George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator McKim, you have asked me about my or my officers' knowledge of certain matters at certain times. Obviously, I will have to take that on notice. In relation to the position of invoking a public interest immunity claim in respect of legal advice, that, as I pointed out in my answer to Senator Pratt, is the invariable position of all Australian governments, and it has been since Federation, and in the written answers to questions that I took on notice in the references committee, which I have tabled again this morning, the various precedents quoting the views of attorneys-general from both sides of politics are set out. They are merely a sample of those views. It is an absolutely fundamental position that the Commonwealth does not publicly disclose its legal advice and that that is a recognised ground of public interest immunity.

In relation to your third question about the standing of Odgers' Australian Senate Practice, Odgers' is a practice book which provides guidance about the practice and precedents of the Senate. The view it takes of certain matters concerning the relationship between the Senate and the executive government, of which this is one, is not, and has often not been, shared by the executive government. To the extent to which Odgers' asserts that the executive government has certain obligations in the Senate in relation to the disclosure of legal advice, that is inconsistent with the unvaried practice of all Australian governments since Federation.