COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONSIDERS REPORT OF AUSTRALIA

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the fourth periodic report of Australia, on how that country implements the provisions of the International Covenant on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Introducing the report, Caroline Millar, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the agenda embarked upon by the new Government of Australia was unapologetically ambitious, including: to honour in word and deed Australia's Indigenous peoples; to respect social diversity and promote social cohesion; to confront violence against women and children; to ensure all Australians had access to decent housing; to deliver the health and education outcomes that were essential to the fulfilment of all Australians; and to alleviate poverty and help developing countries meet their human rights obligations. The rights enshrined in the Covenant mattered to Australians - thus, compliance with the Covenant was more than a question of Australian compliance with an international treaty obligation. It was also a question of meeting the expectations of the Australian public. Such expectations did not end with access to decent Government services and the protection of fair and just laws - Australians expected to have a say in how their human rights were to be protected and promoted in the future. Australia had launched a National Human Rights Consultation process.

Among questions and issues raised by Committee Experts were what concrete measures were being taken in the field with regards to the current financial crisis and to ensure that this did not negatively affect economic, social and cultural rights, which were particularly vulnerable at such a time, and what particular protection measures had been implemented in this regard; how equality in employment was ensured, particularly with regards to Indigenous people, asylum seekers, new migrants, the disabled, and other groups, and the need for specific targeted programmes to do away with the obstacles for employment for those sectors of the population that did not have the same access as others; whether there was a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy and if so did it incorporate economic, social and cultural rights in line with the Committee's statement on poverty adopted in May 2001; and the effects of teaching in English on Aboriginal languages and a request for an explanation on the education of Indigenous peoples.

In concluding remarks, Ms. Millar said the Government of Australia was strongly committed to human rights and to strengthening its relationship with the international human rights system, including the treaty bodies. This was an extremely broad-ranging Covenant, and the questions had been correspondingly broad-ranged and detailed. Australia had found this very impressive. Australia was very lucky to have such a vigorous civil society, and this reflected its robust democracy. Australia acknowledged concerns with its report, and had tried to rectify this through its responses to the list of issues, during the meeting, and would also provide written responses.

Jaime Marchan Romero, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks said the dialogue had been constructive and would be very useful for determining Australia's efforts to uphold the provisions of the Covenant. The Committee appreciated the Australian attitude - this had been one of the best and most effective presentations that it had had. The Committee would include Australian methodology in its methods for 2008.

Also in the delegation of Australia were representatives of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Health and Ageing, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

As one of the 160 States parties to the treaty, Australia is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Covenant.

At 3 p.m. this afternoon, the Committee will take up the second periodic report of Brazil (E/C.12/BRA/2).

Report of Australia

The fourth periodic report of Australia (E/C.12/AUS/4) refers the reader to the Core Document (HRI/CORE/AUS/2007), which notes that in Australia a variety of approaches and strategies are used to implement and protect human rights, and these protections can be divided into two broad categories: existing institutionalised processes present in a liberal and democratic society, and special legislative machinery to protect human rights. The high level of acceptance, protection and observance of human rights in Australia is founded on a system of representative and responsible government, certain limited constitutional guarantees, statute law including specialised human rights legislation, the common law and an independent judiciary. The liberal democratic system of government in each of the Australian jurisdictions enables interested individuals to bring to notice areas in which human rights and fundamental freedoms are in need of protection or in need of further protection. The Australian Government considers that the best ways to protect human rights are by ensuring that the existing mechanisms worked effectively, and by educating the community about human rights and responsibilities.

Australia believes that education and raising public awareness are the most lasting and effective ways to minimise discrimination and promote tolerance of all members of the community. Australia's human rights policies are very strongly oriented towards achieving practical outcomes that improve realisation of the rights of individuals. The Government is committed to reducing Indigenous disadvantage, and its actions in this regard are founded on a genuine partnership with Indigenous peoples and followed a number of key themes, including increasing the focus on individuals and their families as the foundation of functional communities; encouraging and supporting self-reliance and independence from welfare; strengthening leadership, capacity and governance; addressing the debilitating effects of substance abuse and domestic violence; and increasing opportunities for local and regional decision-making by Indigenous peoples. The Government is also firmly committed to the ongoing process of reconciliation with Indigenous Australians, and is continuing its work on both practical and symbolic measures. There is clear evidence that improvements are occurring in areas such as Indigenous health, education, housing, employment and land ownership.

