Australian Federal Police have been asked to investigate whether a job offer to the human rights watchdog head in exchange for her resignation has broken the criminal code.
Gillian Triggs claims the Government sought her resignation as Australian Human Rights Commission president and put a senior legal role on the table.
She declined to describe it as an inducement.
A Senate estimates hearing yesterday heard Attorney-General’s Department boss, Chris Moraitis, had made a job offer after conveying the minister’s lack of confidence in her.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus has written to the federal police calling for an investigation.
“This is potentially unlawful conduct in breach of the criminal law of the Commonwealth,” he told ABC Radio.
Since the commission’s children in detention report release, Prof Triggs has been the subject of savage criticism by the government, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott labelling the inquiry a “political stitch-up” and a “blatantly partisan” exercise.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said there had been reasonable criticism directed at Prof Triggs.
And he dismissed the opposition’s intervention.
“This wouldn’t be the first time that Mark Dreyfus has played politics on these issues,” he told ABC radio.
“If they’re referring a claim off to the police that’s fine – there’s nothing in it.
“It’s without foundation. I think Senator Brandis has acted entirely appropriately.”
Labor frontbencher Penny Wong accused Mr Abbott and Senator Brandis of bullying behaviour against an institution that had dared to criticise it.
“To have the first law officer of this country … engage in a cowardly attack in estimates on Professor Triggs personally, says a lot about why this man is unfit to be attorney general,” she told ABC radio.
The standards of democracy should not be set by coalition bullies, she said.
Senator Wong denied Labor was just seeking headlines with its police referral.
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie plans to initiate a censure motion against Senator Brandis in the upper house.
“Character assassination of Triggs is the last straw,” she said on Twitter.
