Distinguished academic Professor Penelope Mathew will succeed Dr Helen Watchirs OAM at the ACT Human Rights Commission, ACT Minister for Human Rights Tara Cheyne has announced.
Professor Mathew will return to her former hometown of Canberra to serve as President and Human Rights Commissioner of the ACT Human Rights Commission from 23 October.
Professor Mathew is currently Dean of the University of Auckland Law School. She has devoted her career to human rights. She is an expert adviser on international refugee law who has worked in other human rights jurisdictions and with the United Nations.
The respected scholar and leader knows the ACT well, having worked at the Human Rights Commission here as a legal and policy adviser between 2006 and 2008. In that role, she conducted an audit of the Territory’s remand centres and was frequently called upon to advise on human rights issues arising from legislative proposals. She also designed and delivered human rights education for public servants and the ACT community.
In 2008, the ACT Government awarded her an International Women’s Day Award for her outstanding contributions to human rights and social justice.
She will be the ACT’s second Human Rights Commissioner. Dr Watchirs, who finishes in the role this month, was the first, appointed to the role in 2004, and then as President of the Commission in 2016.
“I am deeply honoured to have been appointed as the next President and Human Rights Commissioner of the ACT Human Rights Commission,” Professor Mathew said.
“My priorities include preparation for proposed additions to the Human Rights Act – the right to a healthy environment and a quick and accessible way for community members to complain about human rights abuses to the ACT Human Rights Commission.
“My time in Aotearoa New Zealand has given me new insights on the rights of First Nations people (as well as some basic Māori language skills). It has been rewarding as well as challenging, given the pandemic. It is now time to come home to the ACT, a place where I have spent a significant period of my working life and raised my son.”
Ms Cheyne said: “Our reputation as a progressive community, committed to equality, inclusion and respect for diversity, will be strengthened by the appointment of distinguished academic and advocate Professor Penelope Mathew as President and Human Rights Commissioner of the ACT Human Rights Commission.
“As our city grows, it’s vital that we continue to ensure appropriate human rights protections are in place for all Canberrans. I know that Professor Mathew will bring passion, intellect, and vision to the task of building on Dr Watchirs’s legacy so that we continue to lead the way nationally and internationally on human rights.
“Dr Watchirs’s dedication in advocating for human rights has helped make our Territory a more inclusive and human rights-compliant jurisdiction, and we wish her well in her future endeavours.”
