The question of a bill or charter of rights is integral to our national conversation about how human rights might be better protected and promoted in Australia.

As a lawyer with a keen interest in human rights and youth issues, it has always struck me as strange that many Australians, whilst familiar with America's Bill of Rights, understand little about how human rights are protected and promoted in our own backyard. Many seem to be under the impression that Australia has our own Bill of Rights. We don't.

The question of an Australian bill or charter of rights has certainly been a hot topic during the National Human Rights Consultation. It is consistently raised both at our consultations and in people's submissions. It has also inspired great debate in the political arena as well as in the media.

Public feedback tells us loud and clear that the question of a bill or charter of rights is integral to our national conversation about how human rights might be better protected and promoted in Australia.

The Committee's Terms of Reference include that "The options identified should preserve the sovereignty of the Parliament and not include a constitutionally entrenched bill of rights".

There has been some confusion as to just exactly what this means. I would like to emphasise that the Committee welcomes all views on all aspects of the human rights bill or charter debate. 

An economic downturn should be no excuse to lose the ground we have already won in reducing the number of jobless Australian families.

Despite Australia coming off the back of a remarkable economic boom and enjoying historically low unemployment rates, in late 2008 almost one in eight Australian children lived in a family where no parent worked. Unbelievably, this figure is actually a marked improvement: family joblessness reached its peak in the mid 1990s when more than one in six children lived in jobless households.

Despite this improvement, the statistics on family joblessness paint a depressing picture.  Australia has the second highest proportion of jobless families in the OECD.  This represents a considerable social and economic cost to Australia, but the biggest cost is borne by the children of jobless parents, who are significantly disadvantaged relative to their peers.   The personal cost to these children, who grow up without the positive influence of a working parent to teach them about responsibility and discipline, and instil them with a sense of ambition and self-determination, cannot be underestimated.

Family joblessness leads to welfare dependency and child poverty, and inferior health, social and developmental outcomes for children.  Consequently, there is a broad consensus that the high level of family joblessness in Australia is unacceptable.

The idea of home-based employment has truly come of age.