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 12 April 12).

Background

Civil Liberties Australia (CLA) is a national organisation based in Australia's capital city, Canberra. CLA stands for people's rights, and goes in to bat for our civil liberties...basically, for a fair go. 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. Actions and activities are reported in a monthly newsletter, CLArion, and regularly on the website, www.cla.asn.au  The website also carries articles of general interest in the field of liberties, rights, freedoms and responsibilities.

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. In mid-2012, CLA had more than 250 members drawn from every State and Territory, as well as some international members.

CLA concentrates on trying to anticipate problems, rather than being reactive, and on providing answers to generic difficulties, rather than trying to correct one-off, individual cases. We focus on matters 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, are given the appropriate weight that they used to be given. 

CLA is also keeping watch 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 and/or encourage civil society groups if requested. We are also asking the Australian Government, which is opposed to state execution, to actively mount an anti-death penalty diplomatic initiative in the Asia-Pacific region.

CLA is leading a campaign to seek formal reform of the de facto national governance arrangements which have seen bodies like COAG*, SCAG** and similar 'Ministerial Councils' take over as 'executive' entities fashioning legislation without any constitutional basis for their decisions, taking power away from parliaments in the process. 

* COAG: Council of Australian Governments; ** SCAG: Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, since 2011 called Standing Council on Law and Justice (SCLJ).

Within Australia, CLA is campaigning for more community involvement in setting guidelines for police, in particular in use of stun guns and police chases, and in monitoring the excessively secret activities of security agencies. 

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.
• 2010: in-depth analysis of Restorative Justice in the Pacific.
• 2011/12: comparative study of law-making in the states/territories and federally. 

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 of the ACT between 2001 and 2001, when he resigned from the parliament. On 1 July 2004, he introduced the first Human Rights Act ('Bill of Rights') in any Australian jurisdiction.

After forming in Canberra 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.

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

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