Open Letter and Petition Demanding the Removal of Deputy Chief of the Family Court of Australia, J McClelland from the appointment of Commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commission
It has recently come to my attention J McClelland of the Family Court of Australia has been appointed as the next National Anti-Corruption Commission, Commissioner.
One may ask - why does this matter? Why is it so important that Robert McClelland current Deputy Chief of the Family Court of Australia be removed from his seemingly handpicked top job position as the Commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in Australia?
Answer: J McClelland has been in a leadership role in the Australian Family Court since 2015. The Family Court has repeatedly publicly denied that they are making decisions that place children into the sole care of their abusers, and have publicly positioned people who have lived experience of this and investigative reporters unreliable and liars.
Where J McClelland himself has engaged in Judgements that call into question the capability of his decision making by placing children into the care of convicted child sexual abusers, and where he was a part of a Law Council group that published a report that in part detailed how the Family Courts' own conduct by penalising reporters of abuse, was causing a barrier to women and children from reporting abuse.
This alone, demonstrates that future inquiry is required into his appointment in the least.
In our opinion, it is not appropriate or instil any confidence to have such a person who cannot truthfully call out systemic issues from his own workplace - where he has immense power to do so, to be at the helm of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in Australia. Where - coincidentally - it is the only place that Family Court actors can be investigated.
It's crucial for victims and whistleblowers to feel safe and heard and the appointment of Robert McClelland AO raises serious concerns about conflicts of interest and biases.