Liberty Victoria

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Liberty Victoria, officially the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties (VCCL) and formerly Australian Council for Civil Liberties (ACCL), is a civil liberties group based in Victoria, Australia.

Contents

History

The Australian Council for Civil Liberties (ACCL) was established in Melbourne in 1936. Foundation member Brian Fitzpatrick led the organisation as general secretary until his death in 1965. [1] [2]

In 1966, John Tuson Bennett and Beatrice Faust launched the Victorian Council of Civil Liberties (VCCL). [2] and Bennett served as its secretary until being expelled from the group in 1980. The new body had no ties with former council members, and no political and religious affiliations, unlike the ACCL, which was affiliated to the Labor Party. The VCCL focused largely on police matters, in particular their actions in response to protests against the Vietnam War around 1970. [3]

Disagreements arose between conservative and radical members, and Bennett was expelled from the Labor Party, and in May 1980 the VCCL elected a new committee, without Bennett. Conflict ensued, with Bennett refusing to hand over control of the finances or membership list, and the matter went to court. While Bennett claimed to represent the VCCL, but in the same year formed a new body, the Australian Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and became known for being one of the leading Holocaust deniers in Australia. [3]

The council had held two fund-raising dinners in 1983 and 1984, to pay off debts incurred by legal action and to attract new members, and became an incorporated body in 1984. It underwent an organisational restructure, creating sub-committees focusing on policies such as criminal justice and minority rights. The new president was senior barrister Ron Castan QC. Gareth Evans, later Attorney General of Australia, served as vice-president for several years. [3]

In 1984 the council supported a Human Rights Bill, which did not get passed, and in 1985 opposed the introduction of a national identity card, later called the Australia Card. It developed educational materials for secondary schools, raising ethical questions and human rights issues, and prepared written submissions to government on topics such as police powers, prisons, health and industrial affairs, as well as discussing such issues on radio. [3]

There were organisational changes in 1990 and again in 1998, with a new constitution. In 1995, the Council was rebranded as Liberty Victoria, for media appeal and to put previous internal divisions behind them. [3]

In the 21st century came Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, the Tampa affair, the "terror laws", and the extension of police powers, partly a result of politicians' scaremongering law and order campaigns. There was another organisational overhaul in 2010. [3]

Liberty Victoria has always been supported by the Victorian Bar, [3] and the position of president has often been held by retired Federal Court of Australia judges and lawyers, who have included Julian Burnside, Chris Maxwell and Ron Merkel. [2]

As of October 2021, Julia Kretzenbacher is president of Liberty Victoria. [4]

Mission and functions

Liberty Victoria aims to defend: individuals and organisations' rights to free speech; freedom of the press; freedom of assembly; and freedom from racial, religious or political discrimination. [5]

The organisation issues public statements and media releases, and is called upon by media and federal and state governments to debate or comment on a range of matters of public interest. [5]

Funding

Principal funding for the organisation comes from the awards dinners, and the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia caused the 2020 live awards to be cancelled, which almost led to the demise of the organisation. However, sponsors donated enough to keep it afloat. [5]

Voltaire Awards

Liberty Victoria awards its Voltaire Human Rights Awards (Voltaire Awards) to "celebrate free speech and support Liberty Victoria's continued work to defend and extend civil liberties and human rights throughout Australia". The awards are named after the 18th century French writer and philosopher known as Voltaire, known for advocating freedom of speech and civil liberties. [6] Apart from the main Voltaire Human Rights Award, there are two additional awards, the Young Voltaire Human Rights Award (since 2017) and the Empty Chair Human Rights Award (since 2016). [7]

The choice of recipients has attracted criticism from radio presenter Neil Mitchell, [8] Morgan Begg of the Institute of Public Affairs, [9] and an opinion piece in The Australian . [10]

Voltaire Human Rights Award recipients

Young Voltaire Human Rights Award recipients

Empty Chair Human Rights Award

Notable activities

In January 2021 Liberty Victoria opposed border closures in Australia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. [15] [16] It also objected after Facebook briefly included a number of philanthropic organisations in its sweeping ban of Australian-based publishers, in response to the Morrison government's proposed media bargaining laws in February 2021. [17]

Related Research Articles

Hate speech is a legal term with varied meaning. It has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". The Encyclopedia of the American Constitution states that hate speech is "usually thought to include communications of animosity or disparagement of an individual or a group on account of a group characteristic such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or sexual orientation". There is no single definition of what constitutes "hate" or "disparagement". Legal definitions of hate speech vary from country to country.

Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may include the freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the right to security and liberty, freedom of speech, the right to privacy, the right to equal treatment under the law and due process, the right to a fair trial, and the right to life. Other civil liberties include the right to own property, the right to defend oneself, and the right to bodily integrity. Within the distinctions between civil liberties and other types of liberty, distinctions exist between positive liberty/positive rights and negative liberty/negative rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty (advocacy group)</span> UK advocacy group and membership organisation

Liberty, formerly, and still formally, called the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), is an advocacy group and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, which challenges unjust laws, protects civil liberties and promotes human rights. It does this through the courts, in Parliament and in the wider community. Liberty also aims to engender a "rights culture" within British society. The NCCL was founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith, motivated by their humanist convictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of thought</span> Freedom to hold a thought

Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic Frontiers Australia</span>

Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. (EFA) is a non-profit Australian national non-government organisation representing Internet users concerned with online liberties and rights. It has been vocal on the issue of Internet censorship in Australia.

