- Bligh unveils 20-year infrastructure plan
- Torres Strait pleads for climate change action
- Overcrowding in parliamentary precinct worsens, Opposition says
- Minister apologises for 'boisterous' comment
- Junee senator questions Australian Quarantine rules
- Carbon price 'disastrous' for mining companies
- Local MP urges PM's carbon tax tour to visit Riverina
Two leading Barristers discuss Ruddock's failure as A-G
The Sydney Morning Herald has run an opinion piece today by Ian Barker, QC and Robert Toner, SC, going into some detail on the failure of Philip Ruddock, Attorney-General, to fulfil the responsibilities of the office of Attorney-General of the Commonwealth.
I agree. The office of Attorney-General has historically been a legal office, not a political one. While the appointment is made politically out of the Government's numbers in Parliament, the tradition of Attorneys-General is that they remain neutral, and where appropriate, that they initiate legal action against the Government.
Ruddock has spectacularly failed to do this, and has avoided it at every opportunity. The SMH piece is worth reading even if you are not a lawyer, because it illustrates very well the discomfort that much of the legal profession has with Ruddock's conduct.