The case for adopting the United Nations General Assembly definition of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in South Australia
Date
2023
Authors
McKay, J.
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Report
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Abstract
This paper provides legal evidence from other jurisdictions, to support the inclusion of the emerging human right to a clean healthy environment into South Australian law. There are limited human rights protections at the national level and State level in Australia. The work also presents that 160 countries have the human right to a clean healthy environment in their constitutions and that Australia is a national laggard. Our Human rights Commission i has produced a position paper in March 2023 on the need for A National human rights Act for Australia. Victoria, Queensland and the ACT have charters of human rights and the ACT has considered adding this right to a clean healthy environment in late 2023. The limitations on this proposal are canvassed in the article. The article reviews UN Stockholm declaration and 40 years later the statements by Human Rights council in 2021 and the 2022 UN General assembly resolution and applies these to the proposal presently before a committee of the SA Parliament to create a Human rights Act in SA. I included this right in the draft bill as presented by the Law Society to the Attorney General in 2022. The work reviews other laws in SA and points out deficiencies in these, but also how this new human right could operate with these laws. This important work is part of a push by several of us on the human rights committee and in October 2022 the Law society spelled out its policy statement that it supports the adoption of a human rights framework for SA. Other civil society groups are also pushing for this and I was invited to attend the SA Parliament in December 2023 to the launch of the SA Parliament Social development Committee inquiry into a potential Human Rights Act for SA.