THE HON. MARK DREYFUS QC MP
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC PERTH
THURSDAY, 7 MARCH 2019
SUBJECTS: AFP Referral
RUSSELL WOOLF, CO-PRESENTER: They're trying to refer the Attorney General Christian Porter to the Australian Federal Police, why? Well lets ask Mark Dreyfus, the Shadow Attorney-General with the Labor Party who joins us on the line this morning. Its good to talk with you Mr Dreyfus.
MARK DREYFUS, SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL: Yes, thanks Russell, and Hello Nadia.
WOOLF: Now, why have you referred Christian Porter to the Australian Federal Police?
DREYFUS: We've asked the police to investigate whether the Attorney-General has potentially committed bribery offences against the Commonwealth Electoral Act, and its simply because along with a couple of dozen other Liberal mates that Mr Porter appointed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, he appointed Ms Jane Bell who at the time was seeking pre-selection for the prized Liberal seat of Higgins which had been vacated by Kelly O'Dwyer. That would render her ineligible to even stand for the seat of Higgins, and effectively what Mr Porter has done is rendered any votes that were cast in that pre-selection for Ms Bell pointless. We need to know exactly when he offered her this position, what influence it may have had on the pre-selection process - and there's a reason why we have these serious offences in the Electoral Act. Its to stop any inducements being made in relation to any part of the electoral process which of course, includes pre-selections.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS, CO-HOST: How could it in what way could it influence the pre-selection process exactly?
DREYFUS: Well, it could have influenced voters in that pre-selection, that would be Liberal Party members in the seat of Higgins who apparently voted on who they would put up as the Liberal candidate to replace Kelly O'Dwyer, who announced her resignation on the 19th January, there was quite a large field. Ms Bell was known to be a pre-selection candidate already by January 31. It could potentially influence those Liberal Party members not to vote for her. It might have influenced her in giving her that job which of course didn't actually occur until just a couple of days before the pre-selection contest on February 24. The announcement was made on 21st February. It could have influenced her to run dead in the pre-selection contest. We just don't know, that-s why I've asked the police to investigate. Under no circumstances should Mr Porter have appointed her when she was running for pre-selection. He should have known better and that's what raises the potential for a criminal offence to have been committed. I don-t know the full circumstances but hes got to come clean. Hes made a couple of statements today which simply raise more questions than they answer. Hes got to exactly explain all of the circumstances from the very start of his approaches to Ms Bell. Hes got to explain when this appointment was made by the Governor-General ordinarily it would have been made on the Thursday morning of 21st February and announced in the afternoon he seems to be saying that it went to cabinet at some earlier time. That simply raises more questions.
WOOLF: Christian Porter, the Attorney-General is of course a West Australian. The Prime Minister is in Western Australia of course you make this announcement today. I wonder do you seriously expect the AFP to take any action here? Or are you really just trying to sling a bit of mud while the PM is in town?
DREYFUS: Well that's a matter for the Australian Federal Police. I have identified for them a potential offence that has been committed under the Electoral Act. Its a matter for the Australian Federal Police, it always is, as to whether they decide to take the matter further. I think they should. But whether they do is a matter for them. And it of course adds to the scandalous appointment of 57 Liberal mates former Liberal MPs, former Liberal staffers, former or actual donors, to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal since 2013. And its now reached outrage level because on 21st February Mr Porter announced 34 new appointments of whom 16 were Liberal mates. Ms Bell is one of them, but among them was an adviser to Mr Porter who was still on his staff, it appears from what Mr Porter said today, at the time the cabinet considered whether or not to appoint him. And I just wonder whether Mr Porter declared his conflict of interest on that. Hes sent Mr William Frost, an adviser on his staff until 2019, into a job paying as much as $250,000 a year. So we think the whole thing is scandalous we think Mr Porter in having no process, no public process, no transparency complete black box for an appointments process has invited this trouble for himself. Hes made a terrible error of judgement in proceeding with this appointment of Ms Bell. But equally you could say how does it come about that out of 34 new appointments, 16 of them are Liberals?
MITSOPOULOS: And we have talked to Christian Porter about that before. But just back on Jane Bell, how long have you known about this? Or been concerned about this?
DREYFUS: It took us some time to work through, after the announcement on the afternoon of 21st February after the Parliament had risen from its last sitting period it took us some time to work through just how many of the 34 new appointments were in fact Liberals, or Liberal-connected, or Liberal mates. And eventually we came upon Ms Bell who of course on further research turns out to be a candidate for pre-selection for the seat of Higgins. And that had been known since 31 January.
WOOLF: The fact is, though, that she was not pre-selected and she is not an MP. So she is in fact now entitled to be in the position that shes in. It just does seem like a cynical public is going to say that you're slinging mud and that's all.
DREYFUS: We need Mr Porter to explain all of the circumstances of this appointment, release all of the relevant documents. He cant simply say, as hes trying to, that Ms Bells appointment was finalised before her nomination for pre-selection for Higgins. That's transparently not right because I am certain this would not have gone to the Governor-General back in January, and her nomination for pre-selection for Higgins occurred certainly it was publicly known back in January. We need to know the full sequence we need to know in a proper account by Mr Porter, not just throwing out a few scraps when he approached Ms Bell and we need to see the documents as to when she was actually appointed. And it is a matter for investigation as to what the effect was of this appointment, or the offer of the appointment. Because the provisions in the Electoral Act talk about inducements what effect that had on the Higgins pre-selection process. The mud has been created entirely by Mr Porters own conduct, by his stacking of the AAT with his Liberal mates of whom Ms Bell is one.
MITSOPOULOS: Well leave it there, Mark Dreyfus, the Shadow Attorney-General.
ENDS
