AEC chairman Trevor Morling

Related:  Anti-rorting proposals ignored  AEC took Abbott’s word for it to keep donors secret   Hanson still a redhead and coping well behind bars: lawyer Joo-Cheong Tham: AEC can make Abbott give sworn evidence on slush fund

The Australian Electoral Commission chairman, retired judge Trevor Morling QC, has intervened in the “honest politics” slush fund controversy, calling for the files and all legal advice to date on whether Workplace Relations minister Tony Abbott must unmask his secret donors.

Mr Abbott today maintained his refusal to take the pressure off the AEC and restore public confidence in the electoral system by revealing his donors voluntarily.

AEC officials today urgently briefed the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) to advise whether the structure of Abbott’s honest politics trust avoided any legal duty to disclose the donors to the Australian people under existing law.

Mr Morling confirmed that in 1998 the AEC had trusted Mr Abbott’s word that he could legally claim secrecy for his donors in 1998 without seeing his legal advice or taking its own.

Mr Morling revealed that in June 2002, after questions by the Senate, the AEC took general legal advice from the AGS and the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether legal slush funds designed to destroy political opponents could now be used as a way to avoid disclosing donations to political parties.

Mr Morling said he had not yet read the DPP’s advice, but that the AGS advice was “inconclusive”.

The AEC took that advice after Labor Senator John Faulkner warned that if Abbott’s slush fund was legal, then political parties could exploit his disclosure avoidance mechanism to hide more political donations from the people of Australia.

Mr Morling said he did not know why the AEC had not investigated the trust after receiving advice that it might or might not legally avoid disclosure.

The commission not only failed to launch an investigation into the trust, but also failed to advise Senator Faulkner and the Senate of the findings of its legal advice as promised in June last year.

The AEC’s spokesman, Brien Hallett, conceded to the Herald yesterday that this was wrong.

“It was an oversight. It’s regrettable. I’ll take that one on the chin,” he said. “We should have got back to him (Senator Faulkner).”

Mr Morling also criticised the AEC for not advising him of the AGS and DPP legal advice at the time.

“I wish it had been referred to me then,” he said, adding that the AGS advice, which left the question of whether Abbott should disclose his donors open, would not have justified an immediate prosecution.

The question whether it warranted an investigation of the trust “is another matter”, he said.

He said it was an open question whether admissions since Pauline Hanson’s jailing by Abbott and fellow trustee Peter Coleman, who is a Liberal Party elder and Peter Costello’s father-in-law, that the honest politics trust’s purpose was to destroy One Nation to avoid electoral damage to the Liberal Party strengthened the case for disclosure of donors.

“It may be. I’m not in possession of all the facts yet. Steps are being taken and I believe a discussion is being held today with the AGS,” he said.

Mr Morling said the AEC “must stay outside politics – you’d be surprised at the ways we have to fend off politicians and political parties trying to get what they want implemented”.

“That applies whatever government is in power – I’ve been in the job for fourteen years.”

Mr Abbott today maintained his refusal to reveal his donors voluntarily. His spokesman, Mr Andrew Simpson, said “he’s been pretty consistent on that right through.”

Asked why Mr Abbott did not want the Australian people to know who donated to the honest politics trust, he said he would ask Mr Abbott.

The Herald asked Mr Simspon if Mr Abbott had received written legal advice that the trust structure successfully avoided laws requiring transparency of political donations. Mr Simpson said he did not know.

The Herald also asked why Mr Abbott would not name the lawyer who verbally advised him that he was in the clear. Mr Simpson said he would refer this question to Mr Abbott.