Queensland Council for Civil Liberties
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| Formation | 1966 |
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| Type | NGO |
| Headquarters | Brisbane, Australia |
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President, Vice-president
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Michael Cope, Terry O'Gorman |
| Website | http://www.qccl.org.au |
The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties (QCCL) is a voluntary organisation in Australia concerned with the protection of individual rights and civil liberties. It was founded in 1966 in order "to protect and promote the human rights and freedoms of Queensland citizens." The QCCL is regularly asked by the Government to make submissions to committees, which is how bills are made in Parliament. These submissions cover issues such as closed circuit television, abortion law reform, sentencing issues in our court system and changes to legislation already in place, which are called amendments.
In 1979, Terry O'Gorman was elected President of the QCCL and served as president up until 1985. He again held presidency from 1990 to 1994. He is currently the Vice President of the QCCL. O'Gorman specialises in criminal law. The Fitzgerald Inquiry began in 1987 and Tony Fitzgerald, QC, was appointed as its head on 26 May. The inquiry was a turning point in the fight for civil rights and the investigation of police misconduct and corruption. During the Inquiry, Terry O'Gorman cross-examined Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who had attempted to shut down the inquiry unsuccessfully.
The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties is a sub-branch of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, established in 1936. The Australian Council for Civil Liberties gives a national voice for Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian civil liberties councils.The continual violations of civil liberties in Queensland, particularly the suppression of civil rights during Protests against the Vietnam War, led to the formation of the QCCL.
Meetings
On 20 June 1966, the first meeting to establish a Queensland Council for Civil Liberties was held. This meeting was disrupted by groups of left and right wing political persuasions who disagreed on how to achieve the major objectives of the Council
A second meeting was held on 19 August 1966, but again this meeting was infiltrated by the right wing organisation The Catholic Action Group who aimed to prevent the Council obtaining a left-wing orientation. At this meeting the group dominated the newly formed council with conservative views and altered the name of this newly evolving civil liberties group to 'The Queensland Association for Civil Liberties.' Due to this takeover, many members withdrew and The Queensland Association for Civil Liberties once again changed its name, this time to the Ombudsman Association of Queensland.
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