Appointment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner

The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, today welcomed the appointment of Mick Gooda to the Australian Human Rights Commission as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

Mr Gooda has an established career in Indigenous advocacy and policy, particularly in the area of health, and will make a valuable contribution to this role.

I would like to thank outgoing Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, for his substantial contribution since his appointment in 2004.

Mr Calma has worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and has earned a great deal of respect as an advocate for Indigenous human rights.

Mr Calma has built strong alliances between Government and non-government organisations, particularly around the campaign to close the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation.

He has also emphasised the importance of community-driven solutions.

I’d like to particularly acknowledge Mr Calma’s tremendous leadership and hard work in the development of a new national representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

I’m sure Mr Calma will continue to contribute to advancing the human rights of Indigenous Australians.

Mr Gooda will commence his new role on 1 February 2010.