Gender mainstreaming is an important consideration in Australian Government policy and programme development and implementation. The Government has a range of policies, programmes and strategies aimed at ensuring equality between men and women. The Immigration Detention Standards establish a complaints mechanism for people in immigration detention, and these Standards require that people in immigration detention be able to comment on or complain, without hindrance or fear of reprisal, and that they be informed of their rights. The Government views citizenship as a cornerstone of Australia's inclusive and culturally diverse society, and a unifying focal point shared by all Australians, and for this reason is promoting Australian citizenship very widely in the community. Australia has also taken steps to enhance the capacity of its domestic law to respond to the new security environment following the terrorist attacks in the United States in September 2001 and London in July 2005. Religious freedom is protected under the Constitution, and the Government has also undertaken a number of initiatives to support harmonious relationships between people of different cultures and religious backgrounds in Australia, in order to protect and promote the freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Introduction of Report

CAROLINE MILLAR, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, introducing the report, said the fourth periodic report and the common core document were submitted in 2007, and these documents set out how Australia was at that time implementing the Covenant. Since then, there had been significant changes in Australia. In November 2007, a new Government was elected to office, which had sought to move Australia forward, conscious that the inherent dignity and inalienable rights of all Australians must be respected, in a global order that challenged them and recalled their duty to others less fortunate. The agenda embarked upon was unapologetically ambitious, including to honour in word and deed Australia's Indigenous peoples; to respect social diversity and promote social cohesion; to confront violence against women and children; to deliver on the right to work for all Australians; to ensure all Australians had access to decent housing; to deliver the health and education outcomes that were essential to the individual fulfilment of all Australians; and to alleviate poverty and help developing countries meet their human rights obligations.

On 13 February 2008, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, had honoured Australia's Indigenous peoples by apologising for the laws and policies of the past. Indigenous Australians remained the most disadvantaged group in Australian society, and Australia must work harder to realise the human rights of these peoples. The Australian Government had agreed to six targets to close the gap, and to reforms totalling $ 4.6 billion. Australia's Government had also indicated its support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. There were other challenges that Australia must meet. The Government was committed to addressing the treatment of women, including issues such as physical and sexual violence, which remained a serious concern and a major cause of homelessness in Australia for women. Measures had been taken to strengthen the legislative framework that protected individuals from discrimination. Just as Australia reflected on what it could do to address unacceptable life outcomes for the Indigenous peoples, to confront the scourge of domestic violence, and to treat with respect same-sex couples, so did Australia reflect on what it could do to assist developing countries to meet their human rights obligations, and what it could do to provide sanctuary to people in need.

Turning to health, the Government had announced an array of measures to improve health infrastructure, health services, and preventive health. Investing in education, skills and training was critical to the realisation of all rights enshrined in the Covenant, and the Government had made a substantial investment in education and training. The agenda sketched in this and in all other areas had not been arrived at easily: the Government had sought input from Australians in attempting to discern the issues that mattered most to them. The Australian Multicultural Advisory Council also advised the Government on social cohesion issues including overcoming intolerance and racism in Australia. The rights enshrined in the Covenant mattered to Australians - thus, compliance with the Covenant was more than a question of Australian compliance with an international treaty obligation. It was also a question of meeting the expectations of the Australian public. Such expectations did not end with access to decent Government services and the protection of fair and just laws - Australians expected to have a say in how their human rights were to be protected and promoted in the future. Australia had launched a National Human Rights Consultation process.

Questions by Experts on Articles one to five of the Covenant on the right to self-determination; the obligation of States Parties to achieve progressively the full realisation of the rights in the Covenant; the equal right of men and women to enjoy economic, social and cultural rights; the limitation of these rights for the purpose of promoting general welfare; and the prohibition of limitation of any rights under the pretext of them not being recognised in the Covenant

Among the questions and issues raised by Committee Experts were what concrete measures were being taken in the field with regards to the current financial crisis and to ensure that this did not negatively affect economic, social and cultural rights, which were particularly vulnerable at such a time, and what particular protection measures had been implemented in this regard; whether the Covenant was included in the legislative framework of the country; what importance and accessibility were given to the previous recommendations of the Committee; what measures had been taken as a result of the new undertakings to improve the situation for the Indigenous peoples; whether certain rights, such as the right to housing, were justiciable; why was it that not much consideration was being given to teaching human rights in schools and in communities so that people were aware of their rights and went to tribunals or the Human Rights Commission to obtain these rights; what would be the results of the national human rights consultations, and how these would be used to increase protection of and respect for economic, social and cultural rights; how to ensure that polices and measures undertaken with regards to policy implementation were within the human rights framework; and whether there was human rights training for public authorities.


