Human Rights Awards (Australia)

The Human Rights Awards are a series of awards for achievements in the field of human rights in Australia, bestowed by the Australian Human Rights Commission at the Human Rights Day Ceremony in December in each year.

History

The Human Rights Awards were established in 1987 by the then Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) "to recognise the contributions of individuals across the nation who made it their life's mission to champion human rights, social justice, and equality for all". The award began as an event to recognise human rights in film, television and literature, but as of 2021 covers a wider spectrum. Of the original categories, only the Human Rights Medal has endured.[1]

In 2020, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, instead of the awards ceremony, ten "Human Rights Heroes" were recognised as finalists, including the Torres Strait 8 and Corey Tutt.[2][3]

Past categories

In 1990 categories included:[4]

  • Poetry Award
  • Drama Award
  • Prose Award
  • Film Award
  • Songwriting Award
  • Television Drama Award
  • Television Documentary Award
  • Radio Documentary/ Current Affairs Award
  • Metropolitan Newspapers Award
  • Regional Newspapers Award
  • Magazines Award

The Literature Award, Print and Online Media Award, Radio Award, and Television Awards were discontinued in 2015.

In 2018 the categories included:[5]

  • Human Rights Medal (Highest in this awards)
  • Young People's Human Rights Medal (from 2008)
  • Law Award
  • Business Award
  • Government Award (from 2018)
  • Racism. It Stops With Me Award (from 2015)
  • Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Community Individual Award
  • Community Organisation Award
  • Media Award
  • Government Award (created 2018[6]

Description

As of 2021, there are three award categories:[1]

  • Human Rights Medal
  • Young People's Medal (for under-25s)
  • Community Human Rights Champion

The Australian Human Rights Commission receives nominations for the Human Rights Awards and Medals categories, with the choice of recipient made by an independent panel. The individual Human Rights Award and Medal is awarded only to an individual who, to be eligible, must have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights in Australia in at least one of the following areas:[1]

  • Taking action to overcome discrimination or infringements of human rights within Australia
  • Encouraging greater social harmony within Australia in a range of areas such as race relations, gender equality and the treatment of children and young people
  • Enhancing the rights of Indigenous Australians
  • Promoting equal opportunity for people with a disability in Australia or countering discrimination on the basis of age or sexuality.
  • Increasing awareness of issues of injustice or inequality in Australia.

In addition, the entrants must be a lawful resident of Australia.[1]

The awards are usually bestowed by the AHRC on Human Rights Day (10 December) each year, with a ceremony prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and announced online since then.[7]

Human Rights Medal

Recipients include:[8]

Young People’s Human Rights Medal

Recipients include:[8]

  • 2008 - Alan Huynh
  • 2009 - Venay Menon
  • 2010 - Jack Manning Bancroft
  • 2011 - Tshibanda Gracia Ngoy
  • 2012 - Krista McMeeken
  • 2013 - Mariah Kennedy
  • 2014 - Daniel Haile-Michael and Maki Issa
  • 2015 - Yen Eriksen
  • 2016 - Arash Bordbar
  • 2017 - Georgie Stone
  • 2018 - Saxon Mullins
  • 2019 - Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts[13][14][17]
  • 2020 - No Medal
  • 2021 - Chanel Contos[18]
  • 2022 - Caroline Cecile Fletcher[16]

Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Community Individual Award

Named to honour Tony Fitzgerald AC QC. Recipients include:[19]

Racism. It Stops With Me Award

Finalists and recipients have been:

Business Award

Law Award

Government Award

Community Organisation Award
  • 2019: Just Reinvest NSW[14]
  • 2022: Andrea Comastri [16]

Media Award

References
  1. "Human Rights Awards". Australian Human Rights Commission. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "Celebrating the 2020 Human Rights Heroes". Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  3. "Human Rights Heroes Campaign Finalists". Australian Human Rights Commission. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  4. "Human Rights Medal and Awards 1990 Winners". Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  5. "2018 Winners". Human Rights Awards. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  6. "Government finalists named for human rights awards". The Mandarin. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  7. "Commission announces 2021 Human Rights Awards finalists". Australian Human Rights Commission. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  8. "2016-human-rights-medal-and-awards-winners". Human Rights Awards. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  9. "Leading Australians recognised in Australia's annual Human Rights Awards". Alternative Law Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  10. "2013 Human Rights Medal and Awards Winners". Human Rights Awards. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  11. Sanda, Dominica (8 December 2017). "NRL star Johnathan Thurston wins human rights award in eventful ceremony". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  12. "Winners announced - 2018 Human Rights Awards". AHRC. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. "Human Rights Awards 2019". Anti-Discrimination NSW. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  14. "Rosemary Kayess wins 2019 Human Rights Medal". Mirage News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  15. "2021 Human Rights Award winners announced". Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  16. "UNSW Scientia Professor Jane McAdam was given the Law Award at the 2022 Human Rights Awards". University of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  17. "UNSW Law student named as a finalist for Human Rights Medal". Inside UNSW. University of New South Wales. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  18. "2021 Human Rights Award winners announced". Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  19. "2018-human-rights-medal-and-awards-winners". Human Rights Awards. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2020. (Link to other years from here.)
  20. "2015 Human Rights Awards winners and finalists". Australian Human Rights Commission. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  21. "2016 Human Rights Awards winners and finalists". Australian Human Rights Commission. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  22. "2017 Human Rights Medal and Awards Winners". Australian Human Rights Commission. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  23. "Winners and Finalists of the 2018 Human Rights Awards". Australian Human Rights Commission. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  24. "Finalists of the 2019 Human Rights Awards". Australian Human Rights Commission (Human Rights Awards). 16 October 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  25. "Konica Minolta receives top honour in the Australian Human Rights Commission Human Rights Awards". Recognition PR. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  26. "History and Model". STREAT. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  27. "See What You Made Me Do wins 2020 Stella Prize". Black Inc. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
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