Christian Porter knowingly appointed lobbyist John Griffin to Administrative Appeals Tribunal

The Attorney-General’s Department said John Griffin’s disclosure that he was a lobbyist could not be passed onto the tribunal due to privacy reasons

Former attorney-general Christian Porter. Picture: Martin Ollman

Former attorney-general Christian Porter was advised a former Liberal staffer was a registered political lobbyist before appointing him to the Administrative ­Appeals Tribunal.

The AAT — responsible for reviewing government decisions — has come under heavy scrutiny following revelations a raft of Liberal-linked members had fallen well short of their performance benchmarks, despite many earning six-figure salaries.

The Morrison government has also faced criticism for appointing more than 75 former Liberal politicians, candidates or staffers to the tribunal since it came into power in 2013.

Labor seized on the revelation of a potential conflict of interest that emerged as the tribunal fronted a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday. Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus said the government had damaged a “vital democratic institution … To the Morrison government, the AAT is there to serve the interests of the Liberal Party and its mates.”

Labor senator Kim. Picture: Gary Ramage

John Griffin – a former chief of staff to Victorian premier Jeff Kennett – had worked for more than two years as a paid lobbyist for a Liberal-aligned government relations firm while serving as a part-time tribunal member, The Guardian reported this month. The Barton Deakin lobbyist, who had worked for former prime minister John Howard, was appointed to the tribunal by Mr Porter in February 2019.

Tribunal registrar Sian Leathem told the hearing AAT president David Thomas became aware Mr Griffin was on the lobbyists’ register only when a media inquiry was made on October 11, two days before The Guardian’s story was published. He wrote to Mr Griffin about it on October 21.

Labor senator Kim Carr pressed officials about how the AAT remained unaware Mr Griffin was working as a lobbyist for more than two years when the information was on a publicly available register.

The Attorney-General’s Department deputy secretary Iain Anderson said Mr Griffin had declared his lobbyist position to the Attorney-General’s Department when his appointment was being considered, and the department conveyed this information to Mr Porter prior to the appointment.

He said disclosure of Mr Griffin’s lobbying role could not be passed on to the tribunal for privacy reasons but the department had now changed its process so it could request the consent of all potential appointees for declarations to be passed on to the AAT if the person became a tribunal member. Mr Porter declined to comment.