Response by Delegation

CAROLINE MILLAR, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, responding to these questions and others, said that the Government would work with the Committee to improve the reporting process. On the overall implementation of the Covenant, and its incorporation into Australian law, the existing position was that Australia ensured that domestic legislation, policies and practice complied with international treaties before their ratification, and thus did not consider it necessary to enact them directly into Australian law. However, during the human rights consultation process, this may come up, and the Government was considering ways in which human rights obligations might be incorporated into statutory interpretation and administrative decision making, including economic, social and cultural rights. On the human rights consultation process, this was a very extensive process, and economic, social and cultural rights were not excluded from this, and were explicitly provided for therein. The process aimed at being very extensive, with huge public consultation and public awareness aims, with community consultations through public meetings in communities including in remote areas and Indigenous areas. As of March this year, the Committee had received 12,000 email submissions, indicating Australian awareness of and interest in human rights. The Government had made it very clear that the consultations would include all options on human rights, including legislative options such as a charter of rights.

In relation to the approach to anti-discrimination laws, the delegation said that due to the Federal system, there were quite a few pieces of relevant legislation, including a range of different anti-discrimination acts at the national level, and the States and Territories also having their own anti-discrimination and equal opportunity acts. A standing Committee of Attorneys General had been established, and had established in turn an Anti-Discrimination Harmonisation Working Group. The Working Group was currently working in consultation with all jurisdictions to develop options to harmonise laws and the complaints system. The Government took the recommendations of the Australia Human Rights Commission very seriously, but they were not legally binding, Ms. Millar said, although a lot of these were acted on by the Government. There were remedies with regards to Covenant-related breaches of anti-discrimination laws, the delegation said. The Australian Human Rights Commission was responsible for working to reconcile complaints, however, if this was not effective, the Courts could be appealed to and would then provide remedy. The Commission's establishing Act did include reference to the Covenant in section 46C.

With regards to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Ms. Millar noted that it was not yet open to signature. Australia was considering its positions. The new Government had taken a more forthcoming approach to human rights complaints mechanisms. But Australia noted the Human Rights Committee's previous determination that collective rights were not justiciable, and had to take this issue into account in its consideration. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples had been endorsed, the delegation said, and this was a historic shift in Government policy, and there were explicit commitments to close the gap on various indicators between the Indigenous people and the rest of the community. The Northern Territory Emergency Response was a major initiative that reflected a report which outlined deep ongoing and devastating breaches of what were considered normal behaviours. Child abuse and other problems in the Northern Territory were very manifest and required urgent action. The new Government had ordered a thorough review of the Emergency Response process, an overarching finding of which was that the Government had failed to consult sufficiently with Indigenous people, and this had the potential to undercut the effectiveness of the Emergency Response.

Indigenous people had been engaged and trained as Community Officers in the Northern Territory, with the aim of gathering and exchanging communication between Indigenous people and the Government and increasing trust, the delegation said. The Government's intention is to legislate to ensure that all Northern Territory measures were consistent with the Racial Discrimination Act and would require no suspension of that Act. On the measures taken by the Government to close the gap between Indigenous peoples and the rest of the community, the Government had in historic terms a very large investment of clear objectives to erase the disadvantage felt by Indigenous Australians. The measures outlined included halving the gap of child mortality figures within ten years, halving the gap of employment, and within five years to provide all Indigenous four-year old children access to all childhood programmes delivered by trained University professionals. There were a very wide range of programmes aiming to reach these objectives, including housing initiatives which covered both social housing and the upgrades of old and new housing. There was a comprehensive programme aimed at improving Indigenous people's access to education, with increased spending on infrastructure in schools, which would benefit all Australians.

