| On 9 March 2004, the Hume City Council in Victoria passed an “Inaugural Citizens’ Bill of Rights”. The Council claims that it is the first Bill of Rights passed at the local government level in Australia. It includes rights that mainly relate to participating in the democratic process, such as the rights to vote and to political representation.
The Hume City Council, located in Melbourne’s north-western urban-rural fringe, has a diverse multicultural population and has a long commitment to social justice. In March 2001 the Council introduced a Social Justice Charter based on a commitment to build “a just and inclusive city”. In 2004, as part of a review of that Charter, the Council decided to include a Bill of Rights in a revised version of the Social Justice Charter.
The Bill does not have the legal force of a council by-law. It does, however, represent official Council policy. The Council proposes to consult more widely on the Bill of Rights in the community over the next twelve months. The purpose of that consultation is to foster “ownership” of the Bill in the community (Council Minutes, 9/3/2004, 14).
In the Inaugural Citizens’ Bill of Rights the Council recognises fundamental human rights and:
"affirms that each and every one of its citizens has inalienable rights recognised in International Law, including those rights set out in the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”.
The participatory rights explicitly recognised in the Inaugural Citizens’ Bill of Rights are:
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The right to vote |
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The right to political representation |
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The right to participate in public life |
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The right to information |
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The right to accountability |
Reaction to the Inaugural Citizens’ Bill of Rights has been mixed. The Victorian State Liberal opposition local government spokesperson, John Vogels MLC, described the Bill as “a load of codswollop”. He did not support Bills of Rights at the local government level, but did endorse the idea of a federal Bill of Rights. On the other hand, President of the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties, Mr Greg Connellan, welcomed the Hume Council initiative. These comments come from an article in the Sunbury Leader (Lyndal Reading, “Bill of rights launched straight into contention”, Sunbury/Macedon Rangers Leader (Melbourne), 23 March 2004, 7).
The text of the Inaugural Citizens’ Bill of Rights is not yet available on the Internet. “See information booklet on the Hume Social Justice Charter 2004.
Also see the Social Justice Report 2004 in which the Council’s achievements in the areas of community well-being, indigenous peoples, learning, employment, housing, transport, cultural and linguistic diversity, disabilities, addiction, loneliness and health and safety are benchmarked against human rights standards.”
City of Sydney Council is investigating implementing a local government Charter of Rights along Hume’s lines. Click here to find out more.
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