George Brandis unapologetic over royal commission, says bias claims irrational
An unapologetic Attorney-General George Brandis says the greatest driver of former judge Brian Martin's decision to step down from the royal commission into Northern Territory juvenile detention was the unwanted attention
on his daughter.
Senator Brandis also said accusations of bias levelled at Mr Martin were irrational and that this debate has occurred in the context of a "particularly toxic" NT election campaign, causing people to say "a lot of wild things".
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Royal Commissioner resigns
Two people will now head up the Royal Commission into juvenile detention in the Northern Territory following the resignation of Brian Martin. Courtesy ABC News 24.
Following Mr Martin's resignation on Monday only days after being appointed, the government was forced to appoint former Queensland Supreme Court judge Margaret White and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda as co-commissioners.
The initial recruitment of the former NT chief justice Mr Martin had led to calls from Labor for an Indigenous co-commissioner to be added. Senator Brandis said on Tuesday morning that he and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had discussed the idea before the shock resignation and the option was always available.
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Mr Martin's daughter Joanna was dragged into the matter after it emerged she worked for former NT attorney-general Delia Lawrie from 2009 to 2011, a period to be examined by the royal commission.
"Having spoken to him a few times over the weekend, I'm quite sure that was the issue most heavily weighing on his mind," Senator Brandis told ABC radio.
Mr Martin's impartiality and competence had also been questioned based on his term as NT chief justice from 2004 to 2010 and recent appointment by dumped corrections minister John Elferink to lead an inquiry into the corruption of a ICAC-style Territory anti-corruption body.
Senator Brandis said accusations of bias, apprehended or real, could not have been made on any "rational basis".
"We are in the middle of, or on the verge of, what is promising to be a particularly toxic election campaign in the Northern Territory and of course a lot of people are going to say a lot of wild things," he said.
On current polling, Chief Minister Adam Giles' Country Liberal Party government is set to be wiped out at the August 27 election.
The Attorney-General also dismissed concerns about Mr Gooda's initial call for the sacking of the NT government after last Monday's Four Corners program, which triggered the royal commission into the NT justice system.
"You will not find an Indigenous leader in this country who hasn't had some sharp and strong things to say about the way in which the system treats Indigenous youth," he said.
The respected Indigenous leader and Gangulu man tweeted that the federal government should "intervene and sack the NT government," later saying they seem "'incapable of managing anything up there".
Mr Gooda, who has now formally resigned from the Human Rights Commissioner to take up the new position, said on Monday that the comment was just one of many visceral responses made by people on a "day of emotion".