1 year of human rights violations.
Couran Cove, 1 year, no water, no electricity, no gas, no sewerage. People have been forced from their homes. The disabled and elderly as with all residents continue to suffer.
More than a year of pleading
This breaches a variety of human rights. The right to water, including for sanitation.
What are relevant governments Human Rights responsibilities?
1. According to DFAT, "Australia is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). By ratifying a treaty, a country voluntarily accepts legal obligations under international law."
2. ICESCR General Comment No. 15 Clearly states "Under no circumstances shall an individual be deprived of the minimum essential level of water".
The obligation to protect requires State parties to prevent third parties from interfering in any way with the enjoyment of the right to water. Third parties include individuals, groups, corporations and other entities as well as agents acting under their authority. The obligation includes, inter alia, adopting the necessary and effective legislative and other measures to restrain, for example, third parties from denying equal access to adequate water; and polluting and inequitably extracting from water resources, including natural sources, wells and other water distribution systems.
Where water services (such as piped water networks, water tankers, access to rivers and wells) are operated or controlled by third parties, States parties must prevent them from compromising equal, affordable, and physical access to sufficient, safe and acceptable water. To prevent such abuses an effective regulatory system must be established, in conformity with the Covenant and this General Comment, which includes independent monitoring, genuine public participation and imposition of penalties for non-compliance.
The good times
Australia has been through good times. These good times have led to weak leaders. These weak leaders are leading us to bad times.
The Apathy
After more than a year of begging, the people of Couran Cove still find themselves without some of the most fundamental of human needs and human rights.
Every politician approached about these human rights violations passes on the buck, saying it's not their responsibility or there's nothing they can do. From the local council to the Prime Minister Albanese.
Lip Service
The government pays
Both the state and federal Human Rights Commissions say it's not a right they involve themselves with. If it's not a human right on their list they don't want to even hear about it.
Where does the buck stop?
If no part of the government is willing help, to work against these clear human rights violations, where does the buck stop? The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
You bring the human rights violations to his attention and the period of time this has been unresolved... His response is similar to the rest.
The Prime Minister, the Honourable Anthony Albanese MP, has referred your email of 17 March 2024 regarding a Couran Cove strata dispute to the Premier for a response. I have been requested to reply to you on behalf of the Premier of Queensland. As the matter you have raised falls within the responsibility of the Honourable Meaghan Scanlon MP, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning and Minister for Public Works your email has been forwarded to her office for consideration and appropriate action. Thank you for taking the time to write on this matter. Yours sincerely Office of the Premier of Queensland
Thanks for passing it on without responding to us. Thanks for reframing our complaint of human rights violations under international treaties as a strata dispute and passing it on, yet again.
Honourable Anothony Albanese?
What is honour?
1. high respect; great esteem.
2. the quality of knowing and doing what is morally right.
3. fulfil (an obligation) or keep (an agreement).
How do any of these apply to the Dishonourable Anothony Albanese?
Opinion
The lack of concern and consideration by the government about human rights violations in Australia is a complete shock. The government not protecting the residents from having their water disconnected is in itself a violation of their obligation to protect the right to water even against disconnection by third parties and to ensure "under no circumstances shall an individual be deprived of the minimum essential level of water"..