Dr Ben Saunders is a senior lecturer in constitutional law at Deakin University who recently wrote a piece for the ABC on the human rights implications of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.

This exclusive interview was the first time he appeared on video as an academic.

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ABC article by Dr Ben Saunders:

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/human-rights-and-mandatory-covid-19-vaccinations/13577278

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2:43 How Human Rights fit within the Australian legal system

3:48 The Australian legal system is different to the US legal system

5:35 The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities is toothless

8:08 Where do we get our human rights from?

8:38 Strong human rights relies on an effective political system

10:48 The medicalisation of politics and the politicisation of medical science

12:35 The rise of technocracy and the inability to measure cost/benefit ratios

15:20 We need more experts speaking about ethics!

16:48 Have we lost the culture of human rights?

21:03 Are we ignoring the Australian Constitution?

22:22 What the Constitution says about medical treatments

26:09 The Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021

29:37 How is this different to a dictatorship?

33:36 There is now no area of life exempt from political and government control

35:37 What could be next for the Government to control

37:05 Should Human Rights protections be understood from a Natural Rights perspective or Positive Rights?

40:25 Is there an optimal system – The US system vs the Australian System?

42:45 Finding pleasure in law

44:01 The social environment that formed the Australian Constitution

45:10 Competitive Federalism lacking in Australia

46:20 The Australian Constitution’s importance compared to the US Constitution

47:57 The Victorian Constitution is not a constitution

49:18 Australian states can be constituted without a constitution

50:18 How do we determine derogable and non-derogable rights?

53:22 The European Union

54:12 Has the historical momentum of human rights been positive?

56:47 Is law is a lagging indicator of culture or does it create culture?

1:00:11 What is the future of human rights?