Minister Pyne said Mr Ashby had told him he was uncomfortable working in Peter Slipper's office, but that no further details were asked for.
He denied claims that he offered a job and legal counsel to Mr Ashby.
"Other members of the Coalition have assisted Mr Ashby and that has been on the public record because they thought he needed support," he said.
"And he was never offered a job. He was never offered legal counsel. He made that clear last night. And I'm not going to get into a tit for tat argument about parsing every sentence and paragraph made by other people."
He said Labor carries the blame for the fallout from the Peter Slipper case due to their decision to replace Harry Jenkins with Mr Slipper.
"I think the public are clear on a couple of things. They're absolutely clear that they should have not replaced Harry Jenkins with Peter Slipper."
"If Labor hadn't done that, we wouldn't be standing here today discussing what is a traumatic period for James Ashby. And they bear the blame for that."
Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Abbott refused to comment specifically on the claims today, saying the matter has been dealt with.
"I certainly stand by everything I have said about this and I am confident that Christopher will stand by everything he has said about this business," he said.
"[James Ashby] believed he had been treated in ways that was contrary to law. And, look, I watched the [60 minutes] program and I saw what I took to be a decent man who had been put into an impossible position and I had a lot of sympathy for him."
"But the point that I make is that all of this has been before the courts. And it all relates to a period in our national life that was discreditable, which was sordid, which was squalid and which is over."
Share
