THE appointment of Tim Wilson to the Human Rights Commission is an excellent first step in the overdue reform of this renegade agency ("Row over freedom of speech job", 18/12).

However, it is wrong to claim this will restore balance because the commission remains under the control of bureaucrats pursuing a Labor-Greens agenda with a commitment to statist intervention in many areas of life in our society.

These apparatchiks have made it clear they are eager to use the powers of the commission to attack anyone who threatens or questions this agenda.

Good luck to Mr Wilson but there is still much to be done if our basic liberties are to be reclaimed.

Merv Bendle, Inverloch, Vic

Party political appointments are nothing new for the Right or Left, and something that we can't control unless stricter guidelines are put in place. What we can control is our reaction and engagement with appointees.

Listening achieves more than condemning. Rather than putting someone in a box, we should encourage them to think outside the box. It's time to put down the loud hailer and extend a hand if we are to win hearts and minds in this political cycle.

Alex Greenwich, independent state MP for Sydney, Paddington, NSW

THE hostility over the appointment of Tim Wilson to the Human Rights Commission by those on the Left shows just how intolerant they are of the views of many Australians who would support his appointment.

A robust, civilised disagreement of opinion is out of the question for them. These people presume ownership of the "progressive" version of morality and wisdom; their tactic is to demonise as evil anyone holding a contrary outlook.

They would love to shut down discussion of freedom of speech to establish ideological control over those whom they despise. It is especially rich of Greens spokeswoman Penny Wright to presume to speak for all Australians when she belongs to a party supported by barely a tenth of the voting population.

Ian Mastin, Woodgate Beach, Qld

THREE cheers for the appointment of Tim Wilson to the Human Rights Commission. His appearances on the ABC as the token conservative are a welcome relief from the Greens-Left group-think of other commentators.

His sharp intellect and classical liberal perspective will ensure that his contribution to the debate over individual liberty will be invaluable.

E. Baxter, Pullenvale, Qld

FINALLY, someone who has another opinion is appointed to the Human Rights Commission. The previous Labor-Greens government loaded the deck with their people over the past six years. Voices of dissent have been effectively silenced on our ABC.

Tim Wilson will move towards addressing the imbalance in our freedoms. We are the lucky country, but it is not before time that we should show some individual and personal responsibility as well as human rights.

Neville Wright, Kilcunda, Vic

I SUPPORT Tim Wilson's appointment. His goal should be to unite Left and Right. We should relearn the wisdom of Voltaire's maxim and defend the freedoms of those whose views we oppose.

Far more speech-chilling work is done by a plethora of federal, state and territory laws similar to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. Only a freedom of political communication act that overrides those laws can ever be effective. Legislation could be enacted after July with support from libertarians in the Senate without Greens-Left support.

Graham Hyde, Adelaide, SA