Coronavirus: Curfews ‘a violation of people’s rights and freedoms’

Liberal MP Tim Wilson has asked the Australian Human Rights Commission to examine whether Victoria’s arbitrary curfews were a violation of people’s ‘rights and freedoms’.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson. Picture: Alix Sweeney

Liberal MP Tim Wilson has asked the Australian Human Rights Commission to examine whether Victoria’s arbitrary curfews were a violation of people’s “rights and freedoms”, given they were not based on health advice.

The Victorian MP, a former human rights commissioner, has also demanded an investigation into the curfew from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.

In emails to leaders of both organisations, Mr Wilson wrote that “citizens’ rights and freedoms (are) being limited based on the ease and efficiency of the powers of the state against the rights and freedoms of Victorians”.

Mr Wilson wrote that, given the state’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, said the 9pm to 5am curfew was not based on medical advice, the rule could be in violation of international human rights laws that provide a framework for AHRC and VEOHRC.

“If there was a public health basis for the curfew, it could be justified as reasonable, necessary, justified and proportionate,” he wrote.

“However, the Victorian Chief Health Officer has now outlined that this is not reasonable, not necessary, does not have justification and is not proportionate.

“Subsequently, the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, has outlined that the basis for the curfew is designed to minimise demand on police resources by having the ‘clearest simplest set of rules’.

“In practice, that amounts to citizens’ rights and freedoms being limited based on the ease and efficiency of the powers of the state against the rights and freedoms of Victorians.”

In his email to AHRC president Rosalind Croucher, Mr Wilson said the curfew was in breach of the freedom of movement provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“I therefore write to seek your clarification of whether: (1) You believe the Victorian curfew can be justified on human rights grounds, and whether it is a prima facie violation of the human rights of Victorians without justification. To my mind, it is unjustified and does not meet the justification for a limitation on Victorians’ human rights; (2) There are grounds for the AHRC to take action in light of the significant limitation on the rights and freedoms imposed on Victorians by the curfew for the ease of government interests.”

In a separate email to VEOHRC commissioner Kristen Hilton, Mr Wilson pointed to potential breaches of human rights under the Victorian Charter of Rights and Responsibilities. Section 12 of the charter states: “Every person lawfully within Victoria has the right to move freely within Victoria and to enter and leave it and has the freedom to choose where to live”.

Mr Wilson was dubbed the “Freedom Commissioner” for his strident defence of freedom of speech when he served on the AHRC from 2014 to 2016.

He won the seat of Goldstein at the 2016 election.