ACT Human Rights and Discrimination Commissioner Welcomes New Right to Education

 

The inclusion of the right to education in the ACT Human Rights Act will benefit the whole ACT community, said Dr Helen Watchirs, ACT Human Rights and Discrimination Commissioner. The Commissioner was commenting on a Government proposal to include the right to education to the ACT Human Rights Act 2004. "Experience of countries like the United Kingdom is that the right education provides a right to free primary education, to secondary education, and to non‐discriminatory access to higher and tertiary education,' said Dr Watchirs. Internationally, this right has been recognised to include parents being free to educate their children in private schools, and that the government must establish minimal educational standards. "I welcome the comments of the Attorney-General that the ACT Government is open to including additional economic and social rights in the Human Rights Act in future,' said Dr Watchirs. 'I believe the right to health and the right to housing in particular should be considered, as well as referring to specific Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural rights.'

 

Rights to education, health, housing, work and cultural life were all recommended for inclusion in the ACT Human Rights Act by an Australian National University study in 2010. Unlike other civil rights in the Act, the new right to education would not allow a person to bring a legal action against the ACT Government solely for a breach of this right. "I would also encourage the Government to consider in future ensuring the right to education can be a ground for direct legal action against the Government, as is the case with other enforceable rights in the Act,' Dr Watchirs said. To date, the ACT Human Rights Act has protected certain 'civil and political rights' recognised internationally. These include rights to equality, fair trial, freedom of expression and association, and special protection of children and the family. The Human Rights Act binds public authorities to protect ACT residents from unreasonable Government infringements of their human rights, and act positive to protect and fulfill these rights.