The Human Truth Foundation

Human Rights, Equality and Freedom in Australia

https://www.humantruth.info/australia_human_rights_and_freedom.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2018

#Australia #australia_freedom #freedom #human_rights #politics

Australia
Commonwealth of Australia

[Country Profile Page]
Flag
StatusIndependent State
Social and Moral Index12th best
LocationAustralasia
Population24.9m1
Life Expectancy84.53yrs (2017)2

When it comes to ensuring human rights and freedom, Australia leads the world, setting excellent examples. Australia does the best in its average Freedom in the World rating. It comes in the best 20 in terms of the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators)3 (amongst the lowest in Australasia), supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms4 (one of the lowest in Australasia), combatting modern slavery5, its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice6 (amongst the lowest in Australasia), opposing gender inequality7 (the lowest in Australasia) and in its nominal commitment to Human Rights8 (amongst the highest in Australasia). And finally, it does better than average when it comes to LGBT equality9 (amongst the highest in Australasia), supporting press freedom10 (amongst the best in Australasia), commentary in Human Rights Watch reports11 (one of the highest in Australasia) and in freethought12 (but bad for Australasia). In 2017 Australia granted equality under marriage law to LGBT folk13.


1. Australia's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#australia #equality #freedom #gender_equality #human_rights #morals #nauru #papua_new_guinea #politics #prejudice #tolerance

Compared to Australasia (2025)14
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank14
1New Zealand12.9
2Australia16.8
3Kiribati70.1
4Marshall Islands75.0
5Tuvalu76.7
6Micronesia78.2
7Palau80.7
8Nauru82.3
9Fiji86.9
10Samoa95.7
11Vanuatu98.7
12Tonga101.3
13Solomon Islands108.9
Australasia Avg79.23
q=14.
Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2025)14
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank14
1Sweden5.9
2Norway8.0
3Denmark8.1
...
8Austria15.0
9Luxembourg15.8
10Finland15.8
11Australia16.8
12Belgium17.5
13Germany19.8
14UK22.7
15Ireland23.7
World Avg86.35
q=198.

The best countries in the world at ensuring human rights, fostering equality and promoting tolerance, are Sweden, Norway and Denmark15. These countries are displaying the best traits that humanity has to offer. The worst countries are N. Korea, Somalia and Eritrea15.

25 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on supporting press freedom, combatting modern slavery, supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms, its average Freedom in the World rating, commentary in Human Rights Watch reports, its nominal commitment to Human Rights, speed of uptake of HR treaties, opposing gender inequality, the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators), the year from which women could participate in democracy, its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice, LGBT equality and freethought. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe15, whereas the worst are The Middle East, Africa and Asia15.

For more, see:

Amnesty International's 2023-23 summary on human rights in Australia stated:

New laws restricted the right to peaceful protest in several states and territories. Discrimination against First Nations peoples continued. The rights of child detainees were violated. Australia accepted an offer by New Zealand to resettle refugees, but indefinite detention of asylum seekers continued.

"The State of the World's Human Rights 2022/23" by Amnesty International (2023)16

Australia's offshore processing of asylum seekers has been criticized by Human Rights Watch17. The scheme, introduced in 2013, has currently resulted in nearly 2,000 asylum seekers being held in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, most of which have now been there for more than four years (by 2018) - they've faced abuse and violent attacks17.

Amnesty International's 2023-23 summary on human rights in Australia stated:

New laws restricted the right to peaceful protest in several states and territories. Discrimination against First Nations peoples continued. The rights of child detainees were violated. Australia accepted an offer by New Zealand to resettle refugees, but indefinite detention of asylum seekers continued.

"The State of the World's Human Rights 2022/23" by Amnesty International (2023)16

2. Human Rights & Tolerance Datasets

2.1. Press Freedom

#democracy #freedom #Freedom_of_Speech #Good_Governance #mass_media #politics #UK

Press Freedom
Higher is better
10
Pos.202510
1Norway92.31
2Estonia89.46
3Netherlands88.64
...
26Jamaica75.83
27S. Africa75.71
28Namibia75.35
29Australia75.15
30Cape Verde74.98
31Poland74.79
32Suriname74.49
33Slovenia74.06
Australasia Avg70.62
World Avg54.65
q=179.
One of the highest in Australasia Australia comes 29th in the world regarding supporting press freedom.

