Christa Tobler speaks at the University of Tasmania (Australia) about age discrimination
During a visit to the University of Tasmania on 26 February 2025, Christa Tobler organised a staff seminar on the topic ‘Do we need a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons?’
The background to the seminar is an anthology entitled: ‘Realising Protection from Age Discrimination. International, Regional, and National Perspectives’, which is expected to be published by Edward Elgar in August 2025 in the series 'Elgar Studies in Law and Society'. The editors are Helen Meenan (visiting professor at Kingston University, London, and Christa Tobler (see here for more information on the book).
Australia is a particularly interesting country for the subject matter of the book because it has comparatively comprehensive legislation on age discrimination. However, as in many other countries, practice leaves much to be desired (Australia is by no means alone in this). A UN convention could provide new impetus here. It would also be useful because Australia does not have a catalogue of fundamental rights and only three of the six member states have such a catalogue. A better anchoring in fundamental rights would therefore be desirable and necessary.