Al Grassby - Commission For Community Relations

Commission For Community Relations

Following his defeat, Grassby was appointed as the first federal Commissioner for Community Relations, administering the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, which he had championed while in parliament. While he continued to work towards a multicultural Australia, Grassby couldn't escape controversy. In one case, Grassby nominated for preselection for the safe federal Labor seat of Parramatta following encouragement from Gough Whitlam, who sought to return Grassby to the ministry. However, Grassby surprisingly lost the preselection ballot, because many rank-and-file Labor members objected to an outside candidate being foisted upon them.

In another case, he became entangled in one of the more sensational political cases of Australian history when he hired Junie Morosi to work at the Commission for Community Relations, which brought her into contact with a number of government ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, Jim Cairns. Cairns appointed Morosi as his Principal Private Secretary, a job traditionally held by a senior public servant. The ensuing controversy surrounding the appointment led to the downfall of Cairns and, while Grassby was not guilty of any misconduct himself, he attracted criticism by his connection to the case.

Grassby resigned in the wake of the Nagle inquiry, which found he had been involved in the attempts to table false claims about murdered MP Donald Mackay's family.