So shall we add human rights to the long list...

[i-need-a-martini]

...of stuff ups made by the Abbott Government?

The government has appointed (without any recruitment process, merit considerations, interview and even without the GG approval which is the usual process) the anti Human Rights Commission advocate, Tim Wilson as the (and this is truly true) Australian Human Rights Commissioner.

In case you don't know who Wilson is, I can fill you in just a little -

• has campaigned for years to have the AHRC disbanded. And lo and behold, here he is RUNNING it. Go figure.
• right winged extremist who is obsessed with left winged so-called communist activities and thinks all Labor supporters have a communist hiding under their bed. 
• Thinks that health warnings on cigarettes are "nanny state" (his favourite term) politics
• is a vehement 'free speech' advocate
• yet for some reason believes that the family and associates of bikies should not have their 'rights' infringed upon by police wishing to interview them after a crime is committed.
• Climate change talk is all a lie and the CT is a threat to our sovereignty

He is a prolific writer on all things right winged with ridiculous views. A good example is an article in the Australian last month titled: "Who's on first, gay black man or disabled Muslim woman?". The article itself isn't worth reading as it is full of garbage but I think you can get the general gist of this guys attitude from the title.

And his first published article after the appointment? Did it mention human rights for our indigenous people? Or our disabled people? Or asylum seekers being held in detention centres? Nope. He mentioned 2 specific bugbears of his - firstly, that the police have no right to interview family members of bikies and secondly, the innappropriateness of unions (an allegation only BTW) to donate to the cause of same sex marriage.

This person is now head of human rights in Australia.

[cherry*135]

Yes, add it on the long list.

$320 000  a year salary  for that job, close to the salary of a federal court judge.

[cherry*135]

Tim Wilson's appointment to Human Rights Commission has nothing to do with 'rebalancing'

...His utterances since his appointment was announced show a slender grasp of the issues at stake and his outpourings beforehand are a collection of corporate-inspired outrages about government trying to protect the health and welfare of society.

He decries restrictions on cigarette advertising and the plain packaging legislation (a free-speech issue for the tobacco industry), attempted regulations on poker machines, taxes on alcohol, moves to control the intake of fatty and sugary foods, and banning tanning beds.

All of this, in Wilson's view, is paternalistic nonsense, along with global warming and the tax on carbon. Let the market rip and allow people to gamble, smoke, drink, get fat and artificially tanned until frizzled. No doubt these views are genuinely and passionately held and, entirely coincidentally, they are held by the corporate sponsors of the Institute of Public Affairs.

We don't know for sure, because the institute is so keen on free speech that it won't share with us who is paying the piper, but it seems to run along the lines of a massive cash-for-comment machine.

I suspect Wilson's appointment to the Human Rights Commission is nothing to do with ''rebalancing''. It's a two-finger salute from the Abbott government to the commission and its do-gooder agenda.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/tim-wilsons-appointment-to-human-rights-commission-has-nothing-to-d...

[newstart2380]

---

@i-need-a-martini wrote:

...of stuff ups made by the Abbott Government?

The government has appointed (without any recruitment process, merit considerations, interview and even without the GG approval which is the usual process) the anti Human Rights Commission advocate, Tim Wilson as the (and this is truly true) Australian Human Rights Commissioner.

In case you don't know who Wilson is, I can fill you in just a little -

• has campaigned for years to have the AHRC disbanded. And lo and behold, here he is RUNNING it. Go figure.
• right winged extremist who is obsessed with left winged so-called communist activities and thinks all Labor supporters have a communist hiding under their bed. 
• Thinks that health warnings on cigarettes are "nanny state" (his favourite term) politics
• is a vehement 'free speech' advocate
• yet for some reason believes that the family and associates of bikies should not have their 'rights' infringed upon by police wishing to interview them after a crime is committed.
• Climate change talk is all a lie and the CT is a threat to our sovereignty

He is a prolific writer on all things right winged with ridiculous views. A good example is an article in the Australian last month titled: "Who's on first, gay black man or disabled Muslim woman?". The article itself isn't worth reading as it is full of garbage but I think you can get the general gist of this guys attitude from the title.

And his first published article after the appointment? Did it mention human rights for our indigenous people? Or our disabled people? Or asylum seekers being held in detention centres? Nope. He mentioned 2 specific bugbears of his - firstly, that the police have no right to interview family members of bikies and secondly, the innappropriateness of unions (an allegation only BTW) to donate to the cause of same sex marriage.