Another focus was to provide better opportunities for Indigenous Australians to gain employment, the delegation said. Australia aimed to reach the aspiration of all Australians having employment, and was forming a range of programmes to better allow Indigenous Australians to gain the skills and opportunities to gain employment, along with a major refocusing of the job services network. One of the features of Australian policy was to increasingly ensure that what were called the main-stream programmes that covered all Australians were well-suited for Indigenous needs as well. The Government had a very strong commitment to the place of the Indigenous people within Australia society, a respect for its culture, and a desire for that culture to be better represented within the community. Australia respected the right to self-determination, within the context of its physical and political integrity. There were strong commitments by jurisdictional Governments to education, and all nine had agreed to the Melbourne Declaration, signed recently in December 2008 and which set a direction for Australia's schooling over the next ten years, with two goals: promoting equity and excellence; and allowing all Australians to become happy and integrated citizens. The curriculum also aimed to provide a depth and breadth of education, and the issue of human rights was embedded therein.

With regards to Overseas Development Aid, the Government had committed to reach 0.5% of the GNI, the delegation said. Australia had taken a very strong focus on education and health targets from the Millennium Development Goals and recognised that the delivery of services was critically important in reaching these goals, which were so vital for developing countries. Infrastructure was also important.

In brief follow-up questions, Experts asked, among other things, whether the Government took the view that economic, social and cultural rights were merely aspirational; what kind of insurance there was to the fact that all targets were within a human rights framework; what was the impact of counter-terrorism measures on economic, social and cultural rights; and a request for further information on reports of Australian companies dumping waste overseas.

Responding, Ms. Millar said she was not aware of the dumping issue, but hoped to provide more information later. In developing counter-terrorism legislation the Government was alert to the need to protect and respect human rights. On the status of ILO Convention 169, further information would also be provided later. Where there was inconsistency between Federal and State law, the Federal law applied. On ensuring that economic, social and cultural rights were included in all jurisdictions, this was coming up during the Consultations process. The Anti-Discrimination Harmonisation Working Group was already conduction work, the delegation said, and there was oversight of freedom of religion by the Australian Human Rights Commission through the ICCPR, as well as some protection of religion within the Constitution.

Questions by Experts on Articles six to nine, on the right to work; the right to decent work; the right to form or join trade unions and the right to strike; and the right to social security

Among the questions and issues raised by Experts were how equality in employment was ensured, particularly with regards to Indigenous people, asylum seekers, new migrants, the disabled, and other groups, and the need for specific targeted programmes to do away with the obstacles for employment for those sectors of the population that did not have the same access as others; whether the right to social security was enforceable in Australia, and whether it was therefore not considered as a universal right and did not cover such groups as asylum seekers and recent migrants; the need to find other ways than conditionality to ensure that benefits did not create dependence; whether there would be enough schools and teachers were all children to attend school; whether there were minimum pension amounts which provided people with an acceptable standard of living; whether the Government was planning to accept a proposal on paid maternity leave; and issues related to the employment rate and the need to boost job creation.

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, Ms. Millar said the common core document had been submitted in August 2007. On ILO Convention 169, the Government was in the process of undertaking consultations on and considering a number of ILO conventions. On counter-terrorism, the Government had put in a strong legal framework to meet terrorist threats, allowing law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, apprehend and punish the perpetrators of terrorism, but at the same time was very aware of the need for safeguards to uphold and protect human rights. With regards to free trade agreements, the delegation said the Government was committed to ensuring that the benefits of global economic growth were shared both within Australia and between countries, and was working to ensure that this helped to improve the living conditions of all Australians, working for a closer economic partnership that would increase employment opportunities and living standards, among other things. The free trade agreements that Australia entered into were fully consistent with its international commitments, including human rights.

Job Services Australia will help to meet the needs of all Australian citizens seeking for employment, the delegation said, connecting them to appropriate skills and development opportunities, as well as with potential employers. The halving of the unemployment gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous was a Government commitment - Indigenous Australians had access to a number of specific employment programmes. The Government was investing to strengthen measures to help refugees and humanitarian migrants to gain skills to help them enter the Australian workforce, including programmes for learning English and becoming familiar with Australian workplaces and work practices. With regards to asylum seekers, much of the criticism was based on the so-called Forty-Five Day Rule, which required that applicants had spent less than forty-five days in Australia in the year before application for asylum in order to be able to work. The Government recognised that this had been an arbitrary and ineffective policy, and was currently considering more fair and practical options.

The bargaining provisions under the Fair Work Act of 2009, which would come into effect later this year, included collective bargaining, the delegation said. It did not allow for individual statutory agreements of any type. The Act provided that employees had the right to be represented in bargaining, and that employers must bargain with the employees chosen representative in good faith. Under the Act, industrial action would be governed by clear rules, and would be proportional, sensible and workable for both employees and employers. Refugees and humanitarian visa holders could have immediate access to benefits for themselves and their family members. The basic social security system was entirely tax-payer funded, and there were no contributory payments made to it. It was a very extensive safety net system. In addition to the legislative payments to which people were entitled, there were other payments which worked to operate as a second safety net for people who did not have access to the primary payment - there was a Crisis Payment, a special one-off payment which could be made in exceptional circumstances such as domestic violence or a natural disaster, and a Special Benefit for those in financial hardship who could not earn sufficient funds for themselves or their dependents due to reasons beyond their control. This latter was the ultimate safety net in the Australia system, and asylum seekers often sought Special Benefit - the majority of those receiving it were under the waiting period for access to social security.

Very few payments in the Australia system had mutual obligations attached to them, the delegation said there were a range of reasons which could exempt a person from obligations, such as domestic violence or other special family circumstances exemptions, the person had disabled children, or a range of other exemptions. In relation to the Northern Territory Emergency Response, making income quarantining voluntary, the Government had considered this and had decided to continue with a policy of broad-based income management in the Northern Territory. While the Government appreciated fully that the policy was not without its critics, the experience was that women and Elders were finding that the policy was resulting in more money flowing through to the benefit of them and the children of the community than was previously the case. The policy would remain under active review, and it would be brought into line with the Racial Discrimination Act. Legislation had also been passed to ensure that decisions related to income management were subject to the normal tribunal review processes that other social security decisions were subject to. There had also been a review of the pension system, and changes were expected to be made.

Most Australians who retired would receive some old-age pension, and this would be increased by payments from superannuation accounts, the delegation said. People who were permanently unable to work, either because of disability or because they were carers accessed another set of payments, including the carer payment. Those with children also received a tax benefit, and single parents received a payment. With regards to paid parental leave, the Productivity Commission had made suggestions through a report, and the issue was currently before the Government, and was being actively considered. Economic growth did not automatically result in jobs, and Australia's experience was that its economy needed to grow by more than 2 per cent a year to create significant numbers of new jobs. A range of payments had been increased, in particular the family payments to ensure that families had enough to bring up their children, and the burden of tax had been decreased in certain situations, returning funding to the Australian community. The minimum wage setting had just changed with the new legislation that had come in.

Experts then raised brief follow-up questions, including why was the treatment different in the case of wrongful dismissals according to the size of the company that employed the plaintiff; an urgent complaint submitted to the ILO on limitations of the freedom of association and what follow-up had been given to this complaint; what was the situation when a strike was declared illegal and the excessively stringent requirement that 50 per cent of workers involved had to have voted in favour of the strike for it to be declared legal; and the issue of forced labour in prisons, which should be based on a voluntary principle, including in private prisons.

Responding to these questions and comments, the delegation said that under the new Fair Work legislation an employee dismissed for genuine redundancy could not make a claim. A dismissal would not be considered a genuine redundancy if the person could be redeployed.

Questions by Experts on articles ten to twelve, on protection of the family, mothers, and children; the right to an adequate standard of living including adequate food, clothing and housing; and the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health

Under these articles of the Covenant, Experts raised a number of questions and comments, including the situation of health services in prison, which appeared to be insufficient to combat drug abuse and the high rates of Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS infection, and what the State Party was doing to improve the situation in this regard; what was the national approach to sexually-transmitted infections; what was the situation with regards to the right to water and what was being done to ensure this in the context of climate change and the drought in certain areas; whether there was a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy and if so did it incorporate economic, social and cultural rights in line with the Committee's statement on poverty adopted in May 2001; whether homelessness was approached as a human rights issue; how many homeless were there in Australia; the need to recognise that poverty was linked to human rights violations and what were the benchmarks and targets in place in this regard and with regards to poverty alleviation; what mechanisms were used for consultation with the Aborigionals in order to ensure they took decisions in full cognisance of all factors; and what was being done to preserve and spread Aboriginal culture.

Questions by Experts on articles thirteen to fifteen, on the right to education; compulsory free education; and the right to take part in cultural life, and to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications

Experts then raised a number of questions and issues, including, among other things, a request for recent figures on existing pre-school services; the effects of teaching in English on Aboriginal languages and a request for an explanation on the education of Indigenous peoples; whether teaching Indigenous languages was increasing or regressing; whether there was a policy in the offing to promote the goal of improving national unity; whether self-determination was favoured that was total independence of the Aboriginal nations or whether this was preferred in the form of autonomy; whether Aboriginal children ended up, de facto, in disadvantaged schools; what were the principles and guidelines for other minority groups to have their own schools and language teaching; and how was religious education organised.

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, Ms. Millar said that the ILO had suspended the investigation of the complaint by the Communications Electrical Plumbing Union made to it, pending rectification of an irregularity. That had been rectified and the Australia Government was currently preparing a response to the complaint.

In relation to water, particularly in relation to Indigenous communities, the Government took these issues very seriously and recognised the great challenges in managing the country's limited water resources, and was developing and implementing a range of strategies to manage this in a just and fair manner, including respecting Indigenous communities' rights to water, and involving them in the consultation thereon. Funding was available to enhance the capacity of Indigenous organizations, communities and individuals to become more engaged and better join in consultations on water management. There was an opportunity for stakeholders to engage fully in consultations. State and Territory Governments gave effect to the human right to water through the funding of projects to provide potable water to communities who did not have access to this, such as remote communities. In the Murray-Darling Basin, where there were critical water needs, there was a plan to manage this, which takes into account the social, cultural, Indigenous and other issues. On the allocation of water rights for Torres Strait Islanders and other Indigenous groups in States, there was a State entitlement planning framework allowing them to use it for cultural purposes.

On climate change, the delegation said the Government saw this as the major policy challenge of our time, and recognised that if left unchecked it could impact the enjoyment of human rights, and believed that effective action to mitigate its effects and impact was required, built on three pillars: reducing carbon pollution, adapting to unavoidable climate change, and helping to find a global solution. With regards to the effects on Indigenous peoples, the Government was funding a study to determine the risks and opportunities of climate change for Indigenous peoples in Northern Australia, with the aim of aiding Indigenous communities to adapt to climate change.

On how the Government responded to overseas waste dumping by Australian companies, there was a Hazardous Waste Act, which required that companies got a permit to export hazardous waste to other countries, and those countries had to give permission, noting how the waste was to be dealt with. Australia was also part of the London Protocol, aimed at protecting the sea from dumping. The activities of mining companies operating in Australia had to comply with strict environmental requirements, and the Government expected that Australian mining companies operating abroad would respect local laws, and apply the minimum standards established in Australia. The Government worked with the countries in the region to achieve sustainable development of resources.

On funding for the Human Rights Commission, the changes in funding were due to the Government's repeal of legislation, and the Commission's base funding had been unaffected other than through the efficiency dividend applied to all Governmental agencies and adjustment to the wage cost index, Ms. Millar said. The delegation said that with regards to Australia's approach to poverty and whether there was an official poverty line, this was not the case, partly because income poverty measured only one aspect of a person's ability to enjoy economic, social and cultural rights, and was by no means a complete measure. Australia was very conscious that relative poverty measures did not measure absolute well-being in an economy. In Australia's case, generally speaking, in society people had good means of subsistence. Australia looked at analyses done by international organizations such as the OECD to ensure that Australia was in step with like countries. OECD analysis showed that Australia had one of the greatest redistributive economies. Although Australia did not have a poverty line, it examined its payments closely, and treated the issue of adequacy of payments and income for those at the lowest end of society very seriously.

With regards to homelessness, the delegation said the intention was to provide more detail in future reports on the outcomes in Australia. In 2006, Australia conducted a comprehensive census for the whole country, which suggested 104,676 people were homeless, but not all were on the streets. The first category of these were living in improvised dwellings - these were the most disadvantaged - there were 16,375 of these. Around 48,856 were living in temporary accommodation, 19,849 were living in supported accommodation services, either Government- or charity-funded support services, and 21,596 were living in boarding house style accommodation. The Government considered that these numbers were too high, and had committed substantial funds to a National Policy to reduce homelessness, including the building of homes for those with no housing, funding for services and other support. The Government was committed to reducing homelessness by half by 2020. The Government was also spending significant funds on increasing the social housing stock in Australia, building new homes and refurbishing existing ones.

There had been a major study into the issue of domestic violence, and the Prime Minister had committed to a range of measures to address what was considered to be unacceptably high figures in a recent major speech, the delegation said. The Government placed domestic violence very highly as an issue that the country needed to tackle, in particular the over-representation of Indigenous people in domestic violence statistics, as this was something that the Government intended to address from several perspectives. The Government was also committing significant funding to combat trafficking, including support for NGOs, Ms. Millar said. There had been a strategy in this regard since 2003, which addressed the full trafficking cycle from recruitment to reintegration, giving equal weight to, among others, prosecution and victim support. The measures under the Anti-Trafficking Strategy implemented Australia's commitments under the International Protocol on Trafficking in People.

On child protection, the delegation said that in 2007-2008, within the child protection systems of States and Territories there were 51,120 cases of substantiated child abuse or neglect. Allegations of these had been increasing in Australia, but it was hard to determine whether there were in fact more cases, or whether they were being better identified and measured. The new Government had worked quickly and strongly in this area, and on 30 April 2009 the Council of Australian Governments had agreed to a national framework to protect Australia's children - this was a long-term strategy aimed at increasing collaboration between the States and Territories to reduce child abuse and neglect.

Australia recognised that there was a need in terms of mental health services, and in recent years there had been expansion of funding for both high-prevalent illnesses such as depression and anxiety and for those with severe and persistent mental illnesses with complex needs, the delegation said. The Government was committed to ongoing national reform, aiming to make services more seamless, and to reorient mental health services more towards prevention and early intervention, integration of these services with other services, as well as to develop a transparent system of evaluation and accountability. Indigenous children were among the three key targets among the Government's Child and Youth Mental Health programmes. The National Kids' Helpline focused on increasing access of Indigenous children and young people to free anonymous national confidential telephone counselling.

There had been recent increases in sexually-transmitted diseases, and there were efforts to work in this area, with some programmes.

In relation to services for prisoners with respect to HIV/AIDS and drug addiction, this was an area which fell under the current National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The Australian government monitors these arrangements under a governance framework that includes Health Ministers from all jurisdictions. Sexual health strategies, such as condom distribution, had been attempted in some prisons, but with mixed outcomes.

The Healthy Active Australia Programme, the delegation said, was a $ 160 million programme over four years to tackle the growing lack of physical activity and poor eating habits among Australia's children. It included Active After School Community Programme in 3,200 sites to encourage children and students to engage in physical activity. About 150,000 children had participated in the program and on average had doubled their physical activity each week. Grants were provided to schools to promote healthy eating. There had also been social marketing campaigns aiming to help families to make healthy eating and activity part of their lives. In the Australian context, the 2007 Australian survey showed that most children were active and of a healthy weight, although there were 6 per cent of obese children. This was a serious issue, and the Government had committed to address increasing rates of lifestyle-related chronic disease, and obesity would be treated through this. Individuals would be encouraged to change their lifestyles in order to reduce chronic lifestyle diseases. The Government had also provided funding for a National Healthy Schools Canteen Project, and a grant to non-profit organizations to promote healthy eating and physical activity at the local level.

On hospital waiting lists, the delegation said in 2006-07 there were almost 557,000 admissions for elective surgery, and the median waiting time for elective surgery in public hospitals was 32 days. On the right to food and food security, the Government had made several commitments which would promote healthier diets and lifestyles including among vulnerable groups, including for mothers and Indigenous people, and fostering a supply of healthy food, providing information on healthy eating. Sustainability of the Australian food supply continued to be a challenge for some sub-groups of the population. There were different challenges in different areas, both geographically and demographically. The Government was focusing on nutrition, obesity, quality and availability of food. The Government is also developing a National Breastfeeding Strategy. Although food prices had fallen, food security remained a pressing challenge for the international community, and thus Australia supported the United Nations' strategy framework in this regard, and would be implementing its provisions. On whether there were different Medicare systems for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, there was one universal Medicare system which provided care for all Australians, but there were specific items in the system which were targeted to Indigenous people due to specific vulnerabilities. Several Indigenous focus programs in addition as well as specific budget initiatives, for example Close the Gap. There was also funding to close the gap between health outcomes which did not fall under the Medicare scheme.

On the sterilisation of intellectually-disabled children, these were among the most vulnerable in the community, and their rights were protected. Decisions on this were taken very seriously. There were very few applications for sterilisation across Australia - thirty applications since 2000. Decisions were taken by a court or tribunal, and were a legally-based decision, the delegation said. The tests were very high. Wherever possible, other means were used to address the issues of potential harm where they were possible.

In 2005, the Government reformed detention arrangements to allow asylum-seekers with families to live in the community in a form of community-detention. Mandatory detention was a part of strong border control. Australia recognised that some people experienced distress whilst in immigration detention, and the Government ensured that their special needs were assessed, monitored, and attended to, providing health, including mental health, care support that was appropriate to detainees needs.

On early childhood education, measures had been taken to create specialist centres to service the special needs of autistic children. There were Child and Family Centres being established in areas where there were high proportion of Indigenous children and high-disadvantaged areas in order to provide services. Schools were not segregated, and all children participate in the same range of services. Where children were located in remote areas, the Government was working with States and Territories to ensure that they were able to access the full range of educational services, including through the construction of boarding facilities to provide access to secondary-school education, the Indigenous Youth Mobility Program, allowing Indigenous children to access post-secondary schooling including apprenticeships, vocational and higher education. Education outcomes for Indigenous children in all areas were lower than those of non-Indigenous students, and in remote areas were lower again. The Governments were working together to reverse this situation as part of the Closing the Gap targets.

With regards to the learning of Indigenous languages and English teaching to Indigenous students, the delegation said all Governments were committed to the learning of Indigenous languages in Australian schools, and had provided funding to State and Territory Governments and the non-government school authorities to further language training, including Indigenous languages. The Melbourne Declaration on education goals for all Australians sought to build on local cultural knowledge and experience of Indigenous students, among other things, including improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students. The National Statement and Plan for Languages Education in Australian Schools contained recommendations to schools to work with Indigenous communities to teach Indigenous languages. With regards to religious education, State, Territory and non-Government authorities had responsibility and many decisions were made at the local level. The Government was committed to working closely with the State and Territory Governments to ensure that Australian children were given every opportunity to develop values, skills and the opportunity for a productive future, and was thus working to promote inter-faith and inter-cultural understanding in schools.

On the freedom of association and the right to strike in the building industry, the delegation said the Government had made a pre-election commitment to maintain the existing Australian Building and Construction Commission enabled by the Building and Construction Industry Act, and had committed to retain these until January 2010, after which the functions of the Commission would move to Fair Work Australia, and had committed to coordinate with stakeholders in order to ensure the transition took place smoothly and effectively.

There was not a separate Indigenous nation with any legal or formal sense within Australia, the delegation said. Indigenous Australians held a respected and honoured place in Australia, but they did not form a separate nation in any formal sense. They had access to the same rights, legal protections and services as any other Australian, and operated in the same system. Australia did much to promote and protect ancestral Indigenous rights and traditional knowledge through extensive measures. Some Indigenous people aspired to permanent communal rights to control tangible and intangible benefits from their heritage - the World Intellectual Property Organization had established an inter-Governmental community to examine traditional knowledge, among others.

Responding to brief follow-up questions, the delegation said the Government's policy was that children and where possible families would not be detained in an immigration detention centre, whether onshore or offshore, and there were no children in the Immigration Detention Centre on Christmas Island. Migration provisions on health had several purposes: to protect the population from health risks, to reduce health care costs, and ensure access by Australians to health care services that could be in short supply. These health requirements were being examined by a Parliamentary Committee with a view to determining how they affected persons with disabilities. The Government agreed that the homelessness figures were too high, and was committed to tackling the problem, with the biggest financial commitment in its history. It was seeking to halve the level by 2020, but the issue was very complex.

Concluding Remarks

In concluding remarks, CAROLINE MILLAR, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said as had been said in the opening statement, the Government of Australia was strongly committed to human rights and to strengthening its relationship with the international human rights system, including the treaty bodies. This was an extremely broad-ranging Covenant, and the questions had been correspondingly broad-ranged and detailed. Australia had found this very impressive. Australia was very lucky to have such a vigorous civil society, and this reflected its robust democracy. Australia acknowledged concerns with its report, and had tried to rectify this through its responses to the list of issues, during the meeting, and would also provide written responses.

JAIME MARCHAN ROMERO, Committee Chairperson, said the dialogue had been constructive and would be very useful for determining Australia's efforts to uphold the provisions of the Covenant. The efforts of the State to follow the methodologies for the report were appreciated. The Committee appreciated the Australian attitude - this had been one of the best and most effective presentations that it had had, and it would include Australian methodology in its methods for 2008. The core document was a very important document, containing an update of all the measures taken for the provisions of the Covenant.


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