2022-02-17
In response to a letter from Amnesty International, please see below an outline of the Greens position on each recommendation:
| Amnesty Recommendation | Position of the Greens |
|
Legislate a national Human Rights Act |
The Greens will enact a human rights charter, which also includes environmental rights, to ensure no one is stopped from asserting their rights and dignities. Read the policy › |
| Increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years of age | The Greens will increase the age of legal responsibility from 10 to at least 14. Instead of jailing children for minor crimes, our plan will support children to get back on the right path through culturally safe and supportive diversionary programs as well as supportive bail and community corrections programs to divert people away from prisons. Read the policy › |
| Invest in Indigenous-led solutions that support children, families and communities to stay strong and together |
The Greens will reform the criminal legal system by preventing people getting caught up in it in the first place. Prioritising strong communities over prisons and other punitive measures. Read the policy › We will also provide funding for First Nations-led healthcare policy, including providing $371m to self-determined, community-led First Nations health services to increase their capacity to care for their own communities, and $1.07b to build First Nations owned healing places. Read the policy › |
| Increase the annual refugee resettlement intake to at least 30,000 people |
The Greens will increase Australia’s humanitarian intake to 50,000 per year. Read the policy › |
| End the system of offshore detention and accept the New Zealand offer of resettlement | The Greens will end offshore detention, and resettle all people currently held in offshore detention in Australia, or in an appropriate third country. This will include accepting the New Zealand offer of resettlement. Read the policy › |
| Provide permanent protection to those on Temporary Protection Visas and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas | The Greens will abolish Temporary Protection Visas and reintroduce Permanent Protection Visas for refugees. Read the policy › |
| End the indefinite detention of people seeking asylum | The Greens will end the indefinite detention of people seeking asylum by ending offshore detention, introducing a seven-day time limit for people held in onshore immigration detention for initial health and security checks, then provide refugees and people seeking asylum with support to live with dignity in the community. Read the policy › |
| Create a fair and affordable Community Sponsorship Program for refugees | The Greens will create a fair and affordable Community Sponsorship Program, based on Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, that would create up to 10,000 places in addition to the Government humanitarian program quota. Read the policy › |
| Proactively raise awareness of the harmful impacts and ineffectiveness of conversion practices on LGBTQIA+ young people | The Australian Greens believe that there is a diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities, and the erasure of these can be offensive, hurtful and detrimental a person's wellbeing. That’s why we want a ban on reparative, sexual orientation and gender identity conversion therapies. Read the policy › |
| End non-emergency, invasive and irreversible medical interventions on infants and children with variations in sex characteristics | The Australian Greens want to ensure that irreversible medical intervention for children born with an intersex variation occurs only when they are able to give informed consent, unless it is determined to be both in the best interest of the child and necessary for the maintenance of health or the preservation of life. Read the policy › |
| Allow individuals to self-identify their sex or gender on identification documents; |
The Australian Greens believe that People have the right to self-identify their gender, which is integral to people's lived experiences as citizens and members of the community. That’s why we want:
|
| Ensure that no legislation privileges religious views to the detriment of LGBTQIA+ people | The right to practice one’s religion should not come at the cost of harm to socially marginalised groups or overriding hard-fought discrimination protections. The Australian Greens opposed the Religious Discrimination bills, and will not support any new Religious Discrimination bills that operate as a sword, rather than a shield, and privileges religious rights over other rights. Dissenting report on the Religious Discrimination Bill › |
| Fully fund the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children | The Greens will invest $12B in a new 12 year National Plan for Elimination of Violence Against Women, in line with the funding the sector says is needed to meet demand. Read the policy › |
| Commit to a dedicated National Plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women |
The Greens will ensure there is a National Plan for Elimination of Violence Against First Nations Women and Children that is self-determined by First Nations women and their community-controlled services and organisations. First Nations leadership, expertise and solutions must be prioritised at all stages of the development and implementation of the Plan, including a First Nations Women’s Gathering. |
