Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion in relation to this report, government document No. 8, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner—Report for 2008—Social Justice, and to speak to the report.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I thank the Senate for its indulgence. The Social Justice Report 2008, tabled in April, is by Mr Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, and he is of course a member of the Australian Human Rights Commission. The report is very substantial. It makes a whole range of observations and recommendations, and it was tabled at a time when, at the end of April, Mr Tom Calma, as the Race Discrimination Commissioner and one of the five commissioners of the Australian Human Rights Commission, was heading to a UN anti-racism conference in Geneva.

The Australian government, a day before the conference actually started, officially boycotted the conference and created a dilemma for itself—and, indeed, for Australia. The conference, unfortunately, was used as a platform to attack Israel, and Iran’s president, Moahmoud Ahmadinejad, on the opening day of the conference condemned Israel as a racist regime. So the federal government officially boycotted the conference. However, Mr Tom Calma did go. He, of course, is paid for by the Australian taxpayer, and he was there representing himself as the Race Discrimination Commissioner and as a member of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

I called at that time on the government to immediately recall the commissioner from this conference—though that was not acceded to—and I know that many others did as well. Our shadow minister Julie Bishop likewise called on the government to get its act together and officially boycott the conference—sadly, it was only a day before it started, so it had placed itself in an undeniably difficult and challenging position.

I want to note that this particular conference was referred to at some length in the Australian newspaper. David Knoll in his article in that paper on 30 April said this:

The decision of Tom Calma to attend last week’s UN Durban II Conference in his capacity as race discrimination commissioner was controversial in more ways than one. The principal proponents of the conference, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and various rogue states, including some of the worst abusers of human rights on this planet, had two clear agendas.

He went on to refer to those agendas, and then he said that:

The proponents of the conference will have noticed inevitably that Australia (along with the US, Israel, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany) publicly chose not to participate in a conference whose clear design, prepared during many months, was to promote a particular form of racism rather than to fight all forms of racism. Having an official as senior as the race discrimination commissioner attend as an observer could be perceived as a signal that Australia might in the future adopt some or all of the Durban II agenda.

He went on to say:

Did Australia really oppose the conference or was Australia having a bet both ways? It is a pity that Calma did not follow Australian government policy and have no truck with racism of any hue.

Those were the comments of David Knoll on 30 April in the Australian. I concur with those comments and the concerns that he has.

This was first raised in the Australian on 23 April. Patricia Karvelas did a story headed ‘Race Discrimination Commissioner Tom Calma attends UN racism meeting in Geneva’. The article says:

A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said it was entirely up to Mr Calma if he wanted to attend. “He is an independent authority. His attendance is entirely a matter for him,” …

Legally, if you look at the legislation that set up the Australian Human Rights Commission, that is partly right, but I have asked the question before: is the Australian Human Rights Commission a law unto itself? It is paid by taxpayers’ money to conduct itself in an appropriate manner and to ensure that the objectives of that legislation are properly met, but in this instance I am very fearful that that was not the case. I wonder why the Australian Human Rights Commission and Mr Calma did not return—in fact, why he left Australia in any event for this particular conference. I notice that the Australian reports:

Former Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Jeremy Jones said Mr Calma should have boycotted the forum.

He is quoted as saying:

Last time the race discrimination commissioner was part of the Australian government delegation, so I don’t know where he would sit …

That is a fair question. He says:

… his wage comes from the Government, he is on the Government’s payroll.

What sort of message does it send to the international community? Clearly, I—and, I know, many others—have a concern about what sort of message it sends to the international community.

In my view, the government’s refusal to recall Mr Calma, or its lack of influence over Mr Calma, is inexcusable. In fact, it was a pathetic effort on the part of the government. His presence at the conference signalled that Australia condones anti-Jewish rhetoric and, sadly, it associates us with such comments. I want to place on the record—with many others, I know—that absolutely under no circumstances would we associate ourselves with those particular comments.

I said at the time and say again on the record here that during Senate estimates in a few weeks time, at the end of May, I will be asking some questions of the Australian Human Rights Commission. I will be asking Mr Calma some questions. I would like to know, on behalf of the public, about how much of our taxpayers’ money is being and has been spent on this misconceived excursion. I have not seen any public statement by the Australian Human Rights Commission condemning the Iranian President’s speech. Maybe it is out there—maybe it has been made and I have missed it—but I look forward to pursuing that in further detail.

I know it is on the record that Mr Calma is paid over $200,000 per annum by the government, and of course his presence would be seen by many as representing Australia at this clearly discredited UN conference. These are the concerns that I have, and I think they are concerns that are held by many in the community. There is certainly more to find out with respect to the views about and the reasons why this whole misconceived excursion took place.

Question agreed to.