Jew World Order

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young with Greens leader Bob Brown in Canberra yesterday. Picture: Ray Strange
Source: The Australian

COMMONWEALTH Ombudsman Allan Asher faces calls to resign after admitting he colluded with the Greens to orchestrate his own evidence before a Senate committee so he could complain that his office was underfunded.

Former NSW premier Bob Carr said yesterday Mr Asher, who wrote a script of questions for the Greens to put to him in a committee hearing in May, had smashed the credibility of his independent office and made it appear he was working with a political party. He also accused Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who asked the Ombudsman his own questions at the hearing, of unethical behaviour for allowing herself to be used.

Julia Gillard was also critical of Ms Asher’s conduct, saying last night through a spokesman that she had “expressed concern” to the head of her department, Ian Watt, about the impartiality and independence of the ombudsman’s office. “The secretary and the Ombudsman will meet over coming days, as part of the new secretary’s round of introductory meetings with heads of agencies in the PMC (Prime Minister and Cabinet) portfolio,” the spokesman said.

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As ethicists and one of Mr Asher’s predecessors in the role queried his behaviour, the Ombudsman stood by his actions, saying he engineered his evidence because he wanted to bring public attention to the fact that he needed more funding beyond his annual budget of $22 million.

Numerous Liberal and Labor MPs told The Australian they believed Mr Asher’s behaviour was outrageous, but Greens leader Bob Brown said he was proud that his party had provided an opportunity for Mr Asher to raise information that would otherwise have never reached the public sphere.

The opposition accused the Greens of hypocrisy for having criticised the Coalition’s dealings with former public servant Godwin Grech before a Senate committee hearing two years ago.

The Australian revealed yesterday that Mr Asher had sought out Senator Hanson-Young before a Senate budget estimates committee hearing on May 24.

The day before the hearing, Mr Asher emailed Senator Hanson-Young a series of suggested questions about his concerns about Labor’s asylum-seeker policy and his need for more funding.

Senator Hanson-Young used the hearing to ask Mr Asher the questions he had written.

Three days later she released a press release based on his evidence to call for more public funding for his office.

Mr Asher also released a media statement, seizing on his own answers to the questions he had written to demand more money.

Mr Carr used his personal blog to blast the Ombudsman. “It’s plain unethical for an ombudsman to write questions for politicians grilling him at a Senate budget estimates committee.

“The implication could be drawn – no doubt wrongly – that Mr Asher was inclined to help the Green Party (sic) in the context of its support for a budget increase for his office.

“It is unethical for a senator to allow herself to be used in that way. No argument. Over and out. Resign Mr Asher.”

Mr Asher yesterday released a statement saying he had wanted to give evidence to the budget estimates committee hearing about funding shortages but had not been called by the government to give evidence.

“In the absence of another parliamentary committee, I chose this unorthodox approach to bring my concerns to the attention of the parliament and the public,” he said. “This was not a wise route to take.”

Senator Brown said it would be outrageous if Mr Asher were pressed to quit, describing him as feisty, intelligent and public-minded. The Greens leader said it was clear the Ombudsman’s office was inadequately funded and the Greens were happy to have been able to facilitate his evidence.

“We Greens are in the business of ensuring that there’s no repression of information in the public arena,” Senator Brown said.

“The Ombudsman asked us to place questions or to put questions to him and he got to appear before a committee because Senator Hanson-Young asked for him to appear before the committee.”

Senator Hanson-Young said she had never read scripted questions in committee hearings previously but did so because she believed his concerns were in the public interest. Asked whether she would have given Mr Asher a platform for an issue where she disagreed with his views, she said: “If I wanted to ask him questions, I would ask him to appear.”

Ethicists and other ombudsmen were less supportive. NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour declined to comment on Mr Asher’s conduct but told The Australian: “I have not, nor would I ever, prepare questions for MPs to ask me in a committee hearing.”

Ethicist Simon Longstaff, of the St James Ethics Centre, said Mr Asher was right to raise his concerns about funding but wrong to collude with a political party.

Dr Longstaff said the Ombudsman’s office was independent and accountable to the parliament.

“I think the problem is in the selective briefing of just one part of the parliament,”he said. “It would have been better to have this information available to all parties.”

Dr Longstaff said that there was a strong public interest in the Ombudsman being perceived to be “politically disinterested”.

Former commonwealth ombudsman Philippa Smith told The Australian resourcing was often an issue for the office. “It’s a small agency for the scope it is dealing with,” she said.

Australian National University professor of political science John Uhr agreed with Mr Asher that he had been “unwise” to script the questions. He said the incident showed the need for a parliamentary committee to oversee the Ombudsman’s office. Such a body could “quickly investigate a matter such as this to determine whether there had been any misconduct in the incident”.

Another former ombudsman said Mr Asher’s action undermined the integrity and the independence of the office: “It’s not illegal but it’s probably not the best thing to promote confidence in the office. When you are in this public position, you need to not only do the right thing but be seen to do the right thing.”

Several MPs on both sides, requesting anonymity, said Mr Asher’s actions were wrong and made his office appear politically aligned. “This is just outrageous,” one Labor MP said. “This guy has an independent position and he ought to make sure he appears to be independent.”

A Liberal said Mr Asher should have raised his funding concerns with the government. “It’s just crazy stuff,” the MP said. “It seems Mr Asher fancies himself as a political player and you can’t cop that from an ombudsman.”

The opposition steered clear of reflecting on Mr Asher’s behaviour yesterday but attacked the Greens for colluding with the Ombudsman after they savaged the Coalition for dealing with Mr Grech, who two years ago attempted to implicate former prime minister Kevin Rudd in an ethics scandal, only to later confirm his evidence was invented.

Opposition Senate leader Eric Abetz, who dealt with Mr Grech, said Senator Brown had attacked his integrity over the issue and was displaying double standards.

“Clearly, all the standards that Senator Brown and the Greens said should apply to Coalition senators do not apply to Greens senators,” he said.

“You have the rank hypocrisy of the Greens setting a standard for everybody else and then setting no standard for themselves.”

Additional reporting: Milanda Rout, Imre Salusinszky