Australian
Jesuit constitutional expert Father Frank Brennan has been appointed to lead a
panel to explore the need for a bill of rights in Australia.
A professor
of law at Australian
Catholic University,
Fr Brennan is on the record as a bill of rights sceptic, arguing that it should
be elected politicians, not judges, who have the final say in debating weighty
moral issues when there is no public consensus.
However,
more recently Fr Brennan has remained more open to a statutory bill of rights,
particularly where the interests of minority groups are threatened by the
majority.
'Like the
British, we may find that a statutory bill of rights is a needed additional
institutional pillar on which can rest a modern democracy, true to our
traditional values', said Fr Brennan.
Australian
Attorney-General Robert McLelland is expected to name Fr Brennan at the head of
a four person panel today. The panel will consult with the public on the
protection and promotion of human rights and responsibilities.
'The
consulation isn't just about whether we should or shouldn't have a charter of
rights', Mr McLelland said in a speech at Sydney University
last night.
'In fact,
judging by some of the contributions to the debate so far, I expect there will
be robust discussion on a broad range of possibilities.'
In an
article in today's Eureka Street to mark the 60th anniversary of
the UN's Declaration on Human Rights, Fr Brennan said democracies like
Australia and the United Kingdom are still trying to find a 'fair punt' between
the rights of the individual and society, and how to resolve big ethical
questions where there is no community consensus.
'The time
is ripe for Australians to conduct a national conversation about how best to
provide the fair punt for all, making the State attentive to the still, small
voice of conscience', said Fr Brennan.