"Respect independent statutory bodies as central to democracy"

Professor Danielle Celermajer of the University of Sydney on The Conversation: independent statutory bodies such as the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Office of Australian Information Commissioner are established by laws passed by Parliament to ensure that all arms of government respect the full range of laws.

"If we are to continue to reap the benefits of this system, we all need to keep in mind the value of democracy. When our highest political representative moves to undermine the legally constituted organs of democracy, all Australians have something to worry about. Respect for independent statutory bodies is not a matter for party politics or personality differences. Democracy is not a partisan issue."