Keywords: Freedom Of Expression
-
RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 02 April 2009
3 Comments
We need to be on our guard against laws and policies enacted in the name of the public interest but with insufficient consideration for the human rights of the minority.
READ MORE
-
RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 02 March 2009
2 Comments
The medical pledge to do no harm no matter what the cost effective
benefits, and the conscience of the doctor are still
key elements in any law which promotes good medicine. –Frank Brennan, addressing the Medico Legal Society of Victoria
READ MORE
-
INTERNATIONAL
- Arnold Zable
- 27 February 2009
8 Comments
Harry Nicolaides should never have been jailed, and his release is a cause for celebration and relief.
Yet it leaves many unanswered questions about the reason for his imprisonment,
and highlights the plight of many other persecuted writers.
READ MORE 
-
RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 27 February 2009
3 Comments
Professor Martha Nussbaum's recent book Liberty of Conscience provides a rich textured treatment of the place of religion in the public square. If God is taken out of the picture,
it may be difficult to maintain a human rights commitment to the
weakest and most despised in society.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Ben Coleridge
- 16 January 2009
2 Comments
When it comes to political debate, being a foreigner can be difficult. Former president Vladimir Putin's recent State of the Nation address, made on the eve of his departure from the presidency, called for national unity and 'stable development' to the exclusion of foreign influence. (March 2008)
READ MORE
-
MEDIA
- Andrew Hamilton
- 15 January 2009
5 Comments
The controversy surrounding art photographer Bill Henson's images of nude pubescent children reveals how strongly in our culture runs anxiety about child abuse. As a media event his art has been confused with the commercial exploitation of children. (June 2008)
READ MORE
-
EUREKA STREET/ READER'S FEAST AWARD
- Arnold Zable
- 24 September 2008
3 Comments
There was good reason for keeping the message simple. We wanted our cards to get past the censors. There is a time for advocacy, and a time for simple words of support. Together they make up the 'human' and the 'rights' in human rights.
READ MORE
-
RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 08 September 2008
22 Comments
Victoria's 'groundbreaking' Abortion Law Reform Bill dispenses with informed consent provisions that protect vulnerable women, and neglects the right of health professionals to conscientious objection. Surely the right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief should count for something.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
The internet was once touted as a force for democracy. China has successfully turned this threat to its own advantage, and could show the way to other totalitarian nations.
READ MORE
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
- David Holdcroft
- 01 August 2008
3 Comments
Australia's story as a people building a nation despite hardship resonates with the experiences of asylum seekers surviving insurmountable odds to reach our shores. We deny this parallel to the cost of the entire community.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Moira Rayner
- 10 July 2008
18 Comments
Ethics is a process, not a position taken in the 'freedom of expression' debate. The issue surrounding Bill Henson's photographs and the Art Monthly magazine cover of a nude six-year-old girl is not porn or paedophilia, but the lack of ethical integrity in exploiting children for adult purposes.
READ MORE
-
AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 07 July 2008
12 Comments
The Church needs to go beyond the benign 'we didn't ask for it' excuse for tolerating the controversial World Youth Day laws, which it can only regard as convenient. Its own right to strident expression of its views is at stake.
READ MORE