Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Gallagher. Minister, yesterday in your statement to the Senate you addressed the issue of your role in the Commonwealth settlement. You said:

the Minister for Finance has no decision-making role in processes around significant legal matters—absolutely none.

And you quoted paragraph 3.2 of the Legal services directions. Guidance note 7, issued by the Office of Legal Services Coordination, relates to paragraph 3 of the directions. The guidance note explicitly refers to your role as a relevant portfolio minister requiring an agency seeking to settle a matter to provide information about any approvals by or briefings to the portfolio minister before a settlement request is provided to the Attorney-General. Was a brief or any form of advice ever provided to you or to your office on this claim or proposed settlement as envisaged by the guidance note and, if not, why not?