Brandis rejects Alice in Wonderland report

Attorney-General George Brandis has likened a Senate inquiry report which found he misled parliament to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

Attorney-General George Brandis

The attorney-general has rejected a Senate inquiry report which found he misled parliament. (AAP)

The attorney-general has rejected a Senate inquiry report which found he misled parliament - and he's used the tale of Alice in Wonderland to make his point.

A Labor-dominated Senate committee found George Brandis unfit for the job and recommended he be censured, finding he did not consult the solicitor-general before banning ministers, including the prime minister, from seeking his advice without notifying him first.

Senator Brandis on Wednesday insisted he did consult Justin Gleeson, who resigned after telling the inquiry he was not consulted.

The attorney accused Labor members of the committee of bias, saying Senator Pat Dodson didn't show up on the day he gave evidence while Senator Murray Watt made speeches in the chamber announcing his conclusions before hearings had begun.

When it came to committee chair Louise Pratt, he accused her of basing her entire case on a passage from Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland, before waving around a copy of the book.

"I dug out Alice in Wonderland this morning Senator Pratt and I was reminded that one of the main plot lines in Alice in Wonderland is of some crazy queen, the queen of hearts, running around saying `off with his head, off with his head' before the trial commences.

"That's you Senator Pratt.

"Indeed this is an Alice in Wonderland report."

Crossbencher Nick Xenophon earlier on Wednesday came to the defence of Senator Brandis, insisting he shouldn't resign.

"If dodginess was a new standard in this parliament there wouldn't be too many people here," he told reporters.

Coalition senator Ian Macdonald labelled the report a "political witch-hunt" and said it could have been written before the inquiry even started.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world