Human rights chief’s selection ‘a grave mistake’, says Grace Tame

Grace Tame has accused the Morrison government of hypocrisy for appointing a human rights commissioner who opposes ‘affirmative consent’.

Australian of the Year and sexual assault survivor Grace Tame has accused the Morrison government of hypocrisy for appointing a human rights commissioner who opposes “affirmative consent” – where sexual consent is granted verbally or through ­actions signalling enthusiasm – amid a national women’s safety summit.

The federal government this week appointed Perth-based legal academic Lorraine Finlay as the new Australian Human Rights Commissioner for a five-year term. Ms Finlay has publicly spoken out against the affirmative consent standard, arguing it undermines due process and the presumption of innocence.

NSW this year agreed to adopt the model of consent, which requires someone to say or do something to affirm they have consented before they have sex.

Ms Tame was speaking at the National Women’s Safety Summit, which will help shape Australia’s next national plan to reduce violence against women and children.

She said the “bold, ambitious” statements made by Scott Morrison in his keynote address to the summit on Monday had been undermined by the appointment of Ms Finlay because of her opposition to affirmative consent.

She described the appointment as a “grave mistake”.

“I think it is very telling of a fundamental lack of understanding at that top level of what is at the foundation of these issues here,” she told the summit.

“The foundation of the issue of domestic violence, the foundation of the issue of sexual violence is one of control. It’s about abuse of power.

“Unless I stand up to that and call that out directly here on this platform, unless I say we’ve got people abusing their power in the highest position of power right now, I’d be a hypocrite.”

Ms Tame said she was not surprised by the government’s appointment of Ms Finlay. “We’ve seen a proven track record with this government with its inability to understand these issues, its inability to address the fundamental issue of women’s safety within parliament itself,” she said.

Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame. Picture: Twitter

Speaking earlier to Sky News, the Prime Minister said his government’s “good intentions” on women’s issues should be accepted. “Stop trying to judge each other’s intentions and motives, you know, we’re all just trying to do the right thing here,” he said.

Ms Finlay has also co-written articles with men’s rights activist Bettina Arndt, who interviewed the man convicted of abusing Ms Tame as a 15-year-old schoolgirl.

Ms Tame had previously called for Ms Arndt’s Australia Day honour to be revoked, saying it celebrated individuals who minimised pedophilia and rape.

Ms Finlay, who is due to commence her appointment in Nov­ember, is a human trafficking specialist with the Australian Mission to ASEAN and a lecturer at Murdoch University and the University of Notre Dame.

Prior to this, she was a state prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Western Australia.

On Twitter, Ms Finlay said people could have different views about the affirmative consent model and still share a “firm commitment to condemning violence … I am committed to working constructively to protect and advance human rights in my role as Human Rights Commissioner.”

She also pointed to concerns raised about affirmative consent reform by the NSW Bar Association, Law Society of NSW, Legal Aid NSW and the ODPP in NSW.

“The importance of protecting victims from sexual and domestic violence is urgent and un­deniable,” she said.