Sydney launch: '50 Human Rights Cases that Changed Australia'

The Australian Human Rights Institute (UNSW Sydney), the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and Gilbert + Tobin are delighted to invite you to the Sydney launch of 50 Human Rights Cases That Changed Australia by Lucy Geddes and Hamish McLachlan (Federation Press, 2023).

UNSW Emeritus Professor Andrea Durbach AM will lead a discussion on the book with the authors and GetUp! CEO, Larissa Baldwin-Roberts.

50 Human Rights Cases that Changed Australia summarises and analyses 50 of Australia’s most significant and influential human rights cases from all Australian states and territories. The landmark cases include freedom of expression and First Nations land rights cases of the 1990s, earlier cases on civil liberties and criminal procedure, and more recent advances in LGBTIQA+ rights, environmental justice, and the rights of people with disabilities. 

The foreword to the book has been written by the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, who described the book as 'a courageous, innovative and novel text'.

‘These are the cases that have shaped, and continue to shape, the moral heart of the nation. That moral heart is learning to embrace our First Nations, but First Nations and First People know only too well that courts applying human rights law can deliver justice where Parliament lacks the will or bravery.’ – Tony McAvoy SC.

‘An essential resource for all interested in how we can advance human rights through the law in Australia – and demonstrates why Australians need and deserve better human rights protections in our laws and in our Constitution.’ – Jennifer Robinson, international human rights barrister and author

Speakers

Andrea Durbach was Professor of Law at UNSW (2004 - 2020) and Director of the Australian Human Rights Centre (now Institute) until 2017. Prior to joining UNSW Law she was Executive Director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and a solicitor at Freehill, Hollingdale and Page. She is a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and in 2013, was awarded the Australian Human Rights Commission Human Rights Law Award for her promotion and advancement of human rights in Australia through the practice of law.

Larissa Baldwin-Roberts comes from a long-line of political activists and was brought up in the fight for land rights, climate justice, First Nations justice and cultural heritage, building strong relationships in communities and across civil society over decades. A proud Widjabul Wia-bul woman from the Bundjalung Nations, Larissa was appointed the CEO of GetUp! in 2022. Prior to her appointment, Larissa was GetUp!’s Chief Campaigns Officer, working primarily on First Nations justice, climate action and securing a fairer Australia. Before joining GetUp!, Larissa co-founded Seed, Australia’s first Indigenous youth climate network. 

Lucy Geddes leads the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s Asylum Seeker Rights Project and is a teaching fellow at the UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice. Previously, Lucy was Head of Legal Action Worldwide’s Sri Lanka office where her work focused on gender justice. Lucy has worked at Victoria Legal Aid, in private practice in NSW, and completed clerkships with Chief Justice Mogoeng of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and Justice Tarfusser of the International Criminal Court. 

Hamish McLachlan is Co-Manager, Public Law at the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Victoria. He previously worked at Victoria Legal Aid on a broad range of human rights issues, including anti-discrimination law, mental health and disability law, tenancy, social security, and refugee and migration law. Most recently, he was the Managing Lawyer of VLA’s Mental Health and Disability Law Program. He previously worked as a lawyer in the human rights teams at the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office and New Zealand’s Crown Law Office.