Gillian Triggs in talks with MUP to write life story

Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs has been offered a book contract.

Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Gillian Triggs has been offered a book contract detailing her term as Australian Human Rights Commission president and her broader life as an eminent lawyer, mother and wife.

Melbourne University Publishing chief executive Louise Adler confirmed yesterday that she had been in discussions with Professor Triggs about writing a book, which would inevitably include details of her torrid term at the AHRC.

Ms Adler, who has known Professor Triggs for years, said discussions had taken place but a contract had yet to be signed.

If Ms Triggs pushes ahead with a book, it would provide her with a broad platform to detail her version of events in her long-running battle with the Coalition government amid contested claims of political partisanship.

“I hope that we are able to persuade her on her rich and ­varied career.

“We haven’t signed a contract or anything,” Ms Adler told The Australian.

Professor Triggs is a former senior law academic at Melbourne University and was dean of law at Sydney University, as well as director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in 2005-07.

The Turnbull government has said it will not renew Professor Triggs’s contract when it expires in the middle of next year.

Many Coalition MPs and conservative commentators have lashed out at Professor Triggs over her position on offshore immigration detention, accusing her of failing to hold Labor to account but savaging the Coalition.

Professor Triggs was hired by the former Gillard government and Malcolm Turnbull has made clear that the government does not want her to continue in the job. “In an office like this, you serve your term and sometimes if people want to have it renewed it might be renewed,” the Prime Minister told Sydney radio last month.

“But in this case there will be a new president of the Human Rights Commission.”

Professor Triggs did not respond to The Australian about the book offer.