Rights and responsibilities: reclaiming human rights in political discourse

Discussion regarding the balance and inherent worth of both rights and responsibilities is long-standing and exists outside the political domain. In recent times neo-conservative political agendas, including in Australia, have diminished the currency of rights with policy swings towards responsibilities and obligations, targeted at the most marginalised groups. At the same time rights are recognised and selectively applied to dominant and privileged groups in society. This paper explores some of the philosophical and political concepts of rights and responsibilities, grounding this discussion in Australian case examples of policies of responsibility directed at two groups 'othered' in the dominant policy domain - Indigenous Australians and migrants and refugees. Analysing these examples through the framework of horizontal and vertical axes of political obligation, we propose that both rights and responsibilities can provide a useful schema for critiquing and understanding Australian policies. They also provide leads for vigilance for policy activists and policy practitioners to ensure a critical engagement with ongoing policy trends.