Age: “Lawyers and equal rights agencies have criticised federal plans to revamp the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission as an assault on the commission’s independence.
Victorian Equal Opportunity Commissioner Di Sisely said the plan to replace the commission with a new body called the Australian Human Rights Commission was a “dangerous violation” of democracy.
Under the Human Rights Commission Bill 2003, introduced to Federal Parliament last week, Attorney-General Daryl Williams would force the revamped commission to seek permission from his office before it could apply to intervene in legal cases – a move critics say would severely weaken the commission’s power.”
In better news, “The Victorian parliamentary Liberal Party will consider a proposal to establish exclusion zones around abortion clinics to keep protesters away.” (Age)
And in silly news, “The canine winner of the biggest dog show in the world may be stripped of its title after being accused of having a secret facelift.” (Age)
Went to Spring Chill on Sunday, had a lovely time. The highlight was probably Fragile State’s infectious version of Black Gold of the Sun, but I missed some of the acts while eating dinner.