| Establish a bipartisan National Anti-Racism Strategy | The Greens will fund a national anti-racism strategy that tackles racist hate at its core, including a new coordinated plan to counter far-right extremism. Read the policy › |
| Strengthen 2030 carbon emissions target and significantly accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels, including coal and gas | The Greens have committed to an emissions reduction target of 75% by 2030 and net zero by 2035. To achieve this, the Greens will immediately ban the construction of new coal, oil and gas infrastructure, and phase out the mining, burning and export of thermal coal by 2030. Read the policy › |
| Increase funding for the Australian Human Rights Commission | Having access to legal help and assistance is critical to enforcing and protecting our rights. The Greens would support a stronger Australian Human Rights Commission. Read the policy › |
| Redistribute all surplus Covid-19 vaccine stocks to low- and lower-middle income countries | The Greens will ensure we produce enough vaccines to share with our neighbors. We will commit an additional $250 million in funding to the COVAX program to increase vaccine access in low and lower-middle-income countries. Read the policy › |
| Support, promote, and resource international initiatives that encourage open and non-exclusive vaccine manufacturing licences, including knowledge and technology transfer | The Greens support the waiver of intellectual property provisions of the TRIPS agreement with respect to COVID-19 vaccines so that vaccines can be manufactured and delivered where they are most needed. Media Release › |
| Continue the strong bipartisan support to end the death penalty worldwide and commit funds to support this effort | In line with our strong commitment to human rights, the Australian Greens want an end to the death penalty and opposition to the death penalty in all cases, as well as support for campaigns for its abolition. Read the policy › |
| Stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other states where there is an overriding risk that such weapons will be used to commit or facilitate human rights abuses |
The Australian Greens are committed to building a peaceful and just world. That’s why we want to see an end to Australian government subsidies for the sale of weaponry or components, and a prohibition on arms fairs and on the promotion of weaponry in public places. Read the policy › The Greens will reduce defence spending to 1.5% of GDP by 2026, and ban the development and use of lethal autonomous weapons. Media Release › |
| Deliver all recommendations of the Brereton Report, develop a permanent international crime mechanism resourced to provide effective access to justice for all those in Afghanistan affected by breaches of human rights carried out by Australian forces |
The Greens are committed to the delivery of all recommendations of the Brereton Report. We support an international crime mechanism to ensure effective access to justice for people in Afghanistan whose human rights have been breached by Australian forces. Further, in acknowledgment of the harm caused by members of the ADF the Greens have committed to establish a reparations fund for victims and their families. Read the policy › |
| Allocate at least 20,000 humanitarian places, in addition to the existing program, to those fleeing the Taliban | The Greens will provide 20,000 permanent protection visas, in addition to Australia’s annual humanitarian intake, for Afghan people with a well-founded fear of being persecuted by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Afghan citizens on temporary visas in Australia would also be offered protection in Australia with permanent visas. Read the policy › |
| Use all bilateral, multilateral, and regional platforms to urge the Chinese government to end any crimes under international law and allow independent human rights investigators unrestricted access to Xinjiang |
A human rights centred approach to China means that the Greens will continue to speak out strongly against these abuses and call on the Chinese government to uphold human rights across China for all people. We will continue to call for full, unfettered access for human rights observers, and we will continue to urge the Australian government to do likewise. Speech › The Greens will advocate for the Australian Government to work through multilateral institutions to address human rights concerns in China, and will advocate for the Australian Government to work with other countries to address human rights concerns in China (Australian Greens National Council resolution). |
| Lead the call for targeted multilateral sanctions against Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing and other senior officials responsible for atrocity crimes. |
The Australian Greens have consistently and repeatedly called for sanctions against the leaders of Myanmar’s military junta, and for greater action by Australia Speech › Senator Rice introduced the Human Rights (Targeted Sanctions) Bill 2021 which would have required an explanation from the Foreign Minister as to why Australia has not imposed targeted sanctions in relation to the leaders of Myanmar’s junta. |
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Greens-2022-Election-Response--Amnesty-International.pdf | 517.08 KB |