In an Australian first the ACT Government has today enshrined the right to a healthy environment in the ACT’s Human Rights Act.
The Human Rights (Healthy Environment) Amendment Bill 2023, passed today, provides express statutory recognition for the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
The right to a healthy environment has been recognised to include a right to clean air, a safe climate, access to safe water and to healthy and sustainably produced food, non-toxic environments in which to live, work, study and play, and healthy biodiversity and ecosystems.
This is an important step having regard to the triple planetary threat of climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss. Introducing the right is consistent with growing international consensus and practice around the importance of environmental protections for current and future generations.
In an ACT context, the right will also ensure environmental and climate considerations feature in public authority functions and decision-making.
Due to the work that will be required by a wide variety of public authorities and directorates to fully understand and implement the right in decision-making and policies, this commencement will be up to 6 months after the Bill has been notified. The proposed commencement time is necessary to plan and develop guidance, operational and instructional material and to deliver training to those who will need to apply the new right when exercising their functions.
Complaints about breaches of the right to a healthy environment will be able to be made to the ACT Human Rights Commission under the new human rights complaints pathway being established by the Government.
Consideration of a right to a healthy environment was part of the Parliamentary Agreement of the 10th Legislative Assembly, with the ACT Government going further.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Human Rights Tara Cheyne:
“The ACT is the first Australian jurisdiction to enshrine the right to a healthy environment in our human rights framework, demonstrating our continued leadership as a human rights jurisdiction.
“This is a significant Bill. It demonstrates the commitment of the ACT Government to ensure our environment is protected for Canberrans of the present and future. There is a growing body of national, regional and international law that recognises the close relationship between human rights and the environment.
“Climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss are serious challenges that our community will face, and with these challenges come significant impacts on human rights, including the right to life and the right to equality, as well as the wellbeing of our community. There is an increasingly urgent need for real action to prevent irreversible impacts to our environment from climate change.
“The ACT continues to be a leader in human rights both nationally and internationally, and this Bill takes an unprecedented step in human rights legislation reform in Australia.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment Rebecca Vassarotti:
“In 2019, the ACT Government took a bold step by declaring climate change a ‘climate emergency’. Now, five years later, we are advancing this commitment by embedding the right to a healthy environment into the Human Rights Act. This move ensures that climate action becomes a responsibility for all future governments.
“This decision is crucial for protecting the future of our planet, especially for the younger generations. My hope is that the ACT Government’s leadership will set a precedent, inspiring other states, territories, and countries to follow suit.
“The decisions being made by politicians now will have a far-reaching impact on the lives of young people for decades to come. By enshrining the right to a healthy environment in our Human Rights Act, we are safeguarding the future of our nature reserves, the environment in our suburbs, and the wellbeing of future generations.
“This change honours the deep-rooted wisdom and way of life upheld by First Nations in Australia for millennia. It acknowledges that a healthy and positive relationship with the environment is fundamental to a thriving and fulfilling life.”
