THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION APPOINTMENT
Labor warmly welcomes the appointment of Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM as the next President of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).
Professor Croucher has done an outstanding job as President of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), a position she has held since 2009. Under her leadership, the Commission has completed landmark reports on elder abuse, native title, and family violence. Professor Croucher has a history of working with both parties in a cooperative fashion.
Prior to her role at the ALRC, Professor Croucher held a number of senior roles as a legal academic, including Dean of Law at Macquarie University in Sydney. She received an Order of Australia in 2015 as a mark of her leadership in law and her contribution to legal reform.
Professor Croucher will do a fine job as President of the AHRC it is a credit to the Commission that it will again be led by an extremely accomplished and competent female leader, following the conclusion of Professor Gillian Triggs term as President.
As President, Professor Triggs has had to defend the Commission and herself against an endless stream of unfair and unjust criticism. This criticism has been driven by people who believe the AHRC itself should not exist, and should not play the important role of protecting Australians from abuse of their human rights. Professor Triggs has withstood this pressure with grace and fortitude.
Her advocacy on behalf of minorities in Australia, and her fearlessness in holding governments of both sides to account, will be her important legacy.
Labor hopes that Professor Croucher will not be made to face the same ideological warfare her predecessor had to deal with. It is time for this to stop, and allow Professor Croucher to do her job in leading the AHRC in its important work.
TUESDAY, 20 JUNE 2017
