Law professor and human rights spokeswoman Dr Claire Winfield Ngamihi Charters. Photo / Supplied
Law professor and human rights spokeswoman Dr Claire Winfield Ngamihi Charters. Photo / Supplied
The Human Rights Commission’s indigenous rights spokeswoman, Auckland University Law Professor Claire Charters, says any move to axe a new co-chief executive position would fly in the face our international human rights obligations.
Last week the commission appointed justice reform advocate Julia Whaipooti as its tatau-urutahi shared leader.
The creation of the position was attacked during the election campaign by Act leader David Seymour as needless and self-serving taxpayer-funded bureaucracy.
But Professor Claire Charters says it’s modeling the rights and obligations New Zealand has under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and international law.
“Effectively we’re thinking about our Tiriti o Waitangi journey, and our obligations under Human Rights law self-determination. And the appointment of effectively a co-CE model, is a reflection of that partnership that was established under Te Tiriti o Waitangi – and is expected under international Human Rights norms,” she says.
Last week former lawyer and spokeswoman for JustSpeak Julia Amua Whaipooti was appointed tatau-uutahi|shared leader at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission.
The role, established earlier this year, will see Whaipooti (Ngāti Porou) sit alongside tatau ururoa|shared leader/chief executive Meg de Ronde.
In a statement, the commission said the innovative leadership model reflects its dedication to honouring the partnership inherent in te Tiriti o Waitangi between tino rangatiratanga (self-determination of Māori) and kāwanatanga (government).
“Whaipooti’s appointment is a testament to her outstanding contributions and advocacy for human rights, particularly in relation to the rights of Māori and other marginalised communities,” de Ronde, said.
But Seymour is not happy about the appointment or the $280,000 salary attached to the job.
Julia Amua Whaipooti has been appointed tatau-uutahi|shared leader at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission. Photo / Whakaata Māori
‘Shut it down’
He said the role was an example of the “self-serving, taxpayer-funded bureaucracies that don’t deliver for New Zealanders”.
“Not content with having a truly hopeless commissioner in Paul Hunt, this year the Human Rights Commission has added a chief executive, and is now advertising for tatau-urutahi – a location flexible position at the chief executive level to “advance human rights in a Tiriti-based organisation” for a salary of up to $286,900.
“The only organisation that would see fit to hire two chief executives as well as a commissioner is an organisation spending other peoples’ money. Together, these three roles cost taxpayers almost a million dollars a year in salary alone. It’s time to shut it down.”
Whaipooti is an experienced advocate for justice reform, now serving as the director of engagement on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and previously with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and on Te Uepū Hāpai i te ora - Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group. She has also led the New Zealand delegation to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City in April 2018.
