Revamp nanny role or scrap it

The pending departure of Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane when his five-year term expires in August is an opportunity to redefine the $346,000 role into something more effective and constructive — or to get rid of it. Australian Human Rights Commission president Rosalind Croucher has suggested that Dr Soutphommasane be replaced with a community relations commissioner, an idea welcomed by Attorney-General Christian Porter who sees the role as one of mediating and promoting conciliation. Such a commissioner, for example, might be able to assist in curbing violence by young African gangs in Melbourne.

Mr Porter and Professor Croucher have both rejected the idea of scrapping the position, put forward by the Institute of Public Affairs in a research brief to federal MPs. IPA executive director John Roskam told The Australian that Dr Soutphommasane’s list of so-called achievements over the past year demonstrated why his job should be scrapped. Unless the position is revitalised and made relevant to the taxpaying public who fund it, Mr Roskam has a good point.

Last week, Dr Soutphommasane’s spokesman said his achievements included the “Leading for Change” report, which highlighted the lack of cultural diversity in senior leadership roles. That problematic report, rejected by the Turnbull government last year at the urging of shrewd backbenchers, attempted to inflict voluntary racial and cultural “diversity’’ targets on corporate Australia. The report proposed an ideological blueprint that would have involved businesses sending “signals on cultural diversity” by collecting data on employees’ cultural backgrounds in terms of race, ethnicity, ancestry, language and place of birth.

Dr Soutphommasane’s spokesman also cited the “Racism. It Stops with Me” campaign, race relations forums and opposing “far-right nationalist extremism” as other examples of his work. Fifty-three applicants are vying for the position. The onus is now on Mr Porter and Professor Croucher to produce a job description worthy of taxpayers’ support.