New leadership of Human Rights Commission announced

photo: Screenshot/Human Rights Commission

The government has appointed a new leader of the Human Rights Commission.

Attorney General Paul Goldsmith announced Friday that Dr. Stephen Reinberg will be appointed as the new chief human rights commissioner, Dr. Gail Pacheco will be appointed equal employment opportunity commissioner and Dr. Melissa Derby will be appointed human rights commissioner.

Goldsmith said Rainbow’s “career has spanned a range of roles including managing government relations for New Zealand’s largest infrastructure projects, lecturing at Victoria University, being director of urban strategy for Wellington City Council and country manager for the New Zealand Historic Places Trust”.

Rainbow also served as a Wellington City Councillor from 1989 to 1998 and was active in promoting LBGTQ rights.

In 2021, both Stuff and 1 News reported that Auckland Transport Investigate Rainbow’s social media posts To the Rainbow Auckland Network Group.

The post was intended to promote a petition to ban gay conversion therapy, to which Rainbow reportedly responded: “Be careful… this campaign is secretly promoting some elements of the trans agenda.” Rainbow’s comments reportedly sparked complaints of transphobia from colleagues at Auckland Transport, 1 At that time, there was news that.

Pacheco is professor of economics at Auckland University of Technology and director of the New Zealand Policy Institute.

“She has extensive experience leading large, multi-agency funding projects, including work for the Department of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Department for Women, the Department for Education and the Human Rights Commission,” Goldsmith said.

The new Human Rights Commissioner, Derby, is a senior lecturer at the University of Waikato, teaching early literacy and human development courses.

Her primary area of ​​research is early literacy, specifically exploring the role of the family in developing foundational literacy skills.

Goldsmith has previously expressed his desire to reform the committee, but The PAP campaigned to repeal the law before the last election.

Goldsmith expressed gratitude to Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner Dr. Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo, who served as Acting Chief Commissioner and Acting Race Relations Commissioner for much of the past year.