(d) Balancing rights and interests A Human Rights Act would provide a roadmap for making difficult decisions in light of intersecting rights and interests.79 A central principle of human rights law is there is no hierarchy of rights.80 Rights co-exist, with overlapping applications and inbuilt limitations to accommodate other human rights and interests. A comprehensive rights framework would include a ‘limitations clause’ to govern when limitations on human rights are permitted. The clause would set out a balancing process to be conducted by decision makers based on recognised international proportionality principles.81 The application of these principles would engender a consistent and principled approach to navigating the intersections between different individual rights and countervailing public interests that inevitably arise in a democracy. For example, a right to freedom of speech and a right to privacy would help ensure that national security measures are legitimate, proportionate and limit our free press to the least restrictive degree. A fragmented rights landscape breeds confusion and stokes unnecessary, artificial conflicts between perceived clashes of rights and between different sectors of the community.82 As the Law Council observed: it may not always be well understood that while some human rights are absolute, others may be limited provided that certain conditions are met. Instead, specific rights are sometimes raised by different community sectors in isolation, to the detriment of other rights and in a manner which can distort the debate. This reinforces the need for rights and freedoms to be protected in a coherent legal framework.83 Human rights are robust and flexible, and are capable of applying to a range of circumstances, including emergencies. A Human Rights Act would ensure that human rights are not an afterthought in times of crisis. 3.4 Preventative (a) Procedural measures enable early consideration of human rights A Human Rights Act would improve law and policy development by requiring proactive, upfront consideration of human rights at an early stage. This would help ensure that the human rights implications of decisions are properly considered, and improve the quality and accountability of decision making. At the centre of a dialogue Human Rights Act would be a positive duty on public authorities (the executive) to respect and protect human rights. This means that processes must be in place to consider human rights when making decisions and to prevent breaches. This in turn results in the embedding of internal protocols, guidelines, training, oversight and consultation requirements within public authorities, that guide decision-making processes. These procedural measures lead to substantive outcomes. Crucially, potential human rights breaches could be prevented or mitigated before they occur. Regarding the Victorian Charter, Professor George Williams explained that, the Victorian Charter of Rights is designed to prevent human rights problems arising in the first place by improving the work of government and Parliament in the making and application of laws and policies. It does so by ensuring that human rights principles are a mandatory part of governmental decision-making ... The Victorian Charter of Rights demonstrates that it is possible to look again at some of the most basic assumptions and beliefs that underlie our system of government, and as a result, to bring about legal reform.84 FREE AND EQUAL A Human Rights Act for Australia 2022 79