Anthony Albanese says he does not know who Australia's human rights commissioner is, despite a threat to the country's human rights status partly due to her appointment.
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A Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) report last week raised concerns over appointments to the Australian Human Rights Commission, throwing Australia's 'A-status' human rights listing into jeopardy.
One of the appointments cited was Lorraine Finlay, made human rights commissioner late last year after calling for race discrimination law Section 18C to be repealed, who has historical ties to the Liberal Party.
Pressed on whether he would end appointments with strong party connections to the body, Mr Albanese conceded he was not aware of the potential downgrade.
"At the risk of creating a headline, I don't know who Ms Finlay is," Mr Albanese said on Tuesday.
"I will look at that."
The government has been accused of stacking courts and public institutions with party loyalists during nearly a decade in office.
And after a flurry of appointments just before the election, including handing a number of six-figure Administrative Appeals Tribunal jobs to former Liberal staffers and politicians, Mr Albanese said the Coalition had delayed the election to hand out jobs to "mates".
"Is there any former Liberal MP, Liberal mayor, or liberal counsellor who hasn't been appointed to the AAT, the Productivity Commission, or the Fair Work Commission?" he asked.
"It's just just an outrage ... This government has just appointed mates to so many jobs, that it has undermined the standing of organisations."
The GANHRI elected to defer Australia's reaccreditation as an 'A-status' human rights nation, raising concerns over the process used to appoint commissioners.
Being listed as a 'B-status' country would strip Australia of full participation on the UN Human Rights Council, placing it under Iraq in terms of human rights status.
Countries listed as 'B-status' include Libya, Venezuela, Bulgaria, and Myanmar.
GANHRI said the appointment, and that of Disability Discrimination Commissioner Ben Gauntlett, did not meet accreditation requirements.
It suggested Attorney-General Michaelia Cash bypassed normal decision-making processes to appoint Ms Finlay, who had called for Section 18C to be repealed.
It did not suggest Ms Finlay was acting in a politicised manner.
Ms Finlay's appointment also raised concerns among LGBTQI advocates, after she contradicted the Ruddock inquiry, which found same-sex marriage posed no threat to religious freedoms.
In 2013, then-prime minister Tony Abbott controversially appointed Tim Wilson, member of right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs and critic of the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Mr Wilson went on to become a Liberal MP.