Resource Papers on Australian Government

Australian religious freedom under threat by Dr David Phillips, BSc, PhD, ThA

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An international agreement on religion, quietly incorporated into Australian law in February 1993, could profoundly undermine religious freedom in this country. This paper by Dr David Phillips, BSc, PhD, ThA, surveys the basis of the religious freedoms previously enjoyed by Australians and explains how these important freedoms are threatened by the UN Religion Declaration and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

State control by stealth: the "Australia" ID card by Dr Alasdair Livingston, MA, BSC, BM, BCh and Mrs Roslyn Phillips, BSc, DipEd

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The Hawke Labor government in 1986 proposed to introduce a nationwide identity card system to be called the "Australia Card". Every man, woman and child in Australia would be given a number, and important details about them would be stored on an enormous centralised computer. This paper explains the fundamental issues at stake: the nature of our society as a common law country and the power and authority of the state in relation to the individual.

Bill of Rights parliamentary debate from Hansard for the Australian House of Representatives

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The debate in the federal House of Representatives on the Australian Bill of Rights Bill 1985 is one of the most extraordinary. "Members on this side of the house have perhaps never been as intense in expressing concern about legislation..." said one MP. "I am astounded that so much hear has been generated..." said another. Yet the debate passed almost unreported in the press! This paper summarises the debate with a series of brief extracts from Hansard.

Proposed Australian Bill of Rights: some implications for society by Mr J K Bowen, BA, LLB

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When an Australian Bill of Rights was proposed in 1985, several Australian lawyers expressed serious reservations. Professor Lauchlan Chipman said it could not guarantee the rights it contains. Sir Harry Gibbs, then Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, said: "If society is tolerant and rational, it does no need a bill of rights. If it is not, no bill of rights will preserve it." This paper by Mr J. K. Bowen, BA, LLB, considers the implications for society.

The UN Discrimination Convention by Dr Alasdair Livingston, MA, BSC, BM, BCh and Dr David Phillips, BSc, PhD, ThA

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This paper is an appraisal of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The underlying view of society expressed in this Convention is an atomistic one - where bonds within families are weak and an individual's primary commitment is to the state. The traditional family however has strong bonds between members. This type of family forms the basis of a stable democratic society. We undermine it at our peril.