Australian Human Rights Commission Legislation Amendment (Selection and Appointment) Bill 2022

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" - parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill. Because the amendment was unsuccessful, the usual second reading motion will be left unchanged.

Note that amendments like this (that is, amendments to second reading motions) do not change the wording of the bill but are instead expressions of the will of the House.

In explaining why the Government would not be supporting this amendment, Attorney-General and Isaacs MP Mark Dreyfus said:

This bill solely concerns the process for the selection and appointment of existing statutory members of the commission. The bill is being progressed as a priority in order to urgently and directly address the concerns raised by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in its deferral of the reaccreditation of the commission as an A-status national human rights institution. While we of course understand the strong sentiment expressed by members of the community in support of a dedicated LGBTIQA+ commissioner, this bill is not the vehicle to create such a position.

Amendment text

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House calls on the Government to establish a Human Rights Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ people within the Australian Human Rights Commission".