Australia's Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

I was fortunate to be selected to participate in the first ever Citizens' Parliament. 150 randomly selected people from all walks of life gathered at Old Parliament House Canberra to deliberate on ways of improving our precious democracy. Thinking quickly it became obvious to me that the two most important issues to get involved with were a Bill of Rights & Responsibilities and Citizen Initiated Referendum & Recall.

The people I worked directly and indirectly with helped refine the ideas very well. I believe what we came up with was better than the reforms that I had previously worked on and discussed in 2007. The results of our deliberations are below:

The Constitution of Australia

The Preamble

Human rights are necessary for individuals to live lives of dignity and value. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of individuals improves the welfare of the whole community. Having these rights detailed here makes it easier for them to be respected in the development and interpretation of legislation.

We the People of Australia believe that a shared set of fundamental values or core beliefs – our rights and responsibilities – gives all citizens the best opportunity to live their lives freely and fearlessly. We aspire to be a peaceful people with tolerance and understanding of all people regardless of cultural, ethnic and social differences – we welcome all to live work and play here, provided that visitors and new citizens also adopt and cherish our inalienable rights and responsibilities.

For this to be so we pledge to use and enjoy our fundamental rights mindful that we do not have the right to infringe upon or diminish those same rights enjoyed by others.

These rights are sacrosanct, equal and inalienable to each and every citizen of Australia. Also, the enumeration of certain rights in our Bill Of Rights and Responsibilities shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

In order to enjoy the 15 fundamental Rights we hereby accept the following Responsibilities –

a) We commit to avoid initiating the use of force, fraud and coercion in our interactions with each other. Citizens retain the right to protect themselves and their families.

b) We accept that the government's power comes from the People and that we are ultimately responsible for the use of this power. Therefore, it is up to us to define the government's role and place appropriate limits on its power by exercising our democratic vote.

c) To the best of our abilities we accept responsibility for our life, actions and behaviour.

d) We, the adults of Australia, commit to do our best to raise our children in a safe, healthy and happy home. We also pledge to give them an education designed to teach the values and the life skills needed to prosper in freedom - one that is untainted by political indoctrination or under-education.

We also understand that much of the troubles between people - and indeed nations - stems from unresolved trauma and wounds from our earliest relationships. While these troubles often begin behind closed doors the effects spill over into our day to day lives. Many of us are thus unable to function as mature adults. We must all take the quest to be the best we can be as one of our most important endeavours because nobody can do this for us.

e) We accept that there is a need to care for our environment and live in a sustainable fashion. To the best of our ability we commit to avoid polluting our soil, air and waters. We also encourage our trading partners to do the same so that their people can enjoy safe air and water. We also believe that nations must retain full control of their natural resources and ideally in a democratic way share the environmental costs and tangible benefits of the use of these resources.

f) To advocate the concept of a minimum sustainable income for all.

We also commit to corporate law that makes corporate directors and CEOs accountable to their shareholders, workers and customers. We can only prosper in freedom if all stakeholders get a fair go.

g) To develop and maintain a stable monetary system with a clearly defined limit on the growth of the total stock of money. We do not accept corporate or government manipulation of the money supply to steal the people's wealth or increase the government's power.

Our Constitutional Bill of Rights

There are fifteen core rights that are essential to protect citizens from abuses. These rights can help us achieve a better society provided the key responsibilities listed in the Preamble are also respected and used as the basis of our legal system.

Our Rights -

1. The Right to Life

2. The Right to Liberty

3. The Right to Own Property

4. Freedom of Thought, Belief and Speech (and other forms of Expressing our ideas and beliefs).

5. Freedom of Assembly

6. Freedom from Arbitrary Rule

7. Freedom from Unjust Taxation

8. The Right to Maintain Privacy

9. The Right to Remain Silent

10. The Right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

11. A strict separation of the Judiciary, Religious Institutions and the Government

12. Freedom from Unwarranted Search, Seizure and Arrest

13. The Presumption of Innocence until proven Guilty by due Legal Process

14. The Right to a prompt, public trial by an impartial Jury of your peers

15. Habeas Corpus

The Constitution Of Australia – The Citizens’ Parliament proposed Bill Of Rights & Responsibilities. Deliberated February 2009. New Democracy randomly selected 150 citizens to participate in their research project on "deliberative democracy."
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A Proposal for a Federal CIR / Recall Mechanism for Australia -

Provided fundamental rights and responsibilities are respected and protected – via a Bill of Rights & Responsibilities - we propose using this mechanism to initiate a referendum or recall:

STEP 1
Community wants a new law or to remove or change an existing law. 400 electors sign the petition.

STEP 2
Community selects Petition Committee (12 or more electors) to guide the whole process.

STEP 3
Electoral Commissioner registers the petition.

STEP 4
Community petition representatives obtain signatures (0.7% of electors in a majority of Federal electorates and in a majority of States). This must be completed within 12 months.

STEP 5
Local electoral officials collect and count petition signatures.

STEP 6
Electoral Commissioner certifies at least 0.7% of electors (in a majority of electorates and in a majority of States) have signed the petition.

STEP 7
Parliamentary Counsel's office prepares proposed law.

STEP 8 – Random selection of signatories / politicians / citizens – say 20 of each. These people then participate in a Deliberative process to review and progress the proposal

STEP 9
Proposed law is "tabled" in parliament for debate and/or legislation.

STEP 10
(If necessary) Community at referendum votes to accept or reject proposed law (majority of voters in a majority of electorates in majority of States).

STEP 11
Proposed law becomes law on Governor's Assent. Community gets the law they want. Democracy is served.
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Note 1: To initiate Constitutional change or Recall an elected Government the figures above need to be doubled ie Step 1 – requires 800 signatures; Steps 4 & 6 – require 1.4% of certified electors to sign petition. These changes may require referendums to be held between elections.

Note 2: Legislative or Constitutional changes which interfere with the fundamental rights and responsibilities of citizens are not able to be initiated.

Note 3: A good education in the mechanics of government and Democracy is essential for all citizens.

Note 4: Parliament can act after a petition is presented to satisfy the petitioner’s demands prior to the referendum being held.

Note 5: Whenever possible an initiated referendum will be held in conjunction with the next Federal or State Election.

Note 6: It would be desirable to extend this model to all other elected State and Local bodies once it has proven its worth at the Federal level.

The Citizens’ Parliament proposal for Citizen Initiated Referendum &  Recall. Deliberated February 2009. New Democracy randomly selected 150 citizens to participate in their research project on "deliberative democracy."

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BRN Comments

Now more than ever it is critical to understand the forces that are working together to prevent you enjoying a life with fundamental rights and freedoms protected. Every day we hear about governments and businesses abusing us. The mass surveillance State revealed by Edward Snowden. Corporations that are free to infringe your privacy with similar technology. Limits on your right to protest. Limits on what you can and can't do with your own property. The militarisation of the police. The paper chains that bind you are deliberately formulated to keep you busy and distracted. If you have to work 40 or 50 hours per week on the job and then manage paperwork after hours how much time would you have to find out what's going on in politics and business ..... and then do something about it?

Reforming banks is just the start. It is not enough on its own. We must protect our fundamental rights if we want to live with peace, prosperity, justice and freedom.

Study up on how your rights are disappearing and then join in right here at BRN. We have plans and we need your help. Read our posts here and at our Facebook page - Like, Share, Comment. Use our forum. Donate to our fighting fund. It all helps to build momentum.