Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has announced the appointment of Giridharan Sivaraman as the next Race Discrimination Commissioner, a position with a taxpayer-funded salary of $384,970 plus allowances.
Mr Sivaraman is Chair of the Board of Multicultural Australia (a non-profit that helps refugees and immigrants settle in Queensland), a member of the Multicultural Queensland Advisory Council, and a Principal at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
He succeeds Chin Tan, and his appointment will begin on March 4.
“I congratulate Mr Sivaraman on his appointment and thank him for taking on this important role. His comprehensive understanding and demonstrated passion in the race discrimination and human rights space will be a great asset to the Australian Human Rights Commission,” Mr Dreyfus said on Monday.
“The Race Discrimination Commissioner is responsible for combatting all forms of racial discrimination, and promoting understanding, tolerance and harmony across all sectors of Australian society.
“I thank Mr Tan for his contribution during his term, and Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, President of the AHRC, for acting in the role throughout the merit-based selection process.”
The Race Discrimination Commissioner role comes with an annual salary of $384,970, and Mr Tan received $40,000 in accommodation assistance and $18,500 reunion travel assistance every year, as determined by the Remuneration Tribunal (Remuneration and Allowances for Holders of Full-time Public Office) Determination (No. 2) 2023.
Mr Sivaraman is an outspoken advocate for left-wing causes on social media, and has recently shared posts on X in support of diversity in kids’ books, pay parity in women’s sport, and diversity targets at the ABC, and describes himself as “anti-racist, advocating for migrants, refugees, unions”.
He appears to support a treaty in Queensland, and declared he was voting Yes in the failed Voice to Parliament referendum which was rejected by most Australians.
In 2021 he wrote a column for the Courier Mail calling for new laws against online trolling and arguing that the Racial Discrimination Act should be updated to apply to online private messages and not just public acts.
In 2023 in an opinion piece for the same publication demanding forced inclusion in the media, he complained that Australians of “Anglo-Celtic background are overrepresented in senior television roles” and asked: “If merit really was the defining criteria why is diversity so low in the media?”
The Australian Human Rights Commission president Rosalind Croucher welcomed Mr Sivaraman’s appointment.
“Mr Sivaraman is a widely respected champion of racial equity. His lived experience, passion for diversity and inclusion, and deep understanding of human rights and Australian discrimination law means he will be a powerful asset for the Commission during what is very much a delicate time in the country,” she said.
I’m looking forward to voting YES tomorrow. Don’t care about polls and doomsdayers. Just care about my chance to make a difference. To be kind. To be generous. To be fair. #Yes23
— Giri Sivaraman (@GiriDSivaraman) October 13, 2023
