An annual report for the publicly funded Human Rights Commission for 2007 has yet to surface — despite being submitted to Government more than a year ago.

HRC chairman Venous Memari told The Royal Gazette that the document was handed to the Department of Human Affairs within the first ten days of June 2008, in accordance with the quango's statutory duty.

Despite discussions with the department since, Ms Memari said it was unclear why the report had still not been tabled in Parliament.

She said: "The responsibility to lay the report before both houses of the Legislature lies strictly with the Minister responsible.

"There have been discussions about that. We have discharged our duty. Obviously we are disappointed that it hasn't been tabled."

Ms Memari said the 2008 annual report for the quango was submitted last month to Human Affairs, which falls under the Ministry of Culture and Social Rehabilitation.

Dale Butler was Culture Minister at the time both reports were handed in to the department; he was replaced by Neletha Butterfield on June 23.

Under section 30A of the Human Rights Act 1981, the HRC must make a report to the Cabinet Minister responsible by the end of June each year.

The law says the Minister "shall as soon as may be after receiving the Commission's annual report lay it before both Houses of the Legislature".

Culture permanent secretary Wayne Carey said yesterday: "Both reports (2007 and 2008) are with the Ministry and we expect them to be tabled as soon as Parliament reopens in November." He did not explain the delay.

The failure to table the 2007 report comes after the HRC did not produce annual reports for four years from 2001. That led, in part, to former HRC executive officer, the late David Wilson, being asked to resign in 2006.

The quango eventually produced a joint annual report for the years 2002 to 2005. In 2007, the HRC produced an on-time annual report for the first time in five years.

It revealed that 21 formal complaints were made to the HRC in 2006 and, of those, ten were investigated.

The Royal Gazette's A Right To Know: Giving People Power campaign urges publicly funded bodies such as the HRC to be more transparent and provide taxpayers with details of how their dollars are being spent.