Anthony Ravlich

Anthony George Ravlich (born 1949) is New Zealand activist, politician and writer in the area of human rights, especially in relation to economic, social and cultural rights.

Background
Ravlich was born in Auckland in 1949 and attended St Peter's College, Auckland, and later obtained degrees in Politics (MA), Statistics (BSc) and Criminology (Dip Crim (Hons)) at the University of Auckland.

Human rights
He became fully involved in human rights in 1991 and pioneered the promotion of economic, social, and cultural rights in New Zealand, writing articles, giving talks in the community, and hosting a human rights show on Planet Radio for eighteen months. He is associated with Psychiatric Survivors in 1992 and in 2001 formed the New Zealand Human Rights Council of which he is chairperson.

Politics
Ravlich was a founder of the Human Rights Party to emphasise "economic, social and cultural rights" as well as civil and political freedoms. The latter form the basis of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 but the Party believes that the former should also be included to make for a just society. Ravlich represented the Party in standing as a candidate in the Mt Albert electorate in the 2005 New Zealand general election. He was subsequently convicted and fined $200 for refusing to file the required return of electoral expenses. The reason for his refusal was his belief that the Government did not fund the Human Rights Commission adequately. In the 2008 New Zealand general election, Ravlich stood in the Auckland Central electorate.