AIATSIS comments on exposure draft of Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012
In this submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, AIATSIS discusses the Draft of Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012.
The draft Bill achieves the desired objectives of consolidating the Commonwealth’s anti-discrimination laws and providing for a streamlined complaints process. AIATSIS offers our broad support for the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen human rights and advance equality.
We draw attention to a number of important issues concerning the interaction of the existing Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) with the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), and urge the Committee to ensure that existing arrangements that protect native title rights and interests and enable compensation for the extinguishment of native title are also provided for by the proposed Bill.