ABSTRACT
Australians have long debated the adoption of a bill of rights, both at Commonwealth and State level. The Commonwealth Parliament should implement the Rights Council proposal, preferably as a component of a national Australian Rights Council. The Rights Council would ideally comprise five members who should be former judges of an Australian superior court or acknowledged experts in constitutional or human rights law. The Rights Council would examine the compatibility of proposed legislation with the relevant bill of rights. The role of the Rights Council would be strongly influenced by the provision made for referring proposed legislation for evaluation. The Council would report on the compatibility of the proposed legislation after a quasi-judicial hearing in which arguments for and against were addressed to the Council, preferably by legal counsel. The establishment of a Rights Council would constitute a minimal first step towards extra-parliamentary protection of the broad range of rights and freedoms usually protected by bills of rights.