The freedom to investigate, publish information, and have access to others' opinion is a fundamental part of today's information-driven world, and is linked with Freedom of Speech and Good Governance. Scores on the Press Freedom Index are calculated according to indicators including pluralism - the degree to which opinions are represented in the media, media independence of authorities, self-censorship, legislation, transparency and the infrastructure that supports news and information, and, the level of violence against journalists which includes lengths of imprisonments. The index "does not take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted". The rankings are used as one of the datasets of the Social and Moral Development Index18

It must be noted that press freedom is not an indicator of press quality and the press itself can be abusive; the UK suffers in particular from a popular brand of nasty reporting that infuses several of its newspapers who are particularly prone to running destructive and often untrue campaigns against victims. The Press Freedom Index notes that "the index should in no way be taken as an indicator of the quality of the media in the countries concerned".

For more, see:

Averages by decade for Australia (for the ranks, lower is better):

Press Freedom2000s 
Average
2010s 
Average
Australia:6.9983.56
World Rank:31st ⇡  24th
World Avg:27.4465.91

2.2. Slavery in the 2020s

#burundi #eritrea #france #germany #human_rights #indonesia #norway #slavery

Slavery in the 2020s
Lower is better
5
Pos.Total
Per 10005
1=Switzerland0.50
1=Norway0.50
3=Germany0.60
...
9=Ireland1.10
10Finland1.40
11Mauritius1.50
12=Australia1.60
12=Lesotho1.60
12=New Zealand1.60
15Taiwan1.70
16=UK1.80
Australasia Avg4.50
World Avg7.15
q=160.
Australia comes 12th-best in the world when it comes to combatting modern slavery.

Modern slavery includes forced labour (often of the under-age), debt bondage (especially generational), sexual slavery, chattel slavery and other forms of abuse, some of which can be surprisingly difficult to detect, but often target those fleeing from warzones, and poverty-stricken vulnerable.19. Some industries (diamond, clothing, coal) from some countries (Burundi20, Eritrea20, Indonesia21) are a particular concern. The Walk Free Foundation, say in their 2023 report that 50 million people are living in modern slavery20.

For more, see:

The Walk Free Foundation in 2023 says that Australia (along with France, Germany, and Norway) is doing the correct due diligence and "setting new standards for the type of legislation we would like to see adopted everywhere" for preventing modern forms of slvery, and commends Australia's Modern Slavery Act in particular, "which requires certain companies to report on modern slavery risks in their supply chain and actions they are taking to respond"22.

Averages by decade for Australia (for the ranks, lower is better):

Slavery2010s 
Average
2020s 
Average
Australia:0.601.60
World Rank:4th ⇣  12th
World Avg:6.547.15

2.3. Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom

#freedom #politics

Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom
Lower is better
4
Pos.2014
Rank4
1Hong Kong1
2Switzerland2
3New Zealand3
4Ireland4
5Denmark5
6=UK6
6=Canada6
6=Australia6
9Finland9
10Netherlands10
11=Luxembourg11
11=Austria11
Australasia Avg36.0
World Avg79.7
q=159.
One of the lowest in Australasia regarding supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms, Australia is 6th-best in the world.

The Human Freedom Index published by the Fraser Institute is...

... a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. It uses 79 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas: Rule of Law, Security and Safety, Movement, Religion, Association, Assembly, and Civil Society, Expression, Relationships, Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Access to Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business. [...]

The highest levels of freedom are in Western Europe, Northern Europe, and North America (Canada and the United States. The lowest levels are in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. [...]

Countries in the top quartile of freedom enjoy a significant higher per capita income ($37,147) [compared with] the least-free quartile [at] $8,700). The HFI finds a strong correlation between human freedom and democracy.

"The Human Freedom Index" by The Fraser Institute (2016)23

For more, see:

2.4. Freedom in the World

#freedom #human_rights #hungary #politics #USA

Freedom in the World
Lower is better
Pos.2024
Score
1=Norway1.0
1=Canada1.0
1=Cape Verde1.0
...
31=Barbados1.0
31=Andorra1.0
31=Uruguay1.0
31=Australia1.0
31=UK1.0
31=Tuvalu1.0
31=Switzerland1.0
31=Sweden1.0
Australasia Avg1.8
World Avg3.7
q=205.
Australia is positioned best in the world in terms of its average Freedom in the World rating.

