George Brandis

Brandis was born in Sydney and was brought up in the inner-west suburb of Petersham.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/what_country_is_brandis_describing/asc/P20|title=What country is Brandis describing?|first=Andrew|last=Bolt|work=Herald Sun|date=25 February 2011}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He attended Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham before moving to Brisbane{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/the-art-of-compromise-20130630-2p60x.html|title=The art of compromise|first=Mark|last=Baker|date=6 July 2013|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|publisher=Fairfax Media}} and attending Villanova College and the University of Queensland, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with First-Class Honours in 1978 and a Bachelor of Laws with First-Class Honours in 1980.

Following graduation, Brandis served as Associate to Justice Charles Sheahan of the Queensland Supreme Court.{{cite web|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/chris-merritt-prejudice/seven-in-running-for-upcoming-high-court-vacancies/news-story/26ffe3c5a895aa84406c5f755ada84f2?nk=72b51c6aed453c32b4bdf257fe60017d-1469374754|title=Seven in Running for upcoming High Court Vacancies|work=The Australian}} He was then elected a Commonwealth Scholar{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/postgraduate/postgraduate-study/scholarship-funding-cuts-have-appalled-academics-and-students-alike-844777.html | work=The Independent | location=London | title=Scholarship funding cuts have appalled academics and students alike | first=Harriet | last=Swain | date=12 June 2008 | access-date=3 May 2010}} and obtained a Bachelor of Civil Law from Magdalen College, Oxford in 1983.{{cite web|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=008W7|title=Senator the Hon George Brandis QC|work=aph.gov.au}}

After a brief period as a solicitor in Brisbane, Brandis was called to the Queensland Bar in 1985 where he practised until entering politics in 2000.{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1788236.htm|title=The World Today - Call for more transparency in senior counsel appointments|website=www.abc.net.au|access-date=2016-12-18}} Brandis developed a commercial practice with a particular emphasis on trade practices law.{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}} He appeared as junior counsel in the High Court of Australia in the equity case Warman v Dwyer.{{cite AustLII|HCA|18|1995|litigants=Warman International Ltd v Dwyer |parallelcite=(1995) 182 CLR 544 |date=23 March 1995 |courtname=auto}}. He was also the junior barrister for the plaintiff in the long running Multigroup Distribution Services v TNT Australia litigation in the Federal Court of Australia.{{cite AustLII|FCA|226|2001|litigants=Multigroup Distribution Services Pty Ltd v TNT Australia Pty Ltd |date=12 March 2001 |courtname=auto}}.

Brandis applied to be appointed Senior Counsel in the late 1990s, but was unsuccessful.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/silk-for-senator-angers-lawyers/news-story/1df27e1a28bb5dddd767a0fc46e4174f|title=Silk for senator angers lawyers|date=2006-11-13|access-date=2016-12-18}} Brandis applied again in 2006. He was not on the Queensland Bar Association's shortlist; however the Chief Justice of Queensland, Paul de Jersey, who had the power to make the ultimate determination, added Brandis' name to the list, and Brandis was appointed Senior Counsel in November 2006.{{cite web|url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2016/10/29/solicitors-general-support-justin-gleeson-argument-with-george-brandis|title=Solicitors-general support Justin Gleeson in argument with George Brandis|last=Ackland|first=Richard|date=29 October 2016|work=The Saturday Paper}} This was controversial, since Brandis had not practised at the bar since 2000. In June 2013, the original title of Queen's Counsel was restored by the Queensland Government and Brandis was one of 70 (out of 74) Queensland SCs who chose to become QCs.{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/states-divide-over-restoration-of-queens-counsel-title/story-e6frg97x-1226663452676 | work=The Australian | title=States divide over restoration of 'Queen's Counsel' title | date=14 June 2013}}

Brandis has co-edited two books on liberalism,{{Cite book|title=Liberals face the future: essays on Australian liberalism|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1984|editor1=George Brandis|editor2=Tom Harley|editor3=Don Markwell|location=Melbourne}}{{Cite book|title=Australian liberalism: the continuing vision|publisher=The Liberal Forum|year=1986|editor1=Yvonne Thompson|editor2=George Brandis|editor3=Tom Harley|location=Melbourne}} and published academic articles on various legal topics,George Brandis, 'Rawls on Liberty' [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUSocLegPhilB/1989/15.html (1989) 49-50 Bulleton of the Australian Society of Legal Philosophy 169].George Brandis, 'Interlocutory injunctions to restrain speech' (1992) 12 Queensland Lawyer 169.George Brandis, 'The Debate We Didn't Have to Have: The Proposal for an Australian Bill of Rights' [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JCULawRw/2008/2.html (2008) 15 James Cook University Law Review 24].George Brandis, 'The Lawyer's Duty to Public Life' [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/NSWBarAssocNews/2010/75.html (Summer, 2011) New South Wales Bar Association, Bar News 118]. one of which was cited by the High Court of Australia in the landmark defamation case ABC v O'Neill.{{cite AustLII|HCA|46|2006|litigants=Australian Broadcasting Corporation v O'Neill |date=28 September 2006 |courtname=auto}}.

While at the Bar, Brandis was a board member of UNICEF Australia for 10 years.{{Citation needed|date=February 2015}} He has also been an Associate of the Australian Institute for Ethics and the Professions, and lectured in jurisprudence at the University of Queensland from 1984 to 1991.{{cite web |url=http://www.uq.edu.au/aiep/staff.html |title=Australian Institute of Ethics and the Professions |publisher=Uq.edu.au |access-date=20 May 2011 |archive-date=14 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514201050/http://www.uq.edu.au/aiep/staff.html |url-status=dead }}

According to Peter Baume, during the 1980s Brandis was a key member of the Liberal Forum, a social or classical liberal faction within the party. He "cut his political teeth fighting a rearguard action against the incoming tide of neoliberal economics and a muscular social conservatism that increasingly came to characterise the party in the late 1980s and early 1990s". He was a co-editor of two anthologies produced by members of the faction, titled Liberals Face the Future (1984) and Australian Liberalism: The Continuing Vision (1986).{{Cite news|url=http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p323151/html/introduction.xhtml|title=INTRODUCTION: A DISSIDENT LIBERAL—A PRINCIPLED POLITICAL CAREER|work=A Dissident Liberal: The Political Writings of Peter Baume|first1=John|last1=Wanna|author-link=John Wanna|first2=Marija|last2=Taflaga|year=2015|publisher=ANU Press}}

File:George Brandis Attorney-General.png

Brandis was first chosen by the Parliament of Queensland to fill a casual vacancy following the resignation of Senator the Honourable Warwick Parer.{{Citation needed|date=February 2015}} He was elected to a further six-year term at the 2004 election.

In his period as a senator, he has served as Chairman of the Economics Committee and as Chairman of the Senate's Children Overboard Inquiry.

Brandis has also made a number of public speeches. In 2003