Two years ago, we choked on the ashes of lost lives and ecosystems during the Black Summer bushfires. We endured; but our human rights - in particular our right to a safe environment to live and thrive in - were violated, albeit without formal legal recognition.
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But today, a few weeks shy of the second anniversary of the end of those catastrophic fires, Jo Clay MLA will move a motion in the ACT Legislative Assembly calling on the ACT government to investigate the inclusion of the right to a healthy environment in law.
This reform is both sorely needed and very welcomed.
The right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment was recognised as a standalone human right by the UN Human Rights Council in October 2021. It is made up of both substantive and procedural elements, with the substantive aspects including a safe climate, access to clean air and water, and non-toxic environments with healthy ecosystems and functioning food systems. The procedural aspects ensure the public is able to obtain environmental information, can participate in environmental decision-making, and can access effective legal remedies if the right is breached. In many ways, the procedural dimension of the right serves as a pathway to the sustainable future enshrined by the substantive aspects.
This right to a healthy environment encompasses two broad ideas about our relationship with the ecosystems around us.
The first is that we all deserve a healthy environment that supports our flourishing. We should not have to earn breathable air or drinkable water, our homes should be a safe temperature irrespective of our economic status, and we should all be able to enjoy access to our beautiful nature reserves regardless of disability.
The second is that a healthy environment is a precondition for the achievement of all our human rights. It is both a truism and beautiful poetry that we are ecologically embedded beings; we are our environment.
How can we enjoy our right to the highest attainable standard of health without an environment that supports our food systems or clean water? How can we enjoy our right to life with dignity if we are beset by fires, floods and plagues in a climate change-impacted world? How can Indigenous peoples maintain their institutions, cultures and traditions if their lands and ecosystems continue to be degraded? A healthy environment is essential to how we go about our daily lives, connect to each other and do business.
In the ACT, we have a proud tradition of leading Australia in upholding human and environmental rights. We were the first jurisdiction to enact a Human Rights Act in 2004, followed by Victoria and Queensland. Our Human Rights Act has underpinned the development of a culture of respecting human rights in our Parliament and government agencies. In more recent years, our government has also led Australia on climate action and the endorsement of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
We welcome today's motion in the ACT Legislative Assembly and call for all ACT parties to support this important step towards reform. We are a city that cares for our people and our planet, in recognition that we are interconnected. We are also a city of leaders. It is our duty to lead the nation and chart a course towards our vision of sustainability, where our environment flourishes alongside our community.
- GreenLaw is a young person-led law reform and research institute leveraging the vision of the next generation of lawyers to tackle the climate crisis. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights is a national association of Australian solicitors, barristers, academics, judicial officers and law students who practise and promote international human rights law in Australia.
