Op-ed: Australia needs a bill of rights

By Paul Gregoire, 29 October 2020
Flag of Australia (photo credit: Rob Berends/flickr)
Flag of Australia (photo credit: Rob Berends/flickr)
There are two ways an Australian bill of rights could be legislated – either constitutionally or via ordinary statute law. A constitutional bill of rights allows judges to invalidate laws that are at odds with human rights. These are laws that have been enacted by parliament. However, it’s a difficult process to make amendments to the constitution. And once they’ve been made, they’re almost impossible to change. [ . . . ] Then there’s the statutory model of a bill of rights. This would not necessarily allow for judges to invalidate new laws. But it would allow for the federal parliament to make amendments to the bill of rights itself. The human rights outlined in a statutory bill are therefore not as secure.
Read the full article here: The Big Smoke

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