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Aussie chief law officer "unfit for high office": Senate committee

Xinhua, November 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australia's Attorney-General (AG) misled Parliament and is unfit for the job, a Senate committee has concluded.

The committee was asked to investigate a directive issued by George Brandis, Australia's AG and leader of the government in the Senate, which restricted public servants' access to the nation's second highest law officer, the Solicitor-General (SG).

The committee's report, published by Australian media on Wednesday, found that Brandis committed a "gross infringement on the independence" of former SG, Justin Gleeson.

The report ordered that Brandis' direction, which required all requests for SG Gleeson's expertise to come through his own office for approval first, be repealed and that the Senate censure Brandis for misleading the committee by claiming he had consulted Gleeson about the directive.

"It gives me no pleasure to affirm to the Senate chamber today that this inquiry has clearly demonstrated the unfitness of the Attorney-General to hold his high office and affirm that he has misled the Senate," Louis Pratt, senator for the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) and chair of the committee, said.

The committee was dominated by ALP and Greens MPs. Endit