Equality and Discrimination Law in Australia: An Introduction


Book Description

Equality and Discrimination Law in Australia: An Introduction explores four decades of anti-discrimination laws in Australia. Beth Gaze and Belinda Smith argue that effective laws protecting against and deterring discrimination are vital for a fair future, and emphasise the theoretical and social contexts that underpin this area of the law. The text is divided into three sections: the first addresses the social and conceptual context, history and framework of anti-discrimination laws; the second analyses the main elements of the law and the processes of enforcement; and the third explores broader avenues for pursuing equality beyond simply prohibiting discrimination. Written in a clear and concise style, Equality and Discrimination Law in Australia: An Introduction is a vital resource for students.




Sex Discrimination in Uncertain Times


Book Description

This collection of essays arose from a conference held to mark the silver anniversary of the Australian Sex Discrimination Act (1984). The collection has two aims: first; to honour the contributions of both the spirited individuals who valiantly fought for the enactment of the legislation against the odds, and those who championed the new law once it was passed; secondly, to present a stock-take of the Act within the changed socio-political environment of the 21st century. The contributors present clear-eyed appraisals of the legislation, in addition to considering new forms of legal regulation, such as Equality Act, and the significance of a Human Rights Act. The introduction of a proactive model, which would impose positive duties on organisations, is explored as an alternative to the existing individual complaint-based model of legislation. The contributors also pay attention to the international human rights framework, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. The essays are illuminated by recourse to a rich vein of historical and contemporary literature. Regard is also paid to the comparative experience of other jurisdictions, particularly the UK and Canada.




Families, Care-Giving and Paid Work


Book Description

'Balancing paid work and family life remains a significant challenge; indeed, the challenges are intensifying as economic austerity threatens the pursuit of gender equality. This excellent book provides extensive justifications for laws and policies which encourage and facilitate the reconciliation of paid work, family life and care-giving. It provides a wealth of data, from a number of jurisdictions, and examines recent trends. It is vital that this area of law and policy is protected and developed and this book plays an important role in that process.' – Clare McGlynn, Durham University, UK This unique selection of chapters brings together researchers from a variety of academic disciplines to explore aspects of law's engagement with working families. It connects academic debate with policy proposals through an integrated set of approaches and perspectives. Families, Care-giving and Paid Work offers an original approach to a very topical area. Not only does it consider the limitations of law in relation to the regulation of care-giving and workplace relationships, but it is premised upon a re-consideration of law's potential and engages with suggested strategies for bringing about long-term social change. Offering a range of analyses, this book will strongly appeal to policymakers and practitioners involved with promoting work and family issues, students in labour and employment studies, law and social policy, as well as academics interested in work and family reconciliation issues, or gender and law issues.




I'm Not Racist But ... 40 Years of the Racial Discrimination Act


Book Description

Is Australia a 'racist' country? Why do issues of race and culture seem to ignite public debate so readily? Tim Soutphommasane, Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner, reflects on the national experience of racism and the progress that has been made since the introduction of the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975. As the first federal human rights and discrimination legislation, the Act was a landmark demonstration of Australia's commitment to eliminating racism. Published to coincide with the Act's fortieth anniversary, this book gives a timely and incisive account of the history of racism, the limits of free speech, the dimensions of bigotry and the role of legislation in our society's response to discrimination. With contributions by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Bindi Cole Chocka, Benjamin Law, Alice Pung and Christos Tsiolkas.




The Law of Work


Book Description

Written by leading academic labour lawyers, The Law of Work, now in its second edition, presents a principled approach to its subject matter and offers a re-evaluation of the nature, scope, and importance of employment and labour law. It continues to be the most insightful, critical and up-to-date text in this area. The book reflects the authors' conviction that social and economic context is of critical importance to an understanding of the law. Its major themes of contract and co-operation, work and social citizenship, and freedom of association provide the basis for the analysis and critique of the most significant tribunal decisions, cases, and legislative provisions.




The Legal Protection of Rights in Australia


Book Description

How do you protect rights without a Bill of Rights? Australia does not have a national bill or charter of rights and looks further away than ever from adopting one. But it does have a range of individual elements sourced from common law, statute and the Constitution which, though unsystematic, do provide Australians with some meaningful rights protection. This book outlines and explains the unique human rights journey of Australia. It moves beyond the criticisms long made of the Australian position – that its 'formalism', 'legalism' and 'exceptionalism' compromise its capacity for rights protection – to consider how the many elements of its novel legal structure operate. This book analyses the interlocking legal framework for the protection of rights in Australia. A key theme of the book is that the many different elements of a fragmented scheme can add up to something significant, albeit with significant gaps and flaws like any other legal rights protection framework. It shows how the jumbled influences of a common law heritage, a written constitution, differing paths taken by jurisdictions within a single federal state, statutory and common law innovations and a strong dose of comparative legal influences have led to the unique patchwork of rights protection in Australia. It will provide valuable reading for all those researching in human rights, constitutional and comparative law.







Criminality at Work


Book Description

From the Master and Servant legislation to the Factories Acts of the 19th century, the criminal law has always had a vital yet normatively complex role in the regulation of work relations. Even in its earliest forms, it operated both as a tool to repress collective organizations and enforce labour discipline, while policing the worst excesses of industrial capitalism. Recently, governments have begun to rediscover criminal law as a regulatory tool in a diverse set of areas related to labour law: 'modern slavery', penalizing irregular migrants, licensing regimes for labour market intermediaries, wage theft, supporting the enforcement of general labour standards, new forms of hybrid preventive orders, harassment at work, and industrial protest. This volume explores the political and regulatory dimensions of the new 'criminality at work' from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, including labour law, immigration law, and health and safety regulations. The volume provides an overview of the regulatory terrain of 'criminality at work', exploring whether these different regulatory interventions represent politically legitimate uses of the criminal law. The book also examines whether these recent interventions constitute a new pattern of criminalization that operates in preventive mode and is based upon character and risk-based forms of culpability. The volume concludes by reflecting upon the general themes of 'criminality at work' comparatively, from Australian, Canadian, and US perspectives. Criminality at Work is a timely, rich and ambitious piece of scholarship that examines the many intersections between criminal law and work relations from a historical and contemporary vantage-point.




Communities in Action


Book Description

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.