This person is now head of human rights in Australia.

---

Sorry Martini but do you ever give up complaining ? Surley you have something positive and constructive to add afterall this is our elected government and we as a whole have chosen it to lead our oountry.

I realise not everything this government does will be to your liking but the previous government made terrible "stuff ups" to and you did not compalin then.

[just_me_karen]

It always amuses me when I read a thread without logging in, so I see posts with completely contradictory siggies 😄

Newstart, why on earth would a declared labor supporter offer any positive comments about this appallingly embarrassing failure of a govt?

You support this govt, so how about you add a positive comment? Sixth time lucky...can you tell us a single positive thing this lib govt has done?

I nearly found one this week...the proposed easing of bureaucracy on international adoptions. Then I discovered abbott had disbanded the international adoption advisory board just two weeks ago, so the whole exercise was nothing more than incompetence framed in a media blitz.

[cherry*135]

newstart.. can you post something related to the topic,  instead of complaining about the opening poster.

[freddie*rooster]

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@just_me_karen wrote:
It always amuses me when I read a thread without logging in, so I see posts with completely contradictory siggies 😄

Newstart, why on earth would a declared labor supporter offer any positive comments about this appallingly embarrassing failure of a govt?

You support this govt, so how about you add a positive comment? Sixth time lucky...can you tell us a single positive thing this lib govt has done?

I nearly found one this week...the proposed easing of bureaucracy on international adoptions. Then I discovered abbott had disbanded the international adoption advisory board just two weeks ago, so the whole exercise was nothing more than incompetence framed in a media blitz.

---

Yes but wait, there's probably a job for more of his mates when he decides the International Adoption Advisary Board needs a new name. That will fool them all, a new name and jobs for his mates.

[cherry*135]

Good point freddie.. who gets to work on all the 'taskforces' the LNP are initiating.. jobs for the boys?

[freakiness]

---

@newstart2380 wrote:

---

@i-need-a-martini wrote:

...of stuff ups made by the Abbott Government?

The government has appointed (without any recruitment process, merit considerations, interview and even without the GG approval which is the usual process) the anti Human Rights Commission advocate, Tim Wilson as the (and this is truly true) Australian Human Rights Commissioner.

In case you don't know who Wilson is, I can fill you in just a little -

• has campaigned for years to have the AHRC disbanded. And lo and behold, here he is RUNNING it. Go figure.
• right winged extremist who is obsessed with left winged so-called communist activities and thinks all Labor supporters have a communist hiding under their bed. 
• Thinks that health warnings on cigarettes are "nanny state" (his favourite term) politics
• is a vehement 'free speech' advocate
• yet for some reason believes that the family and associates of bikies should not have their 'rights' infringed upon by police wishing to interview them after a crime is committed.
• Climate change talk is all a lie and the CT is a threat to our sovereignty

He is a prolific writer on all things right winged with ridiculous views. A good example is an article in the Australian last month titled: "Who's on first, gay black man or disabled Muslim woman?". The article itself isn't worth reading as it is full of garbage but I think you can get the general gist of this guys attitude from the title.

And his first published article after the appointment? Did it mention human rights for our indigenous people? Or our disabled people? Or asylum seekers being held in detention centres? Nope. He mentioned 2 specific bugbears of his - firstly, that the police have no right to interview family members of bikies and secondly, the innappropriateness of unions (an allegation only BTW) to donate to the cause of same sex marriage.

This person is now head of human rights in Australia.

---

Sorry Martini but do you ever give up complaining ? Surley you have something positive and constructive to add afterall this is our elected government and we as a whole have chosen it to lead our oountry.

I realise not everything this government does will be to your liking but the previous government made terrible "stuff ups" to and you did not compalin then.

---

How can she add anything positive when there is nothing positive to say about the subject?

Does anyone recall his attitude to speeding race car drivers hooning around the streets?  Only a nanny state would stop them and if people are hurt or killed that's a bad luck side effect of being on the road. We don't need nanny state road rules telling us how fast we are allowed to drive in our cities.

[just_me_karen]

He has made some staggering appointments. I'm sure you're right about the name change and jobs for male friends...is that priest buddy of his out of gaol yet?