Freedom House's long-standing annual report has been running since the 1970s, collecting data on political rights (PR) and civil liberties (CL). Their reports rate countries as "Free", "Partially Free" or "Not Free", however the results here are based on their numerical values. Many countries score the best combination of scores (1 and 1), which is why the table of results show many places equally placed in 1st place. In the past two decades, some well-established democracies like the USA and Hungary have been falling. Whilst most of the world in general is improving rights and freedoms over time, the 2020s has seen some regression.

For more, see:

Averages by decade for Australia (for the ranks, lower is better):

Freedom in the World1970s 
Average
1980s 
Average
1990s 
Average
2000s 
Average
2010s 
Average
Australia:1.01.01.01.01.0
World Rank:1st1st1st1st1st
World Avg:4.34.23.63.43.4

2.5. Human Rights Watch Comments

#human_rights

Human Rights Watch Comments
Higher is better
11
Pos.2017
Score11
1=UK9
1=France9
1=Germany9
...
28=Croatia4
28=Poland4
30=Japan3
30=Australia3
30=Hungary3
33=Gambia2
33=Liechtenstein2
33=Chile2
Australasia Avg0.0
World Avg-1.9
q=123.
Australia is 30th in the world in terms of commentary in Human Rights Watch reports (amongst the best in Australasia).

Human Rights Watch comments concentrate mostly on negative issues, however, they also make positive comments for those countries that engage in human rights defence around the world, or who make improvements at home. By adding up positive and negative comments (including double-points for negatives that involve large scales and crimes against humanity), the Social and Moral Index turns HRW commentary into quantified values. Some countries may be unfairly penalized because HRW have not examined them, and, some countries "get away" with abuses if they manage to hide it, or if it goes unnoticed - a negative point has been given for those countries in which HRW specifically state that access to investigators has been barred. The points were limited to a minimum of -10 because there are some points at which things are so bad, with abuses affecting so many, it is difficult to be more specific about the depths of the issues.

For more, see:

2.6. Nominal Commitment to HR

#human_rights

Nominal Commitment to HR
Higher is better
8
Pos.2009
Treaties8
1Argentina24
2=Chile23
2=Costa Rica23
...
23=Azerbaijan21
23=Bosnia & Herzegovina21
23=Bolivia21
23=Australia21
23=France21
23=Senegal21
29=Hungary20
29=Czechia20
Australasia Avg8.7
World Avg15.1
q=194.
Amongst the best in Australasia Australia comes 19th-best in the world with regard to its nominal commitment to Human Rights.

There are many international agreements on human rights, and, many mechanisms by which countries can be brought to account for their actions. Together, these have been the biggest historical movement in the fight against oppression and inhumanity. Or, putting it another way: these are rejected mostly by those who wish to oppress inhumanely. None of them are perfect and many people object to various components and wordings, but, no-one has come up with, and enforced, better methods of controlling the occasional desires that states and peoples have of causing angst for other states and peoples in a violent, unjust or inhumane way. Points are awarded for the number of human rights agreements ratified by the country, plus the acceptance of the petition mechanisms for disputes. The maximum possible score in 2009 was 24.

For more, see:

2.7. HR Treaties Lag

#human_rights #international_law #micronesia #politics #small_islands

HR Treaties Lag
Lower is better
24
Pos.2019
Avg Yrs/Treaty24
1Ecuador2.15
2Uruguay2.25
3Tunisia3.65
...
45Syria7.02
46Uganda7.03
47Mauritius7.09
48Australia7.31
49Brazil7.36
50Guinea7.43
51Finland7.49
52Togo7.50
Australasia Avg14.35
World Avg10.02
q=195.
The best in Australasia Australia is positioned 48th in the world in terms of speed of uptake of HR treaties.

Human Rights (HR) Treaties Lag is a count of how long it took each country to sign each of 11 key HR treaties. From the date of the first signatory of each treaty, all other countries have one point added to their score for each day they delayed in signing. Results are presented as average time in years to sign each one. The lower a country's score, the more enthusiastically it has taken on international Human Rights Treaties - which are, of course, minimal standards of good governance. The slowest are the countries of Micronesia, Melanesia, Australasia and Polynesia all lagged by over 12 years per treaty. The best regions are The Americas, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.