Frank Tenison Brennan SJ AO is an Australian Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic. He has a longstanding reputation of advocacy in the areas of law, social justice, refugee protection, reconciliation, and human rights activism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Burnside</span> Australian barrister and Kings Counsel since 1989

Julian William Kennedy Burnside is an Australian barrister, human rights and refugee advocate, and author. He practises principally in commercial litigation, trade practices and administrative law. He is known for his staunch opposition to the mandatory detention of asylum seekers, and has provided legal counsel in a wide variety of high-profile cases. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2009, "for service as a human rights advocate, particularly for refugees and asylum seekers, to the arts as a patron and fundraiser, and to the law." He unsuccessfully stood for the Division of Kooyong at the 2019 federal election as an Australian Greens candidate, but achieved the highest vote for the Greens in the seat at a federal election and allowed the party to enter into the two-party preferred vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Walters</span>

Brian Walters is a prominent Melbourne barrister, writer and advocate for human rights and the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish Council for Civil Liberties</span>

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland.

Aaron Ronald Castan was an Australian barrister and human rights advocate.

Civil liberties in the United Kingdom are part of UK constitutional law and have a long and formative history. This is usually considered to have begun with Magna Carta of 1215, a landmark document in British constitutional history. Development of civil liberties advanced in common law and statute law in the 17th and 18th centuries, notably with the Bill of Rights 1689. During the 19th century, working-class people struggled to win the right to vote and join trade unions. Parliament responded with new legislation beginning with the Reform Act 1832. Attitudes towards suffrage and liberties progressed further in the aftermath of the first and second world wars. Since then, the United Kingdom's relationship to civil liberties has been mediated through its membership of the European Convention on Human Rights. The United Kingdom, through Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, led the drafting of the Convention, which expresses a traditional civil libertarian theory. It became directly applicable in UK law with the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998.

John Tuson Bennett was a solicitor in Victoria, Australia. He was one of Australia's longest and most active Holocaust deniers, active in the Holocaust denial movement from the late 1970s. He formed the Australian Civil Liberties Union (ACCL) in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of speech</span> Right to communicate ones opinions and ideas

Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognised as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law by the United Nations. Many countries have constitutional law that protects free speech. Terms like free speech, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression are used interchangeably in political discourse. However, in a legal sense, the freedom of expression includes any activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Victoria</span>

The Australian state of Victoria is regarded as one of the most progressive jurisdictions with respect to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

Arnold Zable is an Australian writer, novelist, storyteller and human rights advocate. His books include the memoir Jewels and Ashes, three novels: Café Scheherazade, Scraps of Heaven, and Sea of Many Returns, two collections of stories: The Fig Tree and Violin Lessons, and The Fighter. His most recent book, The Watermill, was published in March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow Vest Australia</span> Political party in Australia

Yellow Vest Australia (YVA), until 9 April 2019 known as the Australian Liberty Alliance (ALA), was a minor right-wing to far-right political party in Australia. The party was founded by members of the Q Society and has been described as the political wing of Q Society. The leader was Debbie Robinson (President), who was also national president of the Q Society. On 4 September 2020, the Australian Electoral Commission removed the Yellow Vest Australia from the registered political party list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yassmin Abdel-Magied</span> Sudanese Australian media presenter and writer

Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese–Australian media presenter and writer, who had an early career as a mechanical engineer. She was named Young Queenslander of the Year in 2010 and Queensland Australian of the Year in 2015 for her engagement in community work. Abdel-Magied has been based in the United Kingdom since 2017, after her comments about Sharia on TV and a social media post on Anzac Day led to her being widely attacked in Australian media, a petition calling for her sacking from ABC TV, and numerous death threats on social media.

Debbie Kilroy, née Deborah Harding, is an Australian human rights activist and prison reformer. She is known for having founded Sisters Inside, an independent community organisation based in Queensland, Australia, that advocates for the human rights of women and girls in the criminal legal system. She is a qualified lawyer, who in 2007 was the first person with serious convictions to be allowed to practise law by the Supreme Court of Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Nobel Peace Prize</span> Award

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to one individual and two organisations which advocate human rights and civil liberty. The recipients were the Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties. The citation given by the Norwegian Nobel Committee were the following:

The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.

References

  1. ↑ "Life". Brian Fitzpatrick: Memorial website for an extraordinary man. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006.
  2. 1 2 3 "History". Liberty Victoria. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Klugman, Kristine; Rowlings, Bill (February 2021). "Chapter 4 – Victoria: Rocky road for the oldest civil liberties group" (PDF). The people and organisations fighting for freedoms and liberties. A new book in production...
  4. ↑ "Committees". Liberty Victoria. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Liberty Victoria (2020). 2019–2020 Annual Report (PDF).
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Liberty Victoria Voltaire Human Rights Awards". Liberty Victoria. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Voltaire Award Dinner 2019". Liberty Victoria. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "Neil Mitchell critical of decision to hand 'free speech' gong to former ABC presenter". 3AW. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  9. 1 2 BEgg, Morgan (4 May 2017). "What part of free speech doesn't Liberty Victoria understand?". The Spectator . Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Daniel Andrews trumps Gillian Triggs with ridiculous award nomination" . The Australian . 18 February 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 "2020 Liberty Victoria Voltaire Human Rights Awards Webinar" (Video). YouTube. Liberty Victoria. 28 July 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "The 2022 Voltaire Human Rights Awards | Liberty Victoria". libertyvictoria.org.au. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  13. ↑ Trevitt, Sophie (19 May 2023). "Not caging children under 14 is the bare minimum we can do to not torture kids". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "Yassmin Abdel-Magied wins free speech award". Northern Star. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "Liberty Victoria hits out at 'draconian' border closure leaving Victorians shunned". 3AW. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  16. ↑ Ward, Tammy Mills, Michael Fowler, Mary (12 January 2021). "Call for more clarity on border closure triggers". The Age. Retrieved 11 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ Clun, Liam Mannix, Rachel (18 February 2021). "'Deeply unethical': Royal Children's Hospital, Neighbourhood Watch Victoria hit by Facebook ban". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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