legislative instruments for compatibility with human rights, and inquire into any matter relating to human rights that is referred to it by the Attorney-General.

The reference points for the Committee are the rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the seven core UN human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which requires that all persons be treated equally, and without any discrimination, before the law.

The GLRL hopes the functions of the Committee will ensure that members of the LGBTI community are treated equally the law, particularly in the areas of relationship recognition and parenting.