Today, 10 December 2025, is human rights day. Commemorating the pledge of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHA) by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The movement to recognise human rights came from the displacement and adhorrid circumstance of the two World Wars.
In an contemporary, Australian context, it is disappointing to report that we do not have a specific federal Human Rights Act, though some states Victoria (Vic), Australian Capital Territory (A.C.T.) and Queensland (Qld) have state ACT’s protecting human rights. An Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 does exist but isn’t considered a true Human Rights Act because it doesn’t create enforceable human rights or give people the ability to challenge government actions in court. Instead, it mainly sets up the Human Rights Commission and allows it to investigate and conciliate complaints, but its recommendations aren’t binding. The Act covers only limited rights, doesn’t require government agencies to act consistently with human rights, and doesn’t let courts overturn laws that breach human rights. For these reasons, it functions as an administrative and complaints framework—not a comprehensive federal Human Rights Act.
During Recent Covid19 mandates throughout Australia, in particular (from my experience) the border closures between Qld and New South Wales (N.S.W.), fundamental human rights where stripped from everyday Australians and Government Departments where making decisions disregarding individual human rights.
The Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 concluded in its 2022 final report that government decision-makers did not give sufficient weight to human rights when crafting pandemic responses, often prioritising public-health advice over rights-based considerations. This concern has also been echoed by the Australian Human Rights Commission, which later reported that many COVID-19 measures failed to properly consider or protect people’s rights.
A current campaign, to convince the QLD LNP government to govern appropriately, to their documented values, and regulate the Department of Primary Industries, through Biosecurity QLD and the National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP), to respect peoples fundamental human rights, private property rights and individual choice to toxic chemical exposure, has been falling on deaf ears.
Queensland’s Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) (HRA) requires public entities to act and make decisions in a way that is compatible with human rights as per section 58(1)(a)
They MUST give proper consideration to a human right that is relevant to the decision (section 58(1)(b) HRA.
The NFAEP is administered in a way that currently contravenes
Property rights (section 24): QHRC: Property Rights.
https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/your-rights/human-rights-law/property-rights
Right to privacy and reputation (section 25): QHRC : Right to privacy and reputation.
https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/your-rights/human-rights-law/right-to-privacy-and-reputation
Do Government Departments around Australia have a disregard and complete lack of respect for Fundamental Human Rights?
Evidence suggest they do.
Is it a coincidence that 1000’s of under 16’s in Australia are denied their human rights, taking effect on Human Rights Day?
The human rights supporting free speech and political participation come from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—Article 19 protects freedom of expression and Article 25 protects the right to take part in public affairs. In Australia these rights are reinforced by the Constitution’s implied freedom of political communication. In Queensland they are clearly set out in the Human Rights Act 2019, where section 21 protects freedom of expression and section 23 protects the right to take part in public life, including voting, being elected, and accessing public service.
https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/your-rights/human-rights-law/right-to-freedom-of-expression
https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/your-rights/human-rights-law/taking-part-in-public-life
Although many feel the United Nations unelected encroachment on Australian life and prosperity, I think we can all agree that their promotion of human rights needs to admired and accepted by Australian decision makers as an essential part of the decision making process.
https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day
On their website they promote:
Human rights are POSITIVE
They not only protect, they also bring joy, happiness and safety into daily life. Human rights are lived realities. They are in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the words we speak, the opportunities we pursue or the protections that keep us safe.
Human rights are ESSENTIAL
They are the essentials we all share, the common ground that unites us across differences of race, gender, belief, or background. In a world of uncertainty, human rights remain our everyday constants. When everything feels unstable, your right to safety, to speak freely and to participate in decisions that affect us, become the bedrock of our lives.
Human rights are ATTAINABLE
They begin with us, with the small, everyday choices we make from treating others with respect, speaking up against unfairness, and listening to those whose voices are often ignored. Everyday choices and voices matter more than you may realize; they build a culture of dignity and fairness around us. But human rights also depend on collective action, when communities, movements, and nations come together to demand justice and equality.
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