About - Civil Liberties Australia

Civil Liberties Australia policies

--We stand for people's rights, and go in to bat for everyone's civil liberties.

We monitor police and security forces, and the actions and inaction of politicians. We review proposed legislation, to make it better, and keep watch on government departments and agencies.

We work to keep Australia the free and open society it has traditionally been, where you can be yourself without undue interference from 'authority'. In 2009-10, our main activities are likely to be:

furthering the cause of civil liberties (and rights/responsibilities) in Australia;
seeking reform of Senate processes and systems;
working to correct the excesses of anti-terrorism laws;
safeguarding people's data and internet privacy;
reviewing government annual reports claims;
campaigning against the death penalty (locally/internationally);
monitoring prisoners' and detainees' rights in new jails (and Torture conventions);
working with law students on research internships analysing national issues (such as mental health laws and a Charter of Rights for the Pacific);
producing a monthly email newsletter on key issues; and
creating a national civil liberties organisation, with rural and regional membership.

In joining Civil Liberties Australia, while we expect your support, we recognise that you may not be an advocate of every policy.

Each "Issue" page - accessible through the left hand column menu - contains a Civil Liberties Australia policy statement on that particular issue.

Another bundle of intrusions

4 Jan 08: Read this rundown by Sydney Morning Herald columnist Richard Ackland on what has concerned civil libertarians over the past year.

If you cannot readily see an article or item you are looking for, you can also use the "Search" facility above to search the whole site for what you are seeking.

Civil Liberties Australia Board Members

PRESIDENT: Dr Kristine Klugman

Dr Klugman's PhD in Politics at ANU analysed the two-way communication flow between MPs and electors. Earlier degrees were in Community Studies, and History. She has been President of CLA since 2003.

Kris previously served on the NSW Legal Aid Commission, was a foundation member of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, and a researcher with the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, helping to establish the Criminal Justice tertiary course for police and prison officers in NSW.

Her OAM was for 'services to education and the community'. She was the first-ever female President of the board of Australia's oldest museum, The Australian Museum. She was also the first female board member and full-time Deputy President in the 100-year history of the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW, running the NSW Fire Brigades, and a member of state bushfire and rescue governing councils.

SECRETARY: William Rowlings

Bill has a background in both journalism and public relations, and is co-author of a tertiary PR textbook. As a journalist, he worked on Fleet Street in London, as editor of the Papua New Guinea daily newspaper, and on The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and the Sun-Herald, as well as editing business and sporting magazines.

In PR, since the early 90s Bill worked as media adviser at the highest level of politics, helped a large federal department with Olympics stakeholder management, worked with HIC/Medicare on communications and IT strategic planning, and with Defence on publishing. He edits CLA's newsletter.

TREASURER: Kevin Popple

Kevin's qualifications include B Ec, B Sc and B Ed. Originally a maths and science teacher, with the Commonwealth Treasury he rose to senior executive roles working on projects such as the development of the financial framework for the then newly-self-governing Northern Territory. Moving to the Victorian Public Service, he headed a Treasury Division and was involved in major Loan Council and Premiers' Conference issues. He was a member of the Capital Works Authority and the Board of Management of the Transport Accident Commission, Chairman of the State Employees Retirement Benefits Board and Chairman of the Victorian Grants Commission.

DIRECTOR: Noor Blumer

Noor chairs the Equalising Opportunities in the Law committee of the Law Council of Australia (LCA), and is a past president of Australian Women Lawyers. With LCA, she has been involved in updating the Judicial Appointments Policy, drafting national model anti-discrimination, anti-sexual harassment and anti-bullying rules, and making submissions to a parliamentary inquiry into pay equity and increasing female participation in the workforce. Noor is a director of Blumers Personal Injury Lawyers, specialising in plaintiff litigation. She has four children and a grandchild.

DIRECTOR: Frank Cassidy

Frank is a journalist and publisher, with qualifications in advertising, accounting, public administration and professional writing. He is currently founder-editor of the online newspaper PS News - and its network of editions covering the Commonwealth Public Service and separate state equivalents. In the 1970s, he managed marketing of the national 'Life. Be In It' health and fitness campaign. Frank was inaugural Secretary of the National Australia Day Council and represented the ACT at the Constitutional Convention in 1998. He is a former Convenor of the Australian Republican Movement in the ACT, and was a member of the AFL for Canberra Committee, Chairman of Tuggeranong Community Arts for 12 years from 1998 until recently. Frank received a Centenary of Federation Medal in 2000.

DIRECTOR: Tim Vines

Originally from the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Tim studied from 2004 for an Arts/Law degree at the ANU in Canberra, where he now works in a government department. At uni, he was elected President of Bruce Hall Residents' Association and to the board of the ANU Students' Association. He edited Cross Sections, Bruce Hall’s academic journal, and helped the Tenancy Union strengthen the accommodation rights of on-campus students. Tim graduated in 2008 with Honours, after contributing several papers on health law reform in Australia.

Tim is CLA’s main media spokesperson.

DIRECTOR: Anthony Williamson

Anthony is a barrister and solicitor of the ACT Supreme Court. He gained his degree in Arts/Law from the Australian National University. During his studies, he worked part-time for the ACT Department of Education and Training helping children with behavioural problems. He is a volunteer in the Rivers Brigade of the ACT Rural Fire Service, and a qualified RAFT (remote area firefighting team) member.

