Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson quits amid George Brandis row

Treasurer Scott Morrison said Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson had taken the honourable course of action in quitting.

Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson has quit amid ongoing tension with Attorney-General George Brandis. Picture: Kym Smith

Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson has resigned from his post amid a bitter feud with Attorney-General George Brandis, saying their relationship had become “irretrievably broken”.

Senator Brandis announced the resignation in a media release today after Mr Gleeson wrote to inform him of his decision.

“I have come to this conclusion with regret, but the interests of the Commonwealth can be served only when its first and second law officers enjoy each other’s complete trust and confidence within a mutually respectful relationship,” Mr Gleeson writes.

“When such a relationship is irretrievably broken, as is the case here, and each law officer holds a term of office established by the Constitution or statute which will not expire in the near future, there must be some resolution to the impasse.”

Senator Brandis and Mr Gleeson have been entangled in a public brawl after the Attorney-General issued a new direction requiring ministers to obtain his written permission before seeking advice from the Solicitor-General.

Attorney-General George Brandis.

Mr Gleeson has claimed he was not properly consulted about the change before it was implemented in May but Senator Brandis’ office has provided notes taken by his staff at a meeting in November 2015 that show it was discussed.

Treasurer Scott Morrison says the government needed to be able to trust its own lawyer and Mr Gleeson had taken the honourable course of action in quitting.

Mr Morrison said Mr Gleeson had put himself in an untenable position when he engaged with the opposition during the election campaign.

“The government has to be able to trust its own lawyer. Sadly, I think the course of events we have seen over the various months has led to the position where the former solicitor-general has taken what I think was the only course of action,” he told ABC television.

Mr Morrison rejected suggestions that there should be an inquiry. “The government has explained these matters and the solicitor-general, on a decision of his own, has decided to resign his position, and I think that settles the matter,” he said.

Labor, which forced a Senate inquiry into the matter, has been calling for Senator Brandis’ resignation and said Mr Gleeson’s decision was a “direct result” of the Attorney-General’s “disgraceful treatment” of him.

“It is not Mr Gleeson who should have resigned today - it is Senator Brandis,” opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus said.

“Senator Brandis should be condemned for his reprehensible and scandalous conduct.

“From the issuing of the legal services direction of 4 May, which so limited Mr Gleeson’s ability to do his job, Senator Brandis has acted shamefully. He has lied to parliament in an attempt to cover up his power-grab, he has refused to acknowledge his wrongdoing, and he has pushed Mr Gleeson out of office to save his own skin.

Mr Gleeson says his only motivation in stepping down from his role is to “further the best interests of the Commonwealth by enabling the restoration of a functional working relationship” between the two highest law officers in the land.

“My decision does not amount to a withdrawal of any position I have taken in relation to matters of controversy between us,” he writes in the letter.

“I also make perfectly plain that I reject absolutely each and every attack and insinuation that has been made in recent times upon me personally, or upon my office, by government members of parliament, including you, in Senate committee processes.”

Senator Brandis conceded this was the “proper course” of action and said he would take “immediate” steps to find a suitable replacement.

Justin Gleeson SC: an honourable man pushed out of office by a dishonourable government. Turnbull should hang his head in shame.

— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) October 24, 2016

Greens justice spokesman Nick McKim said Mr Gleeson had been “run out of office” by a government “with no regard for proper process or the rule of law”.

Senator McKim insisted Senator Brandis still had questions to answer regarding the Senate inquiry and his “treatment” of the Solicitor-General.

“There was no doubt a breakdown in trust between the Solicitor-General and the Attorney-General, but this can be laid squarely at the feet of Senator Brandis,” Senator McKim said. “His personal attacks on Mr Gleeson, his attempts to set himself up as gatekeeper to the Solicitor-General, and his habit of shopping around for politically convenient legal advice left Mr Gleeson with no other option.”

Cabinet minister Christian Porter, a former state attorney-general, said he had been “very surprised” by revelations Mr Gleeson spoke to Mr Dreyfus about the direction during the election campaign.

With AAP