Christian Porter knew a man he appointed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was registered as a lobbyist for a Liberal-aligned government relations firm.
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A fiery Senate estimates on Tuesday saw Labor senators attack the AAT for keeping former Coalition staffers in six-figure roles, despite some falling to meet performance benchmarks.
The Legal and Constitutional Affairs committee heard the AAT's system for checking conflicts of interests was "a mess", after it only discovered former Liberal staffer John Griffin was a registered lobbyist when it received a media inquiry two years after his 2019 appointment.
Attorney-General's Department deputy secretary Iain Anderson confirmed Mr Griffin disclosed his role at Barton Deakin, a Liberal-aligned government relations firm, before his appointment.
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Former attorney-general Christian Porter was made aware of the issue before signing-off, though the department did not inform the AAT.
Labor senator Kim Carr slammed the tribunal, which relied on members disclosing their own conflicts of interest, for failing to check the publicly-available lobbyist register.
"The AAT doesn't seem to know where to find it ... why does it take a media inquiry?" he asked.
"[Are the] probity arrangements so poor that a public register is not even [checked] by the agency?"
Attorney-General Michaelia Cash stressed that, as a part-time appointment, Mr Griffin was entitled to hold paid employment outside of the AAT.
"Sure, but you don't think there's anything wrong with a lobbyist being appointed?" Labor senator Murray Watt asked.
Senator Cash conceded the AAT needed a more complete understanding of potential conflicts of interest, saying her Department had shifted away from solely relying on disclosures from appointees.
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus wrote to Senator Cash in October, demanding Mr Griffin resign as a lobbyist or leave the AAT. He criticised the government for appointing over 70 former Coalition staffers, MPs and candidates to a body tasked with adjudicating its decisions since it took office.
But Liberal senator Sarah Henderson blamed the AAT's "ad hoc" disclosure system, after it admitted part-time members were not asked about potential conflicts of interest on an annual basis.
"It sounds a bit of a mess, in terms of how this has been administered," she said.
Senator Carr also questioned the performance of James Lambie, former chief of staff to George Brandis, paid $329,000 in 2020-21 despite meeting just 45 per cent of the tribunal's performance benchmarks.
AAT registrar Sian Leathem insisted the benchmarks were a "planning tool" considered alongside other factors, and were not "necessarily indicative of performance".
Coalition senators seized on the remarks, warning members' reputations were being unfairly maligned. Liberal senator Paul Scarr warned he would be "fiercely interrogating" the matter going forwards.
"I have grave concerns that some of these members are now the subject of speculation which is not warranted, and might be warranted with respect to others," he says.
Ms Leathem said members had the opportunity to raise concerns if they believed the work assigned to them would hamper their performance.
But she accepted a member focusing on their work, rather than "agitating for greater recognition", could be misrepresented.
'Shocking' oversight
Senator Henderson also accused the AAT of "shocking administrative oversight", after it claimed some paid members had done no work for the tribunal.
It named barrister Andrew Tragardh as a member of that group, though he told the Nine newspapers he declined the role due to ill health.
Ms Leathem on insisted Mr Tragardh had been appointed, but conceded he had never been sworn in, undertaken work, or been paid by the tribunal.
Senator Henderson said by failing to give full context, the AAT had tarnished Mr Tragardh's reputation.
"Can you not accept that [given] the member is not sworn in, not capable of hearing cases, he declined the appointment, that this is a shocking administrative oversight by the AAT?" she said.
Ms Leathem apologised and claimed the AAT would review its processes. She was not aware of any attempt to apologise directly to Mr Tragardh.
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