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

The majority voted against amendments introduced by NSW Senator David Shoebridge (Greens), which means they failed.

What do these amendments do?

Senator Shoebridge explained that:

As I indicated in my second reading contribution, these amendments seek to amend the bill to provide for an LGBTIQA+ human rights commissioner. The Greens have been approached by a variety of organisations and community groups, from across the broader law reform community but especially from the LGBTIQA+ community, who have been asking for this for decades. We've been approached by Just.Equal Australia, who raised the very real issue that the reform in the bill just does not go far enough, and that's why we're moving for the well-overdue appointment of a standalone LGBTIQA+ human rights commissioner.

In response, Queensland Senator Anthony Chisholm (Labor) explained that:

We certainly understand the strong sentiment that has been expressed by members of the community over a long period of time now about a dedicated LGBTIQA+ commissioner, but we are of the view, as I mentioned in summing up, that this bill is not the vehicle to create such a position. The government recognises that it's important to consider how the commission can best operate to promote and protect the human rights of all members of the Australian community, including LGBTIQA+ people.

There is no doubt that there will be further discussion on this proposal, as well as other opportunities to strengthen the work of the commission in the future, but the critical issue that this bill will address is restoring the international standing of our commission by urgently addressing the specific issues around transparent and merit based appointments raised by the global alliance to support the commission's reaccreditation. That is what the focus of this bill is today. As I mentioned before, it is not possible to make such changes as this and for it to go back to the House of Representatives.