Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General. Why did the Attorney-General allow the government's legal practice directions to be ignored in order for the government to offer Mr James Ashby a $50,000 settlement in his case against the Commonwealth?

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is absolutely clear that you have not read the legal services directions at all. All of our conduct in this case has been entirely consistent with the legal services directions. Not only that—it has been entirely consistent with the legal advice that we were given. It does not matter how many times people ask these questions, material that has been released to any party in litigation which is subject to undertakings given to the court is not going to be breached unless people want to be found in contempt of court, and the Commonwealth has no intention of being found so.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I ask a supplementary question of the Attorney-General. How can the Attorney refute the obvious conclusion that the government settled the case with Mr Ashby in order to suppress the public release of the offensive SMS messages from the member for Fisher?

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Clearly, if that was the intention, it did not work. The one reason you can be sure that it was not the intention is that it did not work. The Commonwealth, as people in this chamber seem to have forgotten, was a respondent in an action brought by Mr Ashby. Mr Slipper was also a respondent in an action brought by Mr Ashby. The Commonwealth settled that matter with Mr Ashby. Mr Slipper has not settled his matter with Mr Ashby; it is currently before the Federal Court, and I do not think it is appropriate for us to speculate about what might happen in that matter that is still ongoing.