Human Rights Amendment Bill

I was on the verge of taking a call on this Human Rights Amendment Bill when the House adjourned last Thursday evening. As I look up at the clock, I suspect that the House may be spared the benefits of most of my thoughts on the subject again this evening. But in view of the fact that it has been several days since we began considering the measure, it might be helpful if I just remind you of some of the key points that the Minister of Justice outlined about the purpose of the bill in her introduction, because it is a significant measure. It is an amendment to our Human Rights Act of 1993, and it comes about in part because of a measure that the previous Labour Government took in the final months of its term in office in 2008, when it ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Article 33 of that convention requires States to “maintain, strengthen, designate, or establish with the State Party, a framework, including one or more independent mechanisms, as appropriate, to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the present Convention.” That is a very wordy article, but the gist of it is that we need to ensure that we have a very specific designated role for somebody to look after human rights under the broader constitutional arrangements that we have.

I see that Mr Speaker is about to stand—no, I am getting a bit more time. Mr Speaker has very kindly moved an extension of my time. It has never happened before and I am very grateful for this. The changes in the bill, therefore, will enable the Human Rights Commission that we already have in place to look after better the very important human rights field. At the moment, we have an Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner and a Race Relations Commissioner. Those roles will continue to exist, but in a slightly amended form. This enables us to bring human rights up on to the same level—an equal footing. It is quite an important change to the structure. It is one that the Government is firmly dedicated to getting right.

Debate interrupted.

Sitting suspended from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. (Wednesday)