Coercive paternalism leads to predictable crises

A government using regulation to curb freedom of choice over a legal product will obviously create problems. Australia has managed to lose revenue at the same time as boosting criminal gangs and encouraging their use of teenagers to murder and commit arson in yet another classic example of why governments should promote individual rights instead of selectively refusing classic freedoms. Analysis by Mark Jarratt.

CLArion Oct 2026: PM reveals hypocrisy over human rights

CLA CLArion Monthly newsletterIn a telling speech before the UN General Assembly, PM Anthony Albanese made wild, unfounded claims about his supposed personal support of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, putting Australiaโ€™s bid for a seat on the Security Council at severe risk. He highlighted his own ongoing failure to give Australians what at least 75% want, a Human Rights Act for the nation. A HRA would nip the next Robodebt federal fiasco in the bud, and offer immediate relief when a state Parole Boardย โ€œlegallyย hallucinatesโ€ that it can deny a person free speech and their own opinion โ€“ and even declare, in error, that they donโ€™t haveย the legal right to appeal a wrongful conviction.

Other articles this month…

  • Columnists and lawyers call for a Human Rights Act for Australia;
  • โ€˜We do not have free speech in Australia’: statement by CLA;
  • MPs remain free to cause chaos in Question Time;
  • Need a friend at law? Try McKenzie;
  • Territory takes baby steps towards statehood;
  • Prisoners released early to free up cells in overcrowded jails.

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CLArion Aug 2026: Rights must underpin civic responsibilities

Support for a Human Rights Act for Australia is now solidified on the ALP election platform. Parliament should pass an Australian โ€˜rights’ law ASAP before handing down a greater national โ€˜responsibilitiesโ€™ย education scheme in late-2027, after the Bell Royal Commission into Social Cohesion and Antisemitism reports in December 2026. More than 75% of Australians support legislating a Human Rights Act.ย 

CLArion July 2026: Changing one word for human rights

This monthโ€™s ALP election platform conference will be asked to change just one word to hasten legislating a Human Rights Act for Australia. Read all about how we got to this pivotal time after nine years of intensive effortsโ€ฆand we list the rights youโ€™re likely to get. Thereโ€™s news of efforts gathering momentum in NSW and SA in particular for their own HRAs, as Tasmania also pressures the state government to take action. ASIO scarer-in-chief Michael Burgess leads the bad acting in his annual press pantomime. And even the police union lays into Queenslandโ€™s hard right โ€“ but wrong โ€“ Crassafulli government.ย