The Bill of Rights debate in Australian political culture

National Legislation and Transnational Feminism

“…3 That said, the 'alien tradition' of rights-based arguments did not evaporate, and there remained a resistance in legislative acts to anything but a formalist expression of what rights, if demanded, might entail. This was clearly expressed through debates about Australia's need for a human rights bill that reflected international conventions into the 1970s, a bill which still has not transpired (e.g., Charlesworth, 2002;Kildea, 2003). And it was increasingly present in politico-legal debates about how to reform legislation that regulated divorce.…”

Legitimacy, Democracy and Rights: the Conservatism of Janet Albrechtsen

“…Utilitarian arguments like those deployed by Albrechtsen have helped defeat several attempts to entrench rights in the Australian Constitution, most recently in 2010. 79 In response, rights advocates have shifted their emphasis from constitutional entrenchment to a statutory "charter" of rights. 80 Such charters, already operating in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, are designed to preserve parliamentary sovereignty while encouraging dialogue about rights between the executive, legislature and judiciary.…”

Constitutional Design and Australian Exceptionalism in the Adoption of National Bills of Rights

“…Australian commentators have, not surprisingly, been more interested in debating the value of a bill of rights or the merits of particular models. To the very limited extent that explanations for the lack of progress towards a bill of rights have been offered, these have almost universally emphasized political culture, in particular Australia's supposedly utilitarian and egalitarian culture, sometimes combined with such other alleged national attitudes as excessive veneration of the Constitution's framers (for example, Chappell et al, 2009, 18–24; Galligan, 1994; Kildea, 2003). Political culture is, however, a notoriously slippery concept, best invoked when all other efforts at explanation have been exhausted—and there have been only sketchy or incidental efforts, at best, to apply other frameworks.…”