FROM THE COMMISSIONER’S DESK ...

There is a lot to report since our last newsletter. The Commission published its first Annual Report which clearly documented the successes of our first six months. We proudly celebrated our first anniversary, coinciding as it does with International Human Rights Day, and the Cairns office effected a smooth relocation out of the Cairns courthouse to new, larger premises in Spence Street.

The Annual Report only covers the first six months of operation - from the time the Commission was established in early December 1996 through to 30 June 1997. Despite this our list of achievements has silenced the initial critics. We effectively dispensed with early suspicions about our independence, clearly demonstrating on a number of occasions that the Commission can be an effective and fearless critic of proposed Government action.

’The new organisation no longer harbours a backlog of cases. During the reporting period, the Commission closed a staggering 624 cases whilst continuing to receive around 100 fresh complaints per month.’

Perhaps the most significant achievement was the success of the complaint management overhaul which was clearly reflected in the complaint statistics. The new organisation no longer harbours a backlog of cases. During the reporting period, the Commission closed a staggering 624 cases whilst continuing to receive around 100 fresh complaints per month. Now, the majority of cases are between six to twelve months old, with only around 2% being over the two year old mark. This is consistent with preliminary bench marking comparisons of interstate Commissions.

The overhaul of the complaint management process warrants further reference. Basically, major policy initiatives were introduced designed to inject a higher regard for fundamental principles of natural justice. A more rigorous legal assessment is performed upon receipt of complaints to ensure the threshold requirements of the Act are met. Similarly, once a complaint is assessed as within jurisdiction, respondents are notified immediately and given the opportunity to respond to the allegation. This significant change of focus truly reflects the intended role of the Commission as the independent umpire, has proven immensely successful and has been well received among the peak stakeholder groups.

The aim for this year is now to match our success in the complaint handling function with equal success in the community relations function of the Commission. Our initial priorities last year were to ensure as little disruption as possible to those parties who had existing complaints on foot with the Commission, so obviously our visibility within the community suffered. Now that we have achieved that goal, we aim to be seen and heard as a strong presence and voice within the community. We aim to also market our expertise on a fee for service basis for the provision of in-house training for business, industry and the public sector.

The other highlight since our last newsletter was of course the celebration of our first anniversary, coinciding with International Human Rights Day. We organised a celebratory function which was well attended by representatives of the key stakeholder groups, the Attorney-General and Shadow Attorney-General, Tribunal members, Indigenous elders, and Directors-General. We worked hard to coincide the celebration with the launch of a number of new Commission publications, a video production and our new Commission web-site. Mr Ian Dearden, President of the Civil Liberties Council, was kind enough to do the official launch. Ian’s speech was a timely reminder of how far we had come. He was the first to admit that, initially, he was one of the loudest to voice suspicion and concerns about the new organisation but was equally the first to sing our accolades and relieved to admit that his initial concern have been proven untrue!

A number of functions throughout December also demonstrated that the State Commission works co-operatively and professionally with our Commonwealth colleagues. I participated with my colleague, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Moira Scollay in the launch of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s video production "Which Way", designed to ensure indigenous women are better informed of their rights. We also attended the national Commissioners’ forum which was sadly marked by the impending departure of the Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Elizabeth Hastings and the Social Justice Commissioner, Mr Mick Dodson. Ms Hastings worked tirelessly to heighten awareness of impairment issues and successfully brought disability issues to a public focus which had previously been unprecedented. Mr Dodson’s contribution as the first (and unfortunately last) Social Justice Commissioner with the Stolen Generation inquiry will undoubtedly shape how history records the level of compassion of our national identity. The contribution of both Ms Hastings and Mr Dodson will be sorely missed.

On that note, can I just say in closing that I hope the festive season, symbolising as it does a period of generosity and the act of giving, brought with it an opportunity, particularly for those who have not pondered on the issue before, to reflect upon the injustices of our past treatment of our indigenous brothers and sisters. I truly hope that reason prevails throughout this new year to reconcile these issues with humility and compassion.

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