Prime Minister Tony Abbott is more pressured than ever to take action against Dyson Heydon.
Advertisement
The invitation to the event, written on a Liberal Party letterhead, says the $80 cost should be made to the Liberal Party of Australia’s NSW division.
Last October, however, Senator Brandis (though not asked to explicitly to do so) granted Justice Heydon an extension, and broadened the royal commission’s scope to allow investigation of union criminality.
Government frontbencher Christopher Pyne has questioned why royal commissioner Dyson Heydon was invited to speak at a NSW Liberal Party fundraiser.
“Earlier this morning I was advised that the Hon Dyson Heydon would not be able to attend and deliver the address”, Nutt said in a statement.
“All proceeds from this event will be applied to state election campaigning” the invitation said.
Mr Abbott told reporters in Adelaide Mr Heydon was a “man of great integrity”, shown by the fact he withdrew from the event as soon as the royal commissioner realised it had some association with the Liberal Party.
“And even on his withdrawal from that event, he says in an email he’d be willing to attend similar events”.
As media reports surfaced over the story yesterday, the commissioner confirmed he had pulled out of the speaking engagement and released a series of emails showing he previously had been assured it was not a political fundraiser.
Manager of Opposition business Tony Burke disagreed. He would certainly be well acquainted with the requirement for judges to disqualify themselves from cases in which there was actual bias or a perception of apprehended bias. The inquiry over which he has presided since its establishment by the Abbott government in March 2014 has frequently been characterised as a union witch hunt and an attempt to slander the Labor Party.
The potential for royal commissions to swing around and bite the government of the day on the backside has been amply demonstrated in years past.
“The sham – that we have said for so long this royal commission was – has now been found out and exposed”.
However, Justice Minister Michael Keenan described Labor’s attacks as “warped priorities”.
Advertisement
Labor workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor insists there is an apparent conflict of interest.
