Former prime minister John Howard wrote an opinion piece in The Sydney Morning Herald arguing against a bill of rights for Australia. He warns that transferring ministerial decision-making to statutory authorities will reduce democracy and spell the triumph of elitism.

I still have not made up my mind. I am not satisfied with the arguments for such a bill and I have always believed that concepts of human rights must be balanced with the notion of human responsibility. Something the advocates of such a bill fail to articulate properly. We have become obsessed with rights, without any corresponding sense of duty, obligation or responsibility. Our privileges cannot be greater than our obligations.