Pod Rights

Dr Helen Szoke is Australia’s new Race Discrimination Commissioner. Formerly a Commissioner at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission for seven years, Helen began her role at the Australian Human Rights Commission on 5 September. Among other things, she brings to the position her experience relating to management, community development, organisational development and regulation in the education and health sectors. In this instalment of Podrights, Disability Discrimination Commissioner, and former race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, speaks to Dr Szoke about her new role and the issue of racism, as it applies to Australia today.

Recently, the High Court ruled as invalid the federal Government’s intention to send asylum seekers, who arrive in Australia by boat, to Malaysia. To discuss the decision and the human rights issues behind it, Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes spoke to Australian Human Rights Commission President, Catherine Branson.

The Human Rights Awards are held every year in conjunction with World Human Rights Day, which is on 10 December. This year, the winners of the ten Award categories will be announced at the Sydney Wentworth Sofitel Hotel on Friday 9 December. Nominations close on Friday September 9 at 5pm (http://www.humanrights.gov.au/hr_awards/index.html). In this instalment of PodRights, Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes is joined by last year’s winner of the prestigious Young People’s Human Rights Medal, Jack Manning Bancroft. Jack talks about being nominated for the medal and the positive implications it has had in his work.

With the appointment of the Hon. Susan Ryan AO, Australia has its first full time Age Discrimination Commissioner. From 1975-1988 Susan was Senator for the ACT and became the first woman to hold a Cabinet post in a federal Labor Government. More recently, she has chaired the trustee board of the IAG/ NRMA Superannuation Plan, held leadership positions in Australian Superannuation, including President of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees 2000-2007 and was a member of the ASX Corporate Governance Council from 2003 to 2007. In this instalment of PodRight, Susan joins Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes to talk about her new role.

People who have a print disability include people who are blind or with low vision, people with a physical disability that makes it difficult for them to manipulate a standard book and people with other cognitive impairments. This is a large group of people. However, these people have access to precious little information in their lives. In developed countries, such as Australia, less than 5% of published material is put into an alternate format. In the developing world it is less than 1%. The World Blind Union has been running a right to read campaign to encourage action on this issue. In this instalment of Podrights, Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, discusses the campaign and its challenges with the President of the World Blind Union, Maryanne Diamond.

Four years on since the government’s Intervention in the Northern Territory, the issue is still a contentious one. Rarely do we have the opportunity to hear directly from someone living in those communities. A born and bred Territorian, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks is an Arrente/Amatjere woman from Utopia who lived on the station until she was nine. At 15 Rosalie was chosen by director Charles Chauvel to play the lead role in Australia’s first feature-length colour film, Jedda. Recently Rosalie returned to Utopia Station, where she now lives. In this instalment of PodRights, Rosalie talks about the impact the Intervention is having on communities throughout the Northern Territory.

On the International Day for People with Disabilities last year, the ABC launched a portal called Ramp Up. Based on a similar BBC website called Ouch, it deals with day-to-day issues facing people with disabilities, but in a way which challenges generally held stereotypes. In this instalment of PodRights, Ramp Up’s creator and editor, activist and comedienne Stella Young, discusses the concept, it’s development and the intentions for its future with Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes.

With 20 percent of people in Australia living with a disability, and that statistic increasing sharply as we all age, accessibility in daily life is becoming an increasingly important issue. We all need to access premises, services, facilities and information, whether it is in travel, work, visiting friends, entertainment or community activities. But for people living with disabilities, there are still significant barriers to access. Rick Hansen is a Canadian man who has been working to change this over the last 25 years. His Rick Hansen Foundation has raised over $200 million. In this instalment of PodRights, Rick talks to Commissioner Graeme Innes about his and other people's achievements, the work and the major issues that are part of a social change assisting in the removal of barriers to accessibility.

A recent Australian study estimated that 27 percent of students in years 4 to 9 are bullied at least every few weeks and between 7 and 10 percent are cyber-bullied. In today's world, initiatives to address bullying are facing new challenges. In both the physical and the virtual world, the role of the bystander is an important one. But if a bystander is to be able to take action, they must feel safe, supported and empowered to do so. On, Friday 18th March 2011, Australia's first National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence, Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes discussed these issues with the Chief Commissioner for Girl Guides Australia, Ms Helen Geard, and CEO of the Inspire Foundation, Mr Jonathon Nicholas.

An independent secret ballot is one of the foundation stones underpinning Australian democracy. But most Australians are surprised to find that there are a group of at least 300,000 Australians who, until recently, have not had an independent secret ballot. These are people who are blind or have low vision, or who, for other reasons, cannot complete a ballot paper. In recent years, however, this has started to change. In this instalment of PodRights, Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, talks to election officials, Tim Noonan and Judy Birkenhead about new developments and how they are being utilized in the upcoming NSW election.

Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes talks to Associate Professor Carolyn Hannon from the University of Lund in Sweden about the concept of mainstreaming gender equality. A former Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women at the United Nations, Carolyn grew up in Australia before moving to Sweden where she lives and has raised a family. In this instalment of PodRights, Carolyn discusses how gender equality means more than just dealing with employment issues and explains why mainstreaming of gender equality needs to take place, not only across the UN, but in nations around the world.

Monique Coleman is a Hollywood actress who has starred in films such as High School Musical, in which she played Tyler McKessie. She is also the UN Youth Ambassador. Monique has been in Australia, travelling across the country, visiting schools and a wide range of community organisations, including indigenous communities. Most recently, she has launched an online talk show called ‘Gimme Mo’ to get young people talking about the issues that affect them. Monique is promoting ‘Gimme Mo’ on her global road trip which will take her to Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Recently, Monique came to the Commission and spoke with 2010 Australian Youth representative to the UN, Samah Hadid, and Race and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes about her role as Youth Ambassador, her commitment to youth advocacy work and the 'Gimme Mo' project.

This week, British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for stronger action on Islamic extremism. Nicola McGarrity, the Director of the Terrorism and Law Project at the Gilbert and Tobin Centre of Public Law, talks to Race and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes about Australia’s counter-terrorism laws and the impacts of these laws on our human rights.

In the final Pod Rights for the year, Commission President and Human Rights Commissioner, Catherine Branson QC joins Race and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes to discuss the human rights issues involved in Australia's immigration detention system, the detention centres themselves, the people who are detained in them and the impacts of their incarceration.

In July 2010 the UN General Assembly created UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came after women's groups around the world established the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) campaign in 2006, which drove a call for action for a separate entity for gender within the UN. In this instalment of Pod Rights, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, speaks to Executive Director of UNIFEM Australia, Julie McKay, who gives an overview of the campaign, outlines the role of the new body within the UN system and discusses the work of the National Committee for UN Women in Australia and our region.