The inaugural Queensland Human Rights Commissioner has used his last speech to urge the State Government to uphold human rights in its planning for the Olympic Games in 2032.
In his address this week, Commissioner Scott McDougall also called for change within the Queensland legal system and argued for more equitable access.
He stated that “for too long Australia’s jurisprudence has been dominated by those with the financial means to have their day in Court”.
“Community Legal Centres, such as Basic Rights Queensland, should be funded to bring cases like the ones they presently have before the Supreme Court, seeking to protect the rights of homeless people from eviction,” he said.
“Not many amongst us love litigation, but it is necessary in a democratic society that wants nuanced human rights principles embedded in the law, and not just within the lofty speeches of Human Rights Commissioners.”
Commissioner McDougall also called for the revamp of Parliamentary Committees so they are no longer rubber-stamping laws.
“In a parliament with only one house, the Human Rights Act and the committees should play important roles in holding both our law makers and the Executive accountable,” he said.
“After seven years of close proximity to the process, I can confidently say the committee system is not up to the job of protecting human rights.”
As his seven-year term concludes in October, Commissioner McDougall also questioned the Queensland Government’s relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
He said the current policies needed to be ‘radically reset’ and that the strategy for the Olympic Games would require a ‘180-degree turnaround on the current policy trajectory’ towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Commissioner McDougall’s seven-year term concludes on 7 October 2025. His full speech can be read here.
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