For more, see:

3. Gender Equality Datasets

Australia is notable for its equality between the sexes and this has been a feature of the country's culture for quite some time.

See:

3.1. Gender Inequality

#gender #gender_equality #human_rights #misogyny #women

Gender Inequality
Lower is better
7
Pos.20227
1Denmark0.01
2Norway0.01
3Switzerland0.02
...
14Spain0.06
15Slovenia0.06
16S. Korea0.06
17Australia0.07
18=Ireland0.07
18=Canada0.07
20Germany0.07
21Portugal0.08
Australasia Avg0.37
World Avg0.34
q=166.
Australia is positioned 17th-best in the world in terms of opposing gender inequality (the best in Australasia).

The UN Human Development Reports include statistics on gender equality which take into account things like maternal mortality, access to political power (seats in parliament) and differences between male and female education rates. Gender inequality is not a necessary part of early human development. Although a separation of roles is almost universal due to different strengths between the genders, this does not have to mean that women are subdued, and, such patriarchalism is not universal in ancient history. Those cultures and peoples who shed, or never developed, the idea that mankind ought to dominate womankind, are better cultures and peoples than those who, even today, cling violently to those mores.

For more, see:

Averages by decade for Australia (for the ranks, lower is better):

Gender Inequality1990s 
Average
2000s 
Average
2010s 
Average
Australia:0.180.140.11
World Rank:12th ⇣  14th ⇣  21st
World Avg:0.440.410.37

3.2. Gender Biases

#gender #gender_equality #prejudice #women

Gender Biases
Lower is better
3
Pos.2022
%3
1Sweden31.825
2New Zealand34.426
3Australia37.026
4Germany40.226
5Canada41.126
6Norway42.127
7Andorra43.126
8Netherlands44.225
9USA50.726
10Finland52.527
11Spain53.525
12Switzerland56.927
Australasia Avg35.72
World Avg83.93
q=88.
When it comes to the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators), Australia comes 3rd-best in the world.

The Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) looks at gender biases across seven criteria; the % given here is for the total people who are biased across any of those criteria. By subtracting the value from 100%, you can see that those who do well on this index, you are seeing a count of those who do not appear to be biased against women in any of the criteria, and so, doing well on this index is a very positive sign for any country.

The data was included in UN (2022) with full results in Annex table AS6.7.1; their data stems for ranges between 2005 and 2022, depending on the country in question.

3.3. Year Women Can Vote

#christianity #gender_equality #human_rights #politics #women

Year Women Can Vote
Lower is better
Pos.Total
Year
1New Zealand1893
2Australia1902
3Finland1906
4Norway1913
5=Denmark1915
5=Iceland1915
7Russia1917
8=Latvia1918
8=Estonia1918
8=Kyrgyzstan1918
11=Austria1919
11=Slovakia1919
Australasia Avg1962
World Avg1930
q=189.
Australia ranks 2nd-best in the world with regard to the year from which women could participate in democracy; only New Zealand does better.

Women now have equal rights in the vast majority of countries across the world. Although academic literature oftens talks of when a country "grants women the right to vote", this enforces a backwards way of thinking. Women always had the right to vote, however, they were frequently denied that right. The opposition to women's ability to vote in equality with man was most consistently and powerfully opposed by the Catholic Church, other Christian organisations, Islamic authorities and some other religious and secular traditionalists.

For more, see:

4. Prejudice Datasets

4.1. Anti-Semite Opinions

#antisemitism #christianity #germany #indonesia #jordan #judaism #laos #morocco #netherlands #pakistan #philippines #religion #religious_violence #saudi_arabia #spain #sweden #turkey #UK #vietnam

Anti-Semite Opinions
Lower is better
6
Pos.2014
%6
1Laos0
2Philippines3
3Sweden4
...
11=Czechia13
12=Canada14
12=New Zealand14
12=Australia14
15=Norway15
15=Ghana15
15=Finland15
18=Brazil16
Australasia Avg14.0
World Avg36.8
q=101.
Amongst the lowest in Australasia in terms of its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice, Australia ranks 13th-best in the world.

