Songlines

HREOC
8 April 2008

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has produced a Background Paper titled ‘Human Rights and Climate Change’.

Part I of this paper considers the human rights dimensions of climate change. Specifically, it looks at how the rights contained in the key international instruments are threatened by the impacts of climate change.

Part II then goes on to consider what obligations are imposed on Australia, in both international and domestic law, to respond to these threats.

Part III outlines how Australia may fulfil its human rights obligations, in the context of climate change responses; arguing that a human rights-based approach is the most effective way to respond to climate change.

Access the Paper online at
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/media/papers/hrandclimate_change.html

“A health economist says the Federal Government has no chance of closing the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians unless it spends hundreds of billions of dollars on the problem over the next 20 years.

Gavin Mooney from Curtin University says he estimates it will cost the Government $340 billion to bridge the gap.

The Government has so far committed just $260 million over four years.”

rest of story at
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/08/2210799.htm