MARK DREYFUS
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
RESIGNATION OF AAT PRESIDENT
Labor acknowledges the resignation of the President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and thanks him for his service on the Tribunal.
Through no fault of his own, Justice Thomas’ tenure as President was marked by the unprecedented stacking of the Tribunal with Liberal Party mates.
Over the past eight years, successive Liberal Governments have appointed at least 79 former Liberal Party politicians and candidates and former Liberal staffers and associates to the AAT, where the most senior full-time members are paid almost $500,000 a year and even junior members are paid at least $190,000.
Many of those Liberal-linked members have been falling well short of the performance benchmarks set for them and, in some cases, not turning up for work at all.
Almost a quarter of those Liberal mates were appointed just weeks before the last election.
With another election now imminent, the Attorney-General must ensure any further appointments to the AAT, and in particular the next President, are chosen solely on the basis of merit, not their party-political connections.
Each year, tens of thousands of Australians rely on the tribunal to conduct an independent review of decisions by Commonwealth ministers and public servants. These decisions that can have life-altering impacts on people's lives, such as whether an older Australian receives an age pension, whether a veteran receives a service pension, whether a participant of the NDIS receives funding for essential support or whether a refugee obtains a visa.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal is there to serve the interests of all Australians, not just the Liberal Party and its mates.
TUESDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2022
