A devastating exclusive from The Spinoff on the controversial appointment of the new Human Rights Commissioner Dr Rainbow…
Controversial human rights commissioners weren’t recommended by hiring panel
Exclusive: New leadership hires at the Human Rights Commission were contrary to recommendations made by the independent panel tasked with leading the process, documents released under the Official Information Act reveal.
On a quiet Friday afternoon in August, justice minister Paul Goldsmith announced the appointment of three leadership roles at the Human Rights Commission: Stephen Rainbow as chief human rights commissioner, Gail Pacheco as equal employment opportunities commissioner and Melissa Derby as race relations commissioner. The three are scheduled to take up their new roles next month.
Human rights commissioner appointments have historically been uncontroversial, even if the commissioners themselves sometimes court controversy in the role. But the appointments of Rainbow and Derby in particular sparked questions of process and intent, largely surrounding Rainbow’s vocal support of Israel and both Rainbow and Derby’s history of anti-trans views.
As the minister who oversaw their appointments, Goldsmith defended his decisions at the time, telling RNZ, “People express all sorts of views before they take up these roles, but I have every confidence that he will go about his work in a very open and inclusive way.”
But documents released under OIA to The Spinoff last week suggest the recruitment process wasn’t straightforward, with neither Rainbow nor Derby being put forward as shortlisted candidates by the independent panel tasked with conducting the “transparent process”.
…I’m less concerned with Rainbow’s supposed anti-Trans views (they are only ‘problematic’ to the uber woke) and far more worried about what appointing an Israeli apologist to the position AT THE SAME TIME as Israel is committing a real time ethnic cleansing war crime means to the mana of the Human Rights Commission…
The Spinoff has viewed documents with fewer redactions that show Rainbow was specifically noted as “not recommended” by the panel following his interview. Pacheco was listed as “highly appointable”. Two of the candidates for race relations commissioner (neither of whom were Derby as she was not initially interviewed) were graded as “highly appointable” by the panel.
…that Rainbow was purposely NOT recommended is a damning indictment on his appointment and the total lack of authority he now has after this revelation makes him a lame duck Commissioner who will have no moral authority on any issue.
I’m the first to roll my eyes over The Spinoff, but this was very smart journalism by them.
There is no Human Rights Commission pot of gold at bottom of Dr Rainbow.
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And we will still call out other nations on human rights when our own are a fucken disgrace .We have no right to comment on any other country in the worlds human rights when daily we starve kids ,kick families out onto the street making then homeless ,increase poverty ,deny health care and dental and mental health care ,create unemployment all so we have more people to kick around and call bottom feeder lazy pricks .Then we have a damming report about generations of abuse in care which we are busy trying to hide under the mat .
What gives us the right to even think about pointing the finger at anyone else .Then of cause there is the small issue of the generations of Maori who have been persecuted since 1800 .
Unfortunately we have now reached a state where the HRC struggles to command respect, its officers are written off as woke apostles and no one takes it seriously. If the recent appointments weren’t recommended, for some people that’s a plus for those people.
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