MARK DREYFUS
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
MICHAELIA CASH UNFIT TO BE NATION’S FIRST LAW OFFICER
The appointment of Michaelia Cash as Attorney-General is an indictment on the lack of talent, and standards, within Mr Morrison’s Government.
Michaelia Cash’s appointment means Australia now has as a First Law Officer a minister who twice refused requests to co-operate with an Australian Federal Police Investigation into the leaking, by her own office, of information which compromised a police investigation.
Senator Cash’s tricky legal strategy did not come cheap – with the Minister spending almost $300,000 on taxpayer funded lawyers to protect what’s left of her reputation while she hid behind a whiteboard.
The refusal of Minister Cash and her staff to co-operate with the investigation contributed to the decision to abandon the case, due to police being unable to obtain crucial evidence.
Just as alarmingly, as Attorney-General Senator Cash will be responsible for the Sex Discrimination Commission, despite her appalling record in this area.
In 2018, Senator Cash was forced to unreservedly apologise for threatening to make public totally unfounded rumours about female staff working at Parliament House.
In November last year Senator Cash was accused of sending "attacking and demeaning" messages about a female staffer and using a fake redundancy process to terminate her employment.
A minister who deliberately obstructs a police investigation, makes unfounded sexual slurs against female staffers and concocts fantasies about the “death of the ute” to justify her Government’s refusal to take action on climate change is not a fit and proper person to be Attorney-General.
MONDAY, 29 MARCH 2021
