Supreme Court upholds suppression on union sex discrimination report
A controversial report on sexual discrimination in Victoria’s fire services will not be released publicly after the United Firefighters Union’s legal bid to suppress it was upheld.
The Supreme Court of Appeal found the Human Rights Commission did not have the legal power to conduct the review into the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and Country Fire Authority.
It means the public will not get to see the results of the commission's report, or know the extent of the reports of sexism and discrimination in both fire services.
The investigation was ordered by the state government.
The commission wished to make its report public, but had been stymied by repeated legal challenges from the UFU.
The UFU cited concerns about whether the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission had the legal jurisdiction to conduct the investigation and its methodology.
Two of the three Supreme Court justices found that because the MFB and CFA did not request the review, the commission did not have the power to launch the investigation.
They also rejected the argument that the commission has "research and advocacy functions" that should enable it to conduct the review.
However, the judgment did not uphold the union's argument about the investigation's methodology.
The dispute has presented an ongoing political challenge to the Andrews government, which has acknowledged the culture of Victoria’s fire services needs to change.
More to come.
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