Commentary
Viewing entries posted in 2011 View all entries
Two newsletters
Aaah - it is an embarrassment of riches - while I was travelling around Cambodia, John Howells has been busy organising two more newsletters containing interesting articles written by various members of the Mornington Peninsula Human Rights Group. What will we do when he retires from this role?
Connect number 34
Connect No. 34 could be the last edition of the Newsletter under John Howell's guiding hand – as unbelievable as it sounds, he has threatened to resign. But I can't help thinking that it won't really happen until he has found another editor. So what's the bet? Will there be a Connect No. 35 under John's editorial control? I certainly hope so!
Connect Number 33
Many of you will have already received the August newsletter Connect No. 33 via email and will have read about our program for the rest of 2011, but to those of you who aren't on our mailing list – my humble apologies for posting it so late in the month. I do have a good excuse – I've been visiting the grandchildren in Western Australia. As well as the 2011 program, this edition of Connect contains an interesting article by John Howells titled Human Trafficking – Modern Day Slavery, and an article I have written on Climate Change and Human Rights.
Read about the debate
Our latest newsletter, Connect no. 32 is ready for you to download, and it is full of news about the human rights debate we held on 9 June 2011. Once again, John Howells has surpassed expectations; this time by providing us with a summary of the debate. The newsletter also contains an interesting article by Hugh de Kretser, the Executive Officer of the Federation of Community Legal Centres (Victoria) Inc. in which he addresses the question of what difference the human rights charter has made for Victorians. Our submission to the Committee reviewing this charter is also included in the newsletter, so there is no doubt about the Mornington Peninsula Human Rights Group's views about its benefits. Interesting!
Connect number 31
The latest issue of Connect is out now. Read it to find out about the public debate being held on 9 June between Greg Hunt and Mark Dreyfus on Protecting Human Rights in Australia. We also tackle the difficult question of whether housing is a human right in Australia, and John Howells talks about the MPHRG's statement on cluster bombs, and the Australian government's dishonest sheninigans on this issue.
Human rights debate 9 June 2011
Get your diary out and put the debate on the 9th June in it right away. It would be a shame to miss such a brilliant line-up of people talking about the protection of human rights in Australia.
Connect number 30
Once again we are grateful to John Howells who has prepared the 30th edition of the MPHRG newsletter, Connect. In this month's edition John tells readers about the upcoming public debate on human rights, about our petition expressing concern for the plight of asylum seekers, and about Victoria's Koori Courts. Thanks to John, who has created another interesting and educational newseltter.
Sign our petition on asylum seekers
Many people are concerned about the plight of children and families being detained as asylum seekers but don't know what to do about it, so we have organised a petition to express this concern to the House of Representatives in the Commonwealth Parliament.
Our thanks to Glenys Watts
Our thanks to Glenys Watts, the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Aboriginal Support and Development Team Leader, who took the time to talk to the Mornington Peninsula Human Rights Group at our April meeting. Glenys outlined the programs offered by the Aboriginal Support and Development Team and the recent acquisition of a Gathering Place in the Hasting area.
Connect number 29
Lucky you! Another newsletter is out already. Normally our newsletters aren't published quite so often, but as there is a lot happening this year the MPHRG newsletter editor, John Howells, has been hard at work reporting on events for your information. In the 29th edition of Connect, amongst other interesting articles you can read about an upcoming debate between Mark Dreyfus and Greg Hunt on the protection of human rights and about the human rights of people with disabilities. Thanks also go to Deirdre Greig, who has provided the final edited extract of the Hon Alastair Nicholson's paper on Human Rights and the Northern Territory Intervention, which makes very interesting reading.