Human rights should be at the heart of the Federal Budget

The Albanese Government and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have been urged to improve the upcoming Federal Budget for people across the community by placing human rights at the heart of the budget decisions they will be making.

In a submission to the Federal Treasury’s consultation on the upcoming 2023-24 Federal Budget, the Human Rights Law Centre highlighted that Federal Budgets should not only factor in issues like monetary cost, but also the basic standards and wellbeing that everyone in the community should enjoy.

The submission calls for two key changes:

• Implement the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights recommendations for assessing the Budget against the main human rights standards Australia has committed to; and

• Follow the example of Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory and enact an Australian Charter of Human Rights so that human rights are at the centre of all government decision making, including the making and delivering of the Federal Budget’s measures.

Quotes attributable to Caitlin Reiger, CEO at the Human Rights Law Centre:

“Everyone’s wellbeing and lives are better when human rights are at the heart of government decision making. Rights like everyone being able to get the medical care they need, regardless of their bank balance, and every child having a quality education regardless of their postcode. The Federal Budget should always reflect these rights, and the best way is with a Charter of Human Rights.”

 “Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory have Charter of Human Rights and Human Rights Acts in operation, and they have been shown to improve government decision making. For example, in Victoria their Charter of Human Rights helped improve the Victorian Government’s 2010-2020 plan to prevent violence against women, and in the ACT their Human Rights Act helped remove financial barriers for children accessing public school education.”

“Charter of Human Rights embeds human rights into the heart of government decisions, including allocation of public resources in the Federal Budget. The sooner there is a Charter of Human Rights, the more inclusive and stronger this Federal Budget and budgets to come can be for people across the community.”

Read the Human Rights Law Centre’s 2023-24 Pre-Budget Submission here