Ideas@TheCentre
Our enigmatic charter
Elise Parham |
29 January 2010
The liberal enigma can be solved by looking to the political reality. While the idea of a rights-protective charter sounds great, its actual operation is not likely to achieve all it promises.
A charter doesn’t exist in a political vacuum but is drafted and interpreted in ways that resolve competing interests voiced by lobbyists, special interest groups, and legal experts. They have the incentive to manipulate the drafting of its terms by politicians and its interpretation by judges because a charter controls government action, which affects all of us. A charter could easily become an avenue for special interests to pursue their causes, resulting in an unpredictable compromise imposed on everyone.
As part of its 2007 election platform, the Australian Labor Party promised to run a public inquiry into ways to protect human rights. The National Human Rights Consultation was formed in December 2008, and at the end of last year recommended that the government introduce a charter.
The consultation was praised after it received the highest number of submissions to any government inquiry (around 40,000, written and oral). However, of the 64% of submissions in favour of a charter, a massive 90% came through organised campaigns from interest groups, including GetUp! and Amnesty International. It is a clear indication that a charter serves organised interest groups and not individuals.
Victoria and the ACT are the only Australian jurisdictions with charters. Both were introduced with a government promise to consider adding more rights in the future, presumably when the extension of human rights into new areas is more acceptable to the public. The areas touted for addition include the environment, rights of the child, discrimination against women, welfare, and self-determination. Those kinds of rights would be a playground for special interests to pursue government favour.
It’s hard to imagine where that extension will lead or where it will end. All we can imagine is that it would be a tool for a savvy few to affect Australian society.
A charter’s potential to alter the behaviour of all Australians in ways they do not choose and often do not expect is distinctly illiberal.
Elise Parham is a Policy Analyst at the Centre for Independent Studies. Behind the Moral Curtain: The Politics of a Charter of Rights was released this week.