Anti-Semitism is the word given to irrational racism against Jews. It's not the same as anti-Judaism (arguments against the religion) nor the same as anti-Zionism (arguments against Israel). In history, influential Christian theologians concocted the arguments against Jews that led, very early on, to widespread Christian action against Jews28,29,30,31. As Christianity rose to power in the West and presided over the Dark Ages, there were repeated violent outbursts against Jews of the most horrible kind. Entire Crusades were aimed at them and the feared Spanish Inquisition paid Jews particular attention. The horror of the holocaust instigated by German Nazis in the 1940s was followed (finally) by the era of European human rights and a movement against racism in general.

The places that are the least anti-Semitical are a few countries of south-east Asia (Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam) and some of the secular liberal democracies of Europe (Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK). The worst countries for antisemitism are Islamic states of the Middle East32, which are undergoing their own Dark Age. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey see the most oppressive and violent actions towards Jews33,34. Jews in Muslim countries face a host of restrictions and "ceaseless humiliation and regular pogroms"35. In 2004 the European Union Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia reported on violent anti-Jew crimes in the EU and found that that largest group of perpetrators were young Muslim males36.

For more, see:

4.2. LGBT Equality

#australia #equality #homosexuality #human_rights #ICCPR #intolerance #sexuality #tolerance

In 2017 Australia voted overwhelmingly in favor of marriage equality, and parliament thusly approved a marriage equality law granting equal rights to LGBT folk.13.

LGBT Equality
Higher is better
9
Pos.2017
Score9
1Netherlands103
2Belgium90
3Sweden86
...
23Austria56
24Ireland53
25=Ecuador50
25=Australia50
25=Peru50
28Hungary49
29Israel48
30=Estonia45
Australasia Avg07.1
World Avg12.6
q=196.
Australia ranks 25th in the world in terms of LGBT equality (amongst the best in Australasia).

Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) folk is rife across the world. Legal restrictions co-exist alongside social stigmatisation and physical violence37. LGBT tolerance and equal rights have been fought for country-by-country across the world, often against tightly entrenched cultural and religious opposition. Adult consensual sexual activity is a Human Right, protected by privacy laws38. Despite this, homosexual activity is outlawed in around 80 countries37. The Social & Moral LGBT Equality Index was created to compare countries and regions, granting points to each country for a variety of factors including how long gay sex has been criminalized and the extent of LGBT legal rights. Graded negative points are given for criminality of homosexuality, unequal ages of consent, legal punishments and for not signing international accords on LGBT tolerance. The signs in many developed countries are positive, and things are gradually improving. Europe is by far the least prejudiced region (Scandinavia in particular being exemplary). The Middle East and then Africa are the least morally developed, where cultural bias goes hand-in-hand with state intolerance, all too often including physical violence.

For more, see:

4.3. Freedom of Thought

#europe #freedom_of_belief #freethought #human_rights #netherlands #religion #religious_tolerance #secularism #the_enlightenment

Freedom of Thought
Lower is better
12
Pos.202112
1=Belgium1.0
1=Taiwan1.0
1=Netherlands1.0
...
90=Moldova3.0
90=Mexico3.0
90=Tuvalu3.0
90=Australia3.0
90=Lesotho3.0
90=Switzerland3.0
90=El Salvador3.0
90=Serbia3.0
Australasia Avg2.6
World Avg3.0
q=196.
Australia comes 88th in the world with regard to freethought.

Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Belief are upheld in Article 18 the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights39. It affirms that it is a basic human right that all people are free to change their beliefs and religion as they wish40. No countries voted against this (although eight abstained). This right was first recognized clearly in the policies of religious toleration of the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe in the post-enlightenment era41 of the 19th century. In democratic countries, freedom of belief and religion is now taken for granted42. In 2016 a study found that over 180 countries in the world had come to guarantee freedom of religion and belief43. The best countries at doing so are Belgium, The Netherlands and Taiwan12,44 and the worst: Afghanistan, N. Korea, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia12,45.

Long-term studies have shown that religious violence and persecution both decrease in cultures where religious freedom is guaranteed46. Despite this, there still are many who are strongly against freedom of belief40, including entire cultures and many individual communities of religious believers. Their alternative is that you are not free to believe what you want and they often state that you cannot change religion without being punished (often including the death penalty): this is bemoaned as one of the most dangerous elements of religion47 and "the denial of religious freedoms is inevitably intertwined with the denial of other freedoms"48 and the solution is, everywhere, to allow religious freedom and the freedom of belief.

For more, see: