Finally we have the Commonwealth Government’s response to the Brennan Committee’s Consultation Report on a Charter of Rights for Australia. The Govt decision is good news: the answer is ‘No’.

THE federal government has bowed to a revolt inside the Labor Party and rejected the push for a national charter of rights that would have handed new powers to the judiciary.

Instead, the government will reveal today an extensive plan to protect human rights without changing the balance of power between parliament and the judiciary.

But it has agreed to the Brennan committee’s call to subject the legislative process to a new level of parliamentary scrutiny to identify bills that pose a threat to human rights.

It will also establish a national education campaign on human rights.

Full report A-G Pulls Plug on Charter of Rights.

See my comment upon the release of the Brennan Committee’s Human Rights Consultation Report – Australia.