human rights

Yesterday's announcement by Senator Stephen Conroy that the federal government will introduce "mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) -rated content" is a backward step that if adopted will be a triumph of fear and false promise over what works and good sense.

I add my voice to the many that understand that the Federal Government's proposals to filter the Internet are:

Next week I will be hosting an ‘Our Rights' Get Together to call for human rights protection in Australia. Across the country on 11 June, thousands of other GetUp members will be hosting similar events. 

My Get Together will allow people to show their support for a Charter of Human Rights by making a short video or having a photo taken with a written message.

I'll be holding the event in the Parkes Room at the NSW Parliament from 5.00 to 6.30pm on Thursday 11 June. To come along simply RSVP here.

One of the great things about being an MP is you get asked to host events on behalf of community groups so they can come and meet and hold forums in the parliament. These are usually open to other MP's and the public. It is a great democratic instituion and something that I try to do as much as possible.

This week I am hosting 2 events that you might be interested in:

- New Matilda is holding a series of events about internet regulation. As the intersection between politics, technology and the media continues to grow online, we're facing some hard questions. How do we regulate the world wide web?

Yesterday I chaired a session at the 4Rs conference. The 4Rs is being held in Sydney this week and aims to shine light on the issues that Australia needs to take forward to build a more socially inclusive future.

My session was on GLBT rights and I was fortunate to  hear from speakers, Mark Orr from ACON, Professor Jenni Millbank from UTS and Labor Senator Louise Pratt from WA. They articulated a very clear to do list of the reforms still needed.

I have been watching with interest the debate around the current AusAid Family Planning Guidelines which has stepped up since Federal Labor set up a sub-committee to examine the guidelines earlier this year. 

Last year, the All Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD), of which I am a member, strongly recommended abolishing the guidelines.  

Following on from the Same Sex: Same Entitlements report into discrimination faced by same-sex couples, HREOC have released an Issues paper exploring the human rights issues faced by people who are transgender, transsexual or intersex.

The Issues paper is a short analysis of some sex and gender diversity issues and their human rights implications.

The Attorney General, John Hatzistergos today announced that the Labor Government will introduce laws that give parental recognition to lesbians who have kids together. The government will also move on an additional 50 laws to extend equal rights to same sex defacto couples.

This is important reform that gives children of lesbian parents equal rights in workers compensation and victim compensation payments, inheritance rights, recognition of both parents by schools and health authorities.

26th April 2008 (Saturday) Time : 1pm

Venue : BELMORE PARK, Hay Street, Haymarket,SYDNEY 2000

Last night I attended a meeting of the Australian Coalition for Democracy in Burma. The meeting discussed the unconstitutional referendum in Burma scheduled for May 10. The ACDB encourages all who care about human rights in Burma to come to a rally on 26 April.

On 26 April 2008, The International  Burmese Monks Organisation (Australia) calls  for  a Global  Day  of  condemnation  of  undemocratic  and  unconstitutional Referendum announced for May 2008. We would like to invite you to join us for a Peace Walk & Prayer Service.

With these wise words from Daniel Swaine I attended the opening session of the NSW Anti Homophobia Interagency Conference - That's So Gay. Daniel spoke eloquently of the experience of students in our schools and the need for our school systems to tackle hompohobia head on to provide safety and recognition of identity for same sex attracted young people.

The conference also heard from Azlan Currie. Azlan is a primary school student from northern NSW who happens to have two mums. She gave a very funny insight into her life and how she explains the ordinary to those who consider her life extraordinary.

As hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets in Burma this week, the mainstream media and international attention is once again focussed on the human rights abuses happening under the military regime in Burma. This has included a brutal crackdown on monks and other protesters. There have been beatings and at least nine people have been killed by soldiers - including a japanese journalist.

The Australian Coalition for Democracy in Burma (ACDB) has been active in recent weeks drawing attention to what is happening on the streets in Burma. This culminated with a very successful protest held yesterday. The next protest will be held on Thursday 4 October at 12.30 at Martin Place. If you want to keep up to date and get involved in supporting the return to democracy in Burma join the ACDB facebook group.