Mark Dreyfus has been appointed Australia’s special envoy on human rights. Is the government prepared to match international advocacy with concrete action at home – by finally legislating a Human Rights Act?

A repost from 5 December 2025

So, Mark Dreyfus – in the words of our Prime Minister, “one of the most accomplished and widely respected parliamentarians of recent decades” – is to be our “champion”, our “special envoy” on human rights.

A “supremo”, perhaps – but one, we hope, not in the style of Yes, Minister’s Jim Hacker, who, it might be recalled was appointed “transport supremo” in an episode entitled The Bed of Nails.

This was after the Transport Secretary had turned the job down, and the civil service was entirely dead to the idea. So, the Cabinet Secretary proposed a candidate who could create “lots of activity, but no actual achievement”.

In announcing Dreyfus’s appointment, Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. “In particular, Mr Dreyfus will take a special advocacy role for the abolition of the death penalty, as well as for the rights and protections of children, older persons, people living with a disability and LGBTIQ individuals – all issues on which Australia has a long record of international leadership.”

That’s all fine and good and no doubt will involve “lots of activity”, but how about our “champion” takes the fight up for the “actual achievement” of a Human Rights Act for Australia?

Albanese and Wong noted, “His high standing as a parliamentarian means he can work effectively with other parliamentary........

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