Director of KLC, Anna Cody

UNSW's Kingsford Legal Centre was a member of a delegation of leading Australian human rights organisations which recently briefed the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the state of human rights in Australia. At the meeting in Geneva on 4 May, the delegation explained that, while the Rudd Government has taken some important steps to improve the basic rights of Australians over the last 18 months, substantial human rights problems persist in Australia in areas such as health, education, housing, social security and workers' rights.

The Committee's review of Australia heard submissions from the National Association of Community Legal Centres, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre and Kingsford Legal Centre on Australia’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Committee, which is comprised of 18 independent international human rights experts, also heard from a high-level Australian government delegation on 5 and 6 May 2009.

"Access to basic services remains precarious for many disadvantaged groups in Australia," said Ben Schokman, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Resource Centre. "Particularly during these difficult economic times, the Australian Government has an obligation to ensure that basic entitlements, such as health care, education and adequate social security payments, are provided to all Australians to ensure an adequate standard of living."

"With unemployment rates rising, many Australians without work will struggle to make ends meet because social security payments are often insufficient to guarantee an adequate standard of living," said Annie Pettitt representing the National Association of Community Legal Centres.

"While most Australians think that we are pretty well off, the fact remains that many disadvantaged and vulnerable groups do not have equal access to basic services," said Ms Pettitt. "Ask the 105,000 homeless people whether they think Australia is meeting its obligation to ensure an adequate standard of living for all?"

Ms Pettitt added that many people don't know that, for example, Australia's childcare system has recently been ranked as the third worst in the developed world, and that only one in three of the 3.2 million people in Australia with a mental health disorder actually receive treatment.

Anna Cody, Director of Kingsford Legal Centre said: "We are looking forward to receiving the concluding observations from the Committee and hope to see more entrenched mechanisms for the enforcement of economic, social and cultural rights in Australia."

The Committee will deliver its report card on Australia on or around 22 May. The report will include observations on positive aspects of Australia's human rights performance, together with constructive recommendations as to how Australia could more fully comply with its commitments under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

For further information about the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights review of Australia, including comprehensive NGO reports on human rights in Australia, please visit www.hrlrc.org.au.