Effective leadership requires leading by example, but Australia’s human rights record has drawn increasing criticism at home and abroad.
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On Human Rights Day, and with Australia set to take up a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, here’s a must-do list for this country to become a credible advocate for human rights.
What may be deemed in the public interest today may not be so in a decade’s time.
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Despite arguments that it is too loose, ambiguous and easy to hide behind, the ‘public interest’ is an integral part of the discourse, law, regulation and governance of modern democracies.
Its been 13 years since Mauritius introduced codes of corporate governance for listed companies with mixed results. Its experience is useful for other developing countries looking to do the same.
APRA’s independent inquiry panel member, John Laker, who is also chairman of the Banking Finance Oath initiative, will be one of the ones holding the CBA to account.
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One scandal at the CBA stands out above all others, It set the scene for how the CBA board would handle future scandals, that is to obfuscate, prevaricate and litigate.
Land rezoning, sales, and planning approvals are just a few of the ways ‘grey gifts’ can decide who benefits from government decisions.
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William Isdale speaks with The University of Queensland's Cameron Murray about the nature of 'grey gifts', soft corruption, and who stands to win (and lose) when these deals are made.
Peter Dutton (right) is set to assume responsibility for the newly created home affairs portfolio.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
The move to consolidate security agencies under one minister upends generations of conventions on how security intelligence and executive police powers are managed separately.
Migration legislation does not require judicial authorisation for a person to be deprived of their freedom.
AAP/Dean Lewins
The amplified public concerns about executive pay that led to the cementing of reporting and disclosure into law, may start trend of voluntary disclosure among professional bodies.
Demonstration of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, at a naval base in California.
REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon
The drama caused by the return of Brain Molefe into South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, signals a failure of accountability and corporate governance within the public sector.
While noting the bravery of the police officers involved in the 2014 Sydney siege, a NSW coronial inquest also highlighted that mistakes were made.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
David Campbell, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Kristina Marty, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Trump’s budget director singled out Meals on Wheels as a waste of federal dollars. But identifying bad ways to spend taxpayer money is harder than it sounds.
The issue before the court was whether Bob Day was disqualified from being elected because of Section 44(v) of the Constitution.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Attempts to deepen democracy in Africa by limiting presidential terms to two have not entirely quashed a culture of entitlement to rule. Glimpses of it persist, much against citizens’ wishes.
Philanthropic foundations are unlike other charities and not-for-profit organisations.
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The current lack of transparency in Australian philanthropy raises ethical questions. Far from being a solely private activity, philanthropy needs greater public accountability.
Governments directly and indirectly control who is allowed to tell the refugees’ stories of how they are treated in offshore detention.
AAP/Eoin Blackwell
Successive Australian governments have dehumanised refugees and kept Australians in the dark about what really goes on in the offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island.
Africa needs to structure better economic deals with China.
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The Chinese £1bn investment in Sheffield, a former mining town in northern England, comes with valuable lessons about how Africa can maximise economic value in its dealings with China.
Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s successor faces the challenge of making the organisation more accountable.
UN
The ‘functional immunity’ granted to UN officials made good sense when the body was founded after World War II. But as its organisational functions have expanded, so has this immunity.
Chief Research Specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State
Research Director: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) research division, and Coordinator of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), Human Sciences Research Council