In 2004-5, he was employed as an adviser to an ACT Member of the Legislative Assembly. In that role, and through authoring submissions for CLA, he has been able to change significant sections of ACT legislation for the better. He was a legal officer with the ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety and is currently a prosecutor with the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions.

DIRECTOR: Lance Williamson

Lance was a long standing member of Defence's Senior Executive Service where he held a number of positions involving the development, implementation and maintenance of strategic business, financial and project management frameworks for the betterment of Defence capabilities. He is a graduate of the Joint Services Staff College and also was a member of the Army Reserve for some years and saw service in Vietnam.

He also designed and created the CLA website and is the webmaster.

Last updated 1 Aug 10

Civil Liberties Australia's Constitution & History

Constitution

A copy of the current constitution of Civil Liberties Australia Incorporated (Association No. A04043) can be found by clicking here. The current version (V4) incorporates changes arising from the 2007 Annual General Meeting, which is the last time the constitution was altered (information correct at 1 Aug 10).

Background

Civil Liberties Australia (CLA) is a national organisation based in Australia's capital city, Canberra, which stand(s) for people's rights, and goes in to bat for everyone's civil liberties. It is non-party political and independent of other organisations. It is funded by its members and donations – CLA does not receive funding from other sources.

CLA monitors police and security forces, and the actions and inaction of politicians. It reviews proposed legislation to make it better, and keeps watch on government departments and agencies, according to its website, www.cla.asn.au

The organisation aims to keep Australia the free and open society it has traditionally been, where you can be yourself without undue interference from 'authority'. CLA was first formally registered on 10 December 2003. Current office bearers are located under the 'The Board' tab associated with this page. At 31 December 2008, CLA had about 225 members (190 full members, 35 student members).

CLA concentrates on trying to anticipate problems, rather than being reactive, and on providing answers to generic problems, rather than trying to correct one-off, individual cases. We focus on cases where an individual issue illustrates a general trend.

Efforts continue on restoring a proper balance in civil liberties in Australia, and a return to the traditional rule of law. We aim to ensure civil liberties and human rights, affected hugely by more than 50 pieces of anti-terrorism legislation introduced as a result of the 11 September 2001 aircraft attacks on New York and the Pentagon in the USA, are given the appropriate weight that they used to be given.

CLA is also working on civil liberties/human rights issues of Pacific Island nations, including Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste, with a view to offering help to form civil society groups if requested.

A major internal project is to identify and promulgate the precise rights of Australians to protest outside their national Parliament House.

CLA has proposed a worldwide 10/10 For Life campaign, asking nations to declare a 10-year moratorium on the death penalty from 10 October 2010. It is asking the Australian Government, which is opposed to state execution, to lead an anti-death penalty campaign in the Asia-Pacific region.

Within Australia, CLA is campaigning for more community involvement in setting guidelines for police, in particular in use of stun guns and police chases.

CLA has facilitated Law School internships studies on emerging issues in recent years: 2006:
an analysis of international human rights law in relation to climate and environment change;
2007: an analysis of the impact of the post-11 September 2001 laws on Australian society, and recommendations for how the nation can return to the traditional rule of law;
2007: analysis and recommendations on personal and proxy medical consent laws;
2007-8: research and recommendations for new national laws and regulations in relation to DNA: and
2009: analysis of the constitutional and legal situation in Fiji and its possibility of returning to a country which respects its Bill of Rights.

History

CLA is the second civil liberties group formed in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). From about the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, a Canberra-based organisation called the ACT Council for Civil Liberties (ACTCCL) held regular meetings under the presidency for many years of barrister Laurie O'Sullivan, and then in its final years of lawyer Jon Stanhope, who later was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly and subsequently became Chief Minister (re-elected Oct 09 for a further four years). On 1 July 2004, he introduced the first Human Rights Act ('Bill of Rights') in any Australian jurisdiction. Other noted personalities involved in the earlier ACTCCL were Forbes Gordon, a lawyer and grazier from Braidwood who was instrumental in the founding of the group, and Jennifer Saunders, a prominent female barrister who was President when it ceased to operate around 2000-2001.

After forming in December 2003, the new CLA decided to operate nationally from 2006-7 when the launch of its first website showed a need for civil liberties help, advice and monitoring in all States and Territories. The CLA Board decided to concentrate on any area in Australia where civil liberties and human rights are under threat, keeping a particularly watch on rural and regional areas, and in growing outer areas of major capitals, where there are no formal groups.

Join us

You can join or renew your membership to Civil Liberties Australia by clicking here.

Donate to Civil Liberties Australia

To make a donation to Civil Liberties Australia click here.

Civil Liberties Australia's Annual Reports

2010

The Annual Report for 2009 and other papers considered by the 2010 electronic Annual General Meeting were:

Minutes of the 2009 AGM
President's Report for 2009,
Treasurer's Report for 2009 (included in the Annual Report - see pages 7, 8, 11 and 12 of the Annual Report), and the
CLA Annual Report for 2009.

2009

The Annual Report for 2008 and other papers considered at the 2009 electronic Annual General Meeting were:

2008

The Annual Report for 2007 delivered to the 2008 AGM (5 Apr 08) is available here.

Also an audio of the keynote speaker at the 2008 AGM of CLA, Professor George Williams, is below, outlining why Australia needs a charter of rights and responsibilities.

Click to listen to the 2008 AGM keynote address by Prof George Williams
Note: This is a 34mb streaming file in total

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