Speech on the Equal Opportunity Bill, reforming the exemptions and exceptions to Victoria's equal opportunity legislation.
I am a bit surprised by the member for Malvern and his attacks on what he says is the ideological position of this government, which he says is equality of outcome. He says he supports measures that are against discrimination, but he does not believe in this social engineering which is equality of outcome.
It probably shows how long I have been in this house, but I remember the debates of 1995 when the then Attorney-General, Jan Wade, introduced changes to the equal opportunity legislation. She introduced special measures and the idea that equality of outcome, not just equality of opportunity, was an element of equal opportunity in this state. It was a Liberal Party reform, as was equal opportunity legislation in 1977. There has been a tradition of the Liberal Party defending equal opportunity, and members have actually been reformers.
Liberal members now come here and criticise an element that was in the 1995 legislation, an element which suggests we have to find various ways to have exceptions and exemptions to the general principle of prohibition against discrimination.
One of those is in the area of equality of outcome, the idea of targeted measures, the idea that certain exemptions ought to exist so that we can have special measures for special groups that have certain attributes -- groups that are disabled, that have been discriminated against in the past, and which seek greater purpose and position in society.
The final report of the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee into "exceptions and exemptions in the Equal Opportunity Act" is now available for download.
Human Rights are central to our political system, which is why it is fitting to note that 2007 is the 200th anniversary of a landmark event, as I said in Parliament on Wednesday.
Mr CARLI (Brunswick) -- This year marks the 200th anniversary of the passing by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of an act for the abolition of the slave trade, called the Slave Trade Act 1807. This was a piece of legislation which is seen globally as a really important part of the campaign for the abolition of slavery. It was the culmination of a campaign conducted by a minority of anti-slavery campaigners in the British Parliament, led by William Wilberforce. It was a longstanding campaign, and they successfully passed a piece of legislation which banned the trans-Atlantic trade in slaves which had been going on for almost 250 years in the United Kingdom. It meant that in the United Kingdom you could not trade in slaves and that British ships could not carry slaves -- and if they were caught with slaves, they would be fined 100 per slave.
It was not a piece legislation which actually banned slavery -- campaigners had to wait until 1833 for the banning of slavery in the British Empire -- but nevertheless it was a really important piece of legislation, given that slavery continues to exist in the world. While most countries have outlawed slavery it is still practised around the world, so the struggle to abolish slavery continues today.
Mr CARLI (Brunswick) -- Tomorrow, 9 August, the International Transport Workers Federation and the International Trade Union Confederation have called an international day of action over the arrest and detention of two Iranian trade union leaders. I too want to voice my concern and protest at the imprisonment of two trade union leaders in Iran.
Mansour Osanloo, president of the Tehran bus workers union, has been arrested three times over the past year and a half, and he continues to be in detention. He was arrested while travelling on a bus on 10 July. He has been charged with conspiracy against national security. Also Mahmoud Salehi, a founding member of the Saqez Bakery Workers Association and the Coordinating Committee to Form Workers Organisations, has been arrested and is being detained. He has major health issues, and it seems his health is dramatically deteriorating as a result of inadequate health care.
There is an international movement to seek the release of these two trade union workers and to ensure that the rights of trade unionists and the right to organise in Iran are protected. This involves numerous activities around the world, particularly putting pressure on Iranian authorities
Major Michael Dante Mori is David Hicks’ US Marine defence attorney. Major Mori was a guest of the Victorian parliament today. He gave a terrific presentation on the David Hicks case and his continued detainment at Guantanamo Bay. Hicks is classified as an enemy combatant and has become a person denied his rights including the rights of prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.
The day commemorates the 1948 adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - and its a good opportunity to familiarise yourself with some of the articles in that historic document.
www.brunswicklabor.net is a website/blog devoted to the dissemination of news about Labor in Brunswick, Carlo Carli MP and progressive/radical ideas. www.carlocarli.net is authorised by Christopher Anderson, 3/58 Heller Cres, Brunswick West, 3055. chris@brunswicklabor.net
Please fill out this form to sign up to Brunswick Labor updates.
www.brunswicklabor.net is a website/blog devoted to the dissemination of news about Labor in Brunswick, Carlo Carli MP and progressive/radical ideas.
Alienconcept Electronics