An accused still on the commission of human rights

The Human Rights Commission is taking hundreds of thousands of dollars to deal with the fallout of a sexual harassment complaint.

It was also revealed that the charge leader would continue to work for the commission until the end of the year.

The commission was criticized Thursday by politicians of the Special Committee of Justice.

The Acting Commissioner and Commissioner for Disability Rights, Paula Tesoriero, has been bombarded with questions about a damning report on the failure of internal handling of sexual harassment complaints and its organizational culture.

READ MORE:
* The criminal charge Kyle Stutter retains his position on the Human Rights Commission
* Human Rights Commission failed in complaints of sexual harassment – review

This case followed an incident of sexual harassment that occurred in October 2017, when a young woman had interrupted her internship after being suspected of being fingered during a work party.

Tesoriero told the committee that the financial situation of the commission had been put under pressure to solve the employment problems.

To date, it has disbursed $ 127,000 and budgeted $ 200,000 this fiscal year to complement the report's recommendations.

They completed a third of the recommendations and all will be completed in June next year, she said.

She attributed sexual harassment in part to the Commission's chronic underfunding, which was also highlighted in Shaw's report, she said.

There has been no basic adjustment since 2011 and this lack of funding has resulted in "real tension" in the ability of commissioners to carry out additional tasks, she said.

When there were few discretionary funds, it created tension between what was important among the four commissioners, she said.

MP Maggie Barry asked if people who were at the heart of some cultural issues and complaints were still in the organization.

He was told that the commission's finance director and the accused Kyle Stutter was destabilized.

However, he would stay on the board until the end of December to move the financial system to a new function, and then he would leave.

"What is the wisdom of putting the person at the heart of the problems within the organization during the transition through a complex financial arrangement, despite the perception of the public perspective to place this individual at the heart of the still rooted difficulties … I request which made this judgment. "

Tesoriero said that she had obligations under the Labor Relations Act that limited what she could say.

Barry said Shaw's report was as damning as possible and asked how those who advocate for the vulnerable and destitute would take care of the damage to the reputation after revealing themselves so dysfunctional.

"I wonder how you are going to recover your reputation and instill public confidence in your ability to deal with the large number of plaintiffs that will likely increase."

National MP Nick Smith asked if the structure of the organization was good enough and Ms. Tesoriero said she personally thought it worked, but the ministers needed to discuss it and take it into account.

Smith asked Cynthia Brophy, executive director of the commission, who will retire in December, what she thought of the structure.

"I think that if the structure works effectively, it presents a number of inherent challenges."

She did not know if her role would be restructured.

She thought that the commission was very ambitious and should specify what she was tired of doing.

National MP Chris Bishop said he was deeply concerned that the review contained only 250 words in the commission's annual report.

The review revealed a number of shortcomings and Mr. Tesoriero acknowledged that the commission should have done better.

Work was underway to implement the sexual harassment policy, which would be reviewed early in the new year to determine if further changes were needed.

"In the future … we are determined to learn from our past, from what has been done better … I am convinced that, thanks to the lessons learned, we have learned the changes we have made in place … and that we will continue to restore confidence. " and the trust of New Zealanders, "said Tesoriero.