Outgoing watchdog’s ‘troubling’ signals from the Crisafulli government

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The news

Queensland’s outgoing human rights chief has described the state’s approach to First Nations people as “hostile” and called for climate policy to be taken from the “fallible hands of our politicians”.

Scott McDougall, the first to hold the role, largely used his farewell address at state parliament on Monday night to lay out a “utopian” vision for the image Brisbane could present to the world in 2032.

Scott McDougall, Queensland’s inaugural Human Rights Commissioner, in his Brisbane office last week. His seven-year term ends on October 7.

But he also touched on concerns with politicians from both sides, including the March refusal by the Crisafulli government to strengthen the ability of his office to enforce an expanded set of rights, including for adequate housing and a clean environment.

“The summary dismissal of the Harris Rimmer report [reviewing the Human Rights Act] is, in my view, a troubling indication of the value this government places on the human rights of its 5.6 million citizens,” McDougall planned to tell the gathered crowd.

Why it matters

McDougall was appointed as the state’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner in 2018, a role which became the inaugural Human Rights Commissioner in 2020 after the passing of the Human Rights Act the year before.

The role, and McDougall’s actions in it, have been a significant public feature of the state’s oversight system, consistently scrutinising government actions and plans, alongside its complaints function and attempting to increase the public’s rights awareness.

Under state laws, the role can only be held for a maximum period of seven years, with McDougall’s term due to end in early October. Monday night’s event was set to be his last major public speech from the office.

Tonight could have provided an opportunity for me to indulge in a recollection of the highlights (and several lowlights) of my seven-year term...

Scott McDougall noting what his speech did not intend to focus on.

What they said

McDougall’s speech notes laid out a five-point “broad brush strokes” path to the 2032 Games focused on sharing power with First Nations people, getting “real” about climate change, reimagining schools and overhauling scrutiny of parliament.

Doing this would require, among other things, the government walking back its dismissal of all 70 recommendations from the Harris Rimmer Review, adequately funding legal assistance groups and rejecting productivity commission suggestions to abandon universal accessible building design.

To get there would also take a decision for the government to reverse its “hostile” relationship with First Nations people, including treaty pathway dumping, “assimilationist” practices of instead engaging mostly with Aboriginal council mayors, and the decision of both major parties to pass so-called adult time laws they conceded went “further than what is necessary”.

He said decisions on emissions reduction policy needed to be taken out of “the fallible hands of our politicians” and given to respected climate scientists with oversight from a Climate Safety Commission – “for the sake of humanity” – noting any claims of environmental leadership in 2032 would likely be undermined by coal-fired power station extensions, new and expanded coal mine approvals, and renewable project rejections.

McDougall called for an overhaul of schooling, which he said represented and perpetuated growing inequality more than any other institution. This could be done through, among other things, an “education guarantee” which would see principals required to arrange alternative education before issuing long suspensions or expulsions to improve outcomes – and reduce youth offending.

To bolster parliamentary scrutiny, McDougall urged an end to the government-controlled committee system which, while likely to “cause embarrassment” for those in power, “would be a genuine record of scrutiny rather than the rubber-stamping … we see at the moment”. The state could also get “creative” and have committee examinations conducted not by MPs, but independent barristers.

After earlier describing his time in the role as a great honour, McDougall ended his address thanking friends, colleagues and his “private army of family”.