The Federal Government’s hand-picking of human rights commissioners may put Australia's rights rating at risk. 

Lorraine Finlay has been appointed Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner by federal Attorney-General Michaelia Cash.

Ms Finlay is as law lecturer at Murdoch University and has worked as a senior human trafficking specialist with the Australian Mission to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), also as a state prosecutor at the WA Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). 

However, she is a former upper house candidate in Western Australia and president of the state’s Liberal Women’s Council.

In a a submission to the Ruddock religious freedoms inquiry that Ms Finlay co-authored in 2018, it was argued there is an unjustifiable imbalance between religious freedoms and anti-discrimination laws.

Additionally, she is a longstanding critic of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which makes it unlawful to offend, insult or humiliate someone on the basis of their race.

Tim Wilson was appointed the role of Australian Human Rights Commissioner in 2013, following a closed process dubbed ‘hand-picking’. 

Since then, the government has adopted open recruitment processes for commission appointments.

However, Ms Finlay’s appointment did not include this process. The Attorney-General did not advertise the position, nor was there any objective criteria available or an invitation for anyone else to put their hand up.

Australia’s Human Rights Commission is currently classified as an “A status” institution, meaning it has the right to attend and speak at UN Human Rights Council meetings and vote on the governance of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). 

Australia’s accreditation will be reviewed in early 2022, and some experts say its “A status” is now in jeopardy.