Attorney-General George Brandis may have acted corruptly, Labor has said, following reports the federal government agreed to a secret deal allowing the Western Australian government to pursue compensation from the collapse of a company despite legal issues with their plan.
According to a report in The West Australian, the arrangement was scuttled by a High Court submission from former solicitor-general Justin Gleeson, SC, said to be the pivotal moment in the breakdown of his relationship with Senator Brandis and eventual resignation last month.
More Videos
Brandis in hot water again
Labor has said George Brandis acted corruptly following fresh revelations from Justin Gleeson about a secret deal to benefit the West Australian Liberal government.
The Coalition government had agreed to support the WA Liberal government's pursuit of $1 billion from Alan Bond's failed Bell Group, the report says, subsequently instructing Mr Gleeson to reflect this position when WA's legislation was challenged in the High Court. But the Australian Taxation Office, separately seeking to claw back $300 million, also asked him to act for them in the dispute.
It was this submission, contending that the legislation was inconsistent with federal tax law – the line of argument the Attorney-General had promised would be disregarded – which demolished WA's plan and caused them "to think the Commonwealth had acted in bad faith".
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the reports showed the Attorney-General George Brandis was morally bankrupt and, "at worst, corrupt".
"The only ethical course of action that Malcolm Turnbull has is to sack George Brandis and he should sack George Brandis today," he said.
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said "this story, if the facts reported in The West Australian are correct, demonstrates corrupt conduct by the Attorney-General George Brandis".
"What this story says is that he conspired with the Western Australian government to act contrary to his duty to the Commonwealth, contrary to the constitution, contrary to the Commonwealth law and Justin Gleeson has done exactly his duty to the Commonwealth to put in the submissions that he did on behalf of the tax commissioner," he told Sky News.
![Attorney-General George Brandis.](/web/20161125130829im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/y/x/j/e/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsx9e6.png/1480040469260.jpg)
According to sources referenced in the story, there was a "blazing row" between between the federal and state attorneys-general and it had led Senator Brandis to believe Mr Gleeson had disobeyed his instructions.
It was shortly after the High Court hearing that Senator Brandis issued the legally binding directive that prevented other ministers, including the Prime Minister, and departments seeking the advice of the solicitor-general without his written approval. This action triggered the high-profile dispute between the two men.
![The High Court case appears to be the pivotal moment in the breakdown of his relationship with Senator Brandis.](/web/20161125130829im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/2/g/9/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsx9e6.png/1480056013205.jpg)
Concerns centred around the independence of the solicitor-general and Mr Gleeson said the directive was a "radical" and unlawful change. When he resigned, he said the relationship between him and the Attorney-General was "irretrievably broken".
In an explosive interview following the resignation, Liberal MP Andrew Laming said the directive was no longer required "because Mr Gleeson is gone".
"This was done because they didn't trust Gleeson."
Earlier this month Senator Brandis repealed the controversial directive – hours before it was set to be stuck down by Labor and crossbench senators in the Senate.
The Greens said Senator Brandis should resign or be sacked if the reports are correct, arguing he interfered with the Solicitor-General to help the WA Liberals.
"If it looks like corruption and smells like corruption, then it probably is corruption. The primary allegiance of the Attorney-General is to the law, not politics," Senator Nick McKim said.
A spokesman for the Attorney-General said "the government does not comment on litigation in which the Commonwealth was a party".