The ACT Government will introduce a right to a healthy environment to the Human Rights Act 2004 in this term of the Legislative Assembly, Tara Cheyne, ACT Minister for Human Rights, announced this morning.
Ms Cheyne and environment minister Rebecca Vassarotti have worked on the reform over the last year, as set out in the 10th Parliamentary and Governing Agreement.
Greens MLA Jo Clay called in February for the Legislative Assembly to investigate including the right to a healthy environment in the Human Rights Act – a Greens commitment at the last election – to consult with stakeholders in the ACT community and provide a timeline for inclusion, and to report back to the Assembly by the first day of the last sitting week this year (i.e., today).
- Environment becomes human right in Australian first (10 February)
- Jo Clay MLA: Our right to a healthy environment (7 February)
Ms Clay said she was thrilled at the ACT Government’s announcement today. “We are a progressive jurisdiction, and it is long past time that we recognise this human right.”
The government launched a discussion paper and online survey in June, and hosted a public panel discussion.
The government heard from environmental organisations, the community sector, healthcare providers, the business and property sectors, ACT community councils, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and community health research, advocates for people with chronic health conditions impacted by the environment, and activists for human rights and for the environment, Ms Cheyne said.
“Minister Cheyne has done a great job in inviting the community to the conversation and listening to what they have to say,” Ms Clay thought.
“Community feedback showed strong support for the introduction of a right to a healthy environment in the Human Rights Act,” Ms Cheyne said.
During the consultation, community members and organisations emphasised the importance of a healthy and sustainable environment to all aspects of our lives, and for future generations, Ms Cheyne noted. They highlighted the importance of protecting the environment and making sure it is considered in decision making.
According to the feedback, benefits from recognising the right to a healthy environment included greater awareness and dialogue of environmental impacts; encouraging more ambitious goals to protect the environment and climate for a sustainable future; and significant benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the traditional owners and custodians of the country, who are disproportionately impacted by climate change, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, Ms Cheyne said.
The community told the government a healthy environment could be a safe and accessible place for work and recreation; an environment that sustains and nourishes humans and a diversity of other life; an environment free from adverse human impact (over-development, pollution, poor air quality); or having First Nations voices heard, rightful access, and self-determination, Ms Cheyne said. For instance, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people could be involved in decisions about lands, waterways, and resources, and their leadership and traditional knowledge and wisdom respected and elevated.
Ms Cheyne said a range of issues will be worked through next year regarding the scope of the right to a healthy environment and how it will interact with existing frameworks for environmental protection.
The government will introduce an accessible complaints mechanism in the Human Rights Act to ensure access to remedies for breaches of the right to a healthy environment, and other human rights, Ms Cheyne said. Last month, the minister noted, she announced the government would legislate to allow the Human Rights Commission to consider human rights complaints.
- New human rights complaint pathway for ACT (21 October)
“The ACT is a leading human rights jurisdiction, and the ACT sets an example for the rest of Australia in protecting the human rights of its residents,” Ms Cheyne said.
“We are pleased to take this next step today by confirming that this right will be introduced during this term of parliament.
“The ACT Government will continue to consult and engage with the community and stakeholders in 2023 to progress the amendment which gives effect a right to a healthy environment.”
“This human right is an important one,” Ms Clay said. “In July this year, the United Nations recognised the right to a healthy environment as a universal human right. Australia is one of only a few UN member states that does not already recognise this right. We are living and breathing the consequences of an unhealthy environment on a daily basis. My hope is that, with the ACT leading the way, our nation will realise this right in the near future and do all we can to protect and improve our environment.”
The Listening Report is available on the YourSay website.
ACTCOSS says ACT Government must enact full range of human rights
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) welcomed the ACT Government’s commitment to introduce a right to a healthy environment in the Human Rights Act 2004, but called on the ACT Government to enact all economic, social, and cultural rights, including a right to housing.
ACTCOSS CEO, Dr Emma Campbell said ACTCOSS supported the introduction of a right to a health environment to the ACT’s human rights protections; the inclusion of issues ACTCOSS and other stakeholders raised; and the acknowledgement that vulnerable groups (such as people on low incomes, people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and children) felt environmental impacts more intensely.
“However, protections should be included to ensure that the right to a healthy environment cannot be relied upon for the purpose of enforcing controls or restrictions that lead to unjust impacts for people on low incomes or on the activities and rights of First Nations people,” Dr Campbell said.
“While we welcome the proposal to include a right to a healthy environment in the ACT Human Rights Act 2004, ACTCOSS believes the Act should be amended to explicitly include all economic, social and cultural rights.
“This includes the right to housing, physical and mental health, and culture.”
The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated”.
“In other words, one right cannot be fully enforced without enacting all rights,” Dr Campbell said. “How can you ensure the right to a healthy environment if you don’t have the right to adequate housing?”
ACTCOSS looks forward to working with the ACT Government and community to deliver this important piece of legislation.
