Advisory Board of the Human Rights are Aussie Rules Project
Matthew Benetti
Matthew is the Director of the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival, a nation wide festival dedicated to making human rights accessible and relevant to the broader Australian community. Along with a team of energetic people, Matthew sources the best and boldest art and film across the globe whilst also supporting Australian filmmakers with a passion for human rights. Matthew is currently working on the program for the HRAFF, due in April 2010.
James Demetriou
James is the newly appointed Executive Officer of Learning and Life Centre at Arden Street, a project connected to the North Melbourne Football Club that promotes education, health and sport as a means to enhance community spirit and social cohesion.
He is also Chairman of the Sports without Borders Foundation, a non profit organisation supporting access to sporting opportunities for new arrivals to Australia, a project he founded with his son Tom. He was heavily involved with the AFL’s Peace Team, a collaborative project between the Peres Centre for Peace and the AFL, aimed at uniting young Palestinians and Israelis on the sports field.
James holds a Law Degree, Master of International Business from the University of Melbourne and is an Alumni of the Anderson Business School at UCLA. He is also the Director of Professional Education and Community, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship at Swinburne University.
Dr Paula Gerber
Paula is the Deputy Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University. Prior to commencing academic life she spent 20 years in private practice, during which time worked as a solicitor in London, an attorney in Los Angeles before settling in Melbourne to become partner at a leading Melbourne law firm.
Prior to coming to Monash in 2004, Paula was at the University of Melbourne where she was Director of Studies, Construction Law in the Law School and a Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Architecture Building & Planning. She completed her PhD in 2008, with her doctoral thesis examining the implementation of Article 29 (on human rights education) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Paula has lectured in Human Rights Theory at the University of Prishtina in Kosovo and recently released a book on Human Rights Education, From Convention to Classroom: the Long Road to Human Rights Education.
Nick Hatzoglou
Nick is the Manager AFL Multicultural Development Unit aims to bring Australian football opportunities closer to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
He is Australian-born with Greek heritage and a passion for sport. He combines experience gained within the multicultural sector, local government and Cricket Victoria with his admiration of sport more broadly.
Nick acknowledges the role sport plays in nurturing community interaction and believes Australian football can play an important role in developing peoples understanding of each other.
His formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement) and a Post Graduate Certificate in Event Management
Dyson Hore-Lacy SC
Dyson is a Senior Counsel at the Victorian Bar with over forty years experience representing marginalised and disadvantaged clients. Dyson has practiced extensively in cases involving human rights abuses in Australia, including for Aboriginals in the Northern Territory and Western Australia and people injured in car accidents and workplaces.
He is currently Senior Counsel in Horvath v Australia, a complaint to United Nations Human Rights Committee made on behalf of a victim of police violence who has been unable to access justice using existing human rights laws in Australia.
In addition to his legal work, Dyson is devoted to Australian Rules Football. He is Chairman of the Fitzroy Football Club, having been President of Fitzroy during its difficult transition to Brisbane. A recollection of his experiences were captured in his book Fitzroy.
Helen Killmier
Helen is the General Manager Community Services for Interact Australia, a not-for-profit organisation with a focus on both disability and employment, with a wide range of activity across Australia. In this role she works in partnership development, community capacity building, social policy and strategic planning.
A community psychologist, Helen spent 12 years in local government in management positions working directly with communities. Helen has been the Chairperson of Eastern Community Legal Centre since 2006.
Justin Mulally
Justin is the Deputy Vice President of the Secondary Division of the Australian Education Union (Vic Branch). He was involved in the ACTU’s Your Rights at Work campaign and provides support and advocacy for 160,000 teachers at state schools across Victoria.
He is also the Convenor of the Victorian Human Rights Education Committee, a network of faith groups, academics, lawyers, teachers and community based human rights advocates committed to improving human rights education in Australia. The organization is affiliated to the National Human Rights Education Committee.
Dr Diane Sisley
Di is Director of the Australian Centre for Human Rights Education hosted by RMIT University. She is Co-Chair of Reconciliation Victoria and a Member of the Victorian Mental Health Review Board. She is a founding Board Member of the Human Rights Law Resource Centre and a Member of the Committee for Liberty Victoria. Dr Sisely leads the Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria from 1994 -2004 and previously chaired the Victorian Department of Human Services’ Human Research Ethics Committee. She has extensive knowledge and experience in working with all sectors of society to further respect for human rights.
Our Staff
Michael Smith
Michael Smith has been the Manager of Eastern Community Legal Centre since July 2004.
In that time the service has more than tripled in size and developed at a range of levels to better serve the Eastern Region’s communities. ECLC has a focus on family violence issues and has partnered with 3 other services to establish Seniors Rights Victoria. It also undertakes a range of community development and education projects across all ages and backgrounds in the east.
Michael originally trained as a youth worker (BA in Youth Affairs from RMIT in 1991) and completed a Master of Social Work at La Trobe in 2004. He has worked across the community sector in homelessness, local government, community development, community management and partnership building.
Currently, Michael is also the chairperson of Family Access Network, a youth homelessness service, involved in legal and family violence networks and other projects across the Eastern metropolitan region. He is the Victorian representative on the NACLC (National Association of CLCs) Management Committee.
Michael is President of the Olympic Village Primary School Council in Heidelberg West, connected with local issues and Treasurer of the Banyule Junior Football Club. He and his family are passionate Essendon fans.
Tanja Kovac – Project Co-ordinator
Tanja has over twelve years experience in the legal, education and human rights sectors.
Tanja began her career as a lawyer acting in a number of high profile human rights cases including the Richmond Secondary College “Baton Charge” claims and MV Tampa case. She was heavily involved in lobbying for the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities and has been an outspoken supporter of a Federal Human Rights Act, gaining media attention in The Australian, The Age and The Canberra Times.
Tanja has experience managing philanthropic organisations with a human rights focus. In addition to her legal work she consults on cause-related campaigning, fundraising and strategic organisational management to NGO’s in the faith, education, legal and women’s sectors.
Tanja is also a poet and writer whose work has appeared in online journals Crikey, New Matilda and the literary journal, Overland. She currently blogs about human rights at http://thehumanwriter.blogspot.com/
