Brian Neeson's appointment to the Human Rights Review Tribunal has hit the media, with stories in the Herald and on GayNZ. Sadly, neither Neeson nor Justice Minister Simon Power is fronting up to defend the appointment. The latter speaks volumes, but isn't exactly surprising - you don't announce something on the last Friday before the holidays if you want it to get attention. But Ministers have an obligation to front up and explain their actions to the public, and Power is failing in his duty here.
Fortunately, there is another potential source of information: Neeson's appointment (and the advice on it) will be documented, and those documents can be OIA'ed. And hopefully, some of those professional journalists are requesting them right now. And with the holiday break, the response will be due back right when Parliament resumes in February.
