It's broke so fix it: arguments for a bill of rights

Behrendt, LY

It's broke so fix it: arguments for a bill of rights

Behrendt, LY

Permalink

Publisher:: LexisNexis Butterworths
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian Journal of Human Rights, 2003, 9 (1), pp. 135 - 150
Issue Date:: 2003-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	2003002331.pdf		428.02 kB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Behrendt, LY https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3027-7273	en_US
dc.date.issued	2003-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Australian Journal of Human Rights, 2003, 9 (1), pp. 135 - 150	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1323-238X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/6541
dc.description.abstract	This paper looks at the reasons why a Bill of Rights may be an attractive option for rights protection for Indigenous Australians and I want to start by saying that my views are personal; I am not claiming that they are reflective of the Indigenous community. I am going to structure my paper to answer one of the claims most often used against a Bill of Rights, namely, that the current system already allows for adequate rights protection. Put colloquially, it can be called the `if the system aint broke, dont fix it argument. It is easy to say that the system aint broke so you dont need to fix it if it has always worked for you. When I hear people talk about how well our legal system works I can feel a great chasm between what their experience with our laws are and what those of my own family are. I was interested in studying law because of the impact of the child removal policy on my family. My grandmother was taken from her family when she was twelve and sent out to work as a domestic. She never returned to her home. My father was, with several of his siblings, placed in a home at the age of five. He was not able to find the links to his own family until the 1980s. I grew up in a family where I witnessed the impact of that removal on the self-esteem of my family members and I saw what a difference it made to my father to find the family and cultural ties that had been taken away from his mother. I have stood on the very spot where my grandmother was taken from. It is land on our traditional country that we have no ability to claim a native title interest over. I stood on that spot and I couldnt have faith that our legal system was fair, equitable or just.	en_US
dc.publisher	LexisNexis Butterworths	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian Journal of Human Rights	en_US
dc.title	It's broke so fix it: arguments for a bill of rights	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	9	en_US
utslib.for	180101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Law	en_US
utslib.for	1602 Criminology	en_US
utslib.for	1608 Sociology	en_US
utslib.for	1801 Law	en_US
dc.location.activity	ISI:000255060900007
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Provost
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Provost/Jumbunna
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - SIC - Strengthening Indigenous Communities
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.volume	9	en_US

Abstract:

This paper looks at the reasons why a Bill of Rights may be an attractive option for rights protection for Indigenous Australians and I want to start by saying that my views are personal; I am not claiming that they are reflective of the Indigenous community. I am going to structure my paper to answer one of the claims most often used against a Bill of Rights, namely, that the current system already allows for adequate rights protection. Put colloquially, it can be called the `if the system aint broke, dont fix it argument. It is easy to say that the system aint broke so you dont need to fix it if it has always worked for you. When I hear people talk about how well our legal system works I can feel a great chasm between what their experience with our laws are and what those of my own family are. I was interested in studying law because of the impact of the child removal policy on my family. My grandmother was taken from her family when she was twelve and sent out to work as a domestic. She never returned to her home. My father was, with several of his siblings, placed in a home at the age of five. He was not able to find the links to his own family until the 1980s. I grew up in a family where I witnessed the impact of that removal on the self-esteem of my family members and I saw what a difference it made to my father to find the family and cultural ties that had been taken away from his mother. I have stood on the very spot where my grandmother was taken from. It is land on our traditional country that we have no ability to claim a native title interest over. I stood on that spot and I couldnt have faith that our legal system was fair, equitable or just.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/6541