MARK DREYFUS MP

Member for Isaacs

ABC Radio Melbourne Morning Virginia Trioli 3 December 2019

03 December 2019

SUBJECT: Angus Taylor.

MARK DREYFUS
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
MEMBER FOR ISAACS

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC MELBOURNE
TUESDAY, 3 DECEMBER, 2019

SUBJECT: Angus Taylor.

VIRGINIA TRIOLI: Vexatious is the word there that Christian Porter has used. Mark Dreyfus is the Shadow Attorney-General. He joins you now. Mark Dreyfus good morning.

MARK DREYFUS, SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL: Good to be with you Virginia.

TRIOLI: How many referrals that end up revealing nothing to the Federal Police or other authorities, how many do you need until what you're doing should be called vexatious, Mark Dreyfus?

DREYFUS: It's typical of this government that they attack the people that are raising criticisms of them rather than address the criticisms. And as for nothing coming of them I'd like to remind listeners about Stuart Robert, who had to resign from his ministry because of his disgraceful conduct in going to China to sign an agreement, supposedly in a private capacity, when in fact he was still the Assistant Defence Minister. Or Mal Brough, another minister in the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison Government who had to resign following referral of his matters to the police.

The standard, Virginia, is not whether or not a minister is convicted of a criminal offence. The standard is a much higher one than that, that we expect of our cabinet ministers. Angus Taylor should have stood aside long ago, and should have absolutely disclosed all of the misconduct that occurred in his office. Instead were left guessing and, of course, I'm going to refer something to the police where there's a serious possibility of criminal conduct having occurred.

That's the right thing to do. I wish that we had a Prime Minister who knew what the right thing to do was. I wish that we had an Attorney-General who knew what the right thing to do was. We don't.

TRIOLI: Well interestingly, though, the Attorney-General said in Parliament yesterday, when confirming that Commissioner Fuller was told who was on the line during that conversation, that Commissioner Fuller also said, and this is the quote, referrals like this are a great diverter of my time. So when you're asking the New South Wales Commissioner of Police to investigate these matters and the Commissioner himself sees it as a diverter - I won't say waste, although that's the implication there - a diverter of his time, you're not on strong ground.

DREYFUS: We don't know what was said in this conversation because..

TRIOLI: I know people don't like me jumping in, but I've got to clarify before you go on with that sentence. Are you saying there that Christian Porter misled Parliament?

DREYFUS: They haven't revealed a transcript. They haven't disclosed notes of this conversation. I'm not saying that wasn't said but we need to know the context for this. The problem with this phone call..

TRIOLI: You're not saying it wasn't said but you're not agreeing that it was. So you're having it both ways there?

DREYFUS: We just don't know. The problem is that the call should never have been made. It shows the complete failure of judgment on the part of the Australian Attorney-General and the Australian Prime Minister, that they could even think it appropriate for the Prime Minister to go out and ring the Commissioner of
Police about a current investigation, and then worse, for the Prime Minister to rush back into Parliament and give his version of a bit of the call as a pretext for not standing Angus Taylor aside.

And your listeners can just contemplate what the effect is of that behaviour - that's making the call and then rushing into the Parliament to say I didn't hear anything that warrants Angus Taylor standing aside - what effect that might have on the police officers who are doing the investigation. If that's not pressure, I don't know what it is. This is a call that should never have been made.

TRIOLI: Now several journalists have submitted FOI claims, as I understand, to try and get to the bottom of just how that doctored Sydney City Council document made it onto Angus Taylor's desk. What's the latest in your investigation?

DREYFUS: The latest is that we've had a complete blockage of any FOI coming in. And we don't know what happened in Angus Taylor's office other than what emerged from it which was a forged document being used as the basis for an imbecilic attack made by cabinet minister on the mayor of a capital city.

Now, a lot more needs to be disclosed. We need to know who created this forged document. We need to know how it came about that a draft letter that came up from the Department said nothing about this. That something happened in the minister's office that led to this forged letter being used, and worse, given to the Daily Telegraph to create a front page story so that the attack could be furthered before the letter was even delivered to Clover Moore.

What a disgraceful piece of conduct by an Australian cabinet minister. He should have gone long ago, and it shouldn't be left to me to raise serious allegations with the police.

It's certainly not the case that unless he's charged with a criminal offence he can stay in his job. He has already, on the face of it, committed conduct which absolutely warrants his dismissal from his job as a cabinet minister. The Prime Minister should have done it long ago.

TRIOLI: Just quick one quick final question before we let you go Mark Dreyfus. You've made your application. You sent this off to the Commissioner, Mick Fuller. Following what was said in Parliament yesterday - and let's assume that Parliament was not misled and that Commissioner Fuller did say referrals like this are a great diverter of my time - he doesn't seem to be a fan of the investigation. Do you have faith in the Commissioner to complete this investigation properly?

DREYFUS: Of course I have faith in New South Wales Police to go about their task without fear or favour. And I'm very much hoping that the inappropriate call made by the Prime Minister doesn't put pressure on them. Its a call that should never have been light.

TRIOLI: Good to talk to you Mark Dreyfus, thank you.

DREYFUS: Thanks, Virginia.

ENDS