Human Rights Day feels different this year

In our final episode of 2025, Dr Julie Macken reflects on a year marked by secrecy in government, stalled human rights reform in Australia, and the devastating normalisation of genocide, war, and systemic abuse across the globe.

Julie unpacks:

• Why Australia still has no Human Rights Act
• How secrecy and disappearing communications undercut democracy
• How the genocide in Gaza is reshaping global norms
• What happens when abuse becomes “normal” — and how communities can push back
• Why our expectations of dignity, respect, and justice must be reclaimed

This is a sobering conversation but, also a reminder that we choose what becomes normalised. And choosing human rights is still possible.

Take a breath, take a break, and take this with you into the new year.