On January 26 many will reflect on what it means to live in Australia. Some may recall the great things about this country and its people, but we also reflect on the wrongs committed in this country’s name, and on how we want to shape our future as a nation.

In such reflection, it's inevitable that we think about our values. Not just "Australian values", but human ones, every person is entitled to basic rights and freedoms simply because we are human. That is the essence of our humanity. And while these rights cannot be taken away they can be (and in Australia for some they have been) violated.

The Federal Government is currently asking people in Australia how they want their human rights protected. Amnesty International is working to ensure as many people as possible take part in this consultation process. This is because a Human Rights Act would benefit all of us. Yes, it is the marginalised in our society who are most at risk, but a human rights approach to services and law is an asset to all.

Australia is currently the only liberal democracy in the world without national, overarching human rights protection. The right to vote, free speech, freedom of religion, housing, healthcare and education are all documented in the human rights movement's guiding document - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Australia was one of eight nations that helped draft this Declaration. Yet 60 years on we remain one of the few who have still not made the 30 rights a reality through our domestic law.

We have seen in recent times how vulnerable human rights are to being undermined by legislation and Government policy. For example, we see asylum-seekers in indefinite mandatory detention and we have witnessed the acceptance of the treatment of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib in the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

Today, if Parliament chooses to erode our human rights they can. As was done for many Indigenous Australians with the overturning of the Racial Discrimination Act and in regards to free speech, privacy and legal access with many aspects of our anti-terror laws - Parliament can simply do this.

The impacts of no Human Rights Act go further and wider. This is also about a teenage boy with a disability receiving healthcare that respects his dignity, an elderly woman enjoying her right to privacy in the aged-care facility where she lives, a worker's right to join a union.

While a Human Rights Act would not be a cure-all for all human rights abuses in Australia, it would raise the benchmark and would ensure the consideration of human rights at crucial times. It does not need to be about a complex, costly legal process - it's about a shift that places importance on dignity and equality in all settings.

Significantly, underlying a Human Rights Act is a system of education and training in places like the public service about rights-based approaches so day-to-day service provision and decision-making considers human rights.

The ACT and Victoria have implemented law to respect 19 separate human rights. People in Victoria and the ACT have a higher safeguard of consistent legislation - something to point to if it is believed that a breach of rights has taken place. Service providers are more aware of their responsibilities in upholding human rights.

In the UK, a Human Rights Act has had a real impact of people’s lives. Their Act has provided a practical tool for people facing discrimination, disadvantage or exclusion.

It is time to legally and formally protect human rights in this country. That would be something new to Australia for all to celebrate.