Alone among the seven commissioners of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Tim Wilson never had to apply for the job. He never had to sit for an interview, be screened by an expert panel, or undergo the rigorous weeks-long selection process that applied to the others.

Instead, Attorney-General George Brandis rang him up a couple of weeks ago and asked if he was interested. He took 24 hours to think about it and consult his partner Ryan, (a Melbourne primary school teacher) before saying yes. By Monday it was official, and the twitterverse went into meltdown. So hasty was the cabinet appointment, the formalities of submitting it to the Governor-General will not be conducted until early next year.

Wilson, 33, says he was shocked to discover what he'll earn in his new job - more than $320,000 a year, close to the $340,000 paid to a federal court judge. Even John Roskam, head of the right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs - from which Wilson was plucked - finds the amount ''obscene'', though he extols the virtues of his former employee.

''I think it's most appropriate that Tim is there,'' Roskam said this week. ''[The IPA] still think the Human Rights Commission should be abolished, but if it is going to exist, you want people with a range of life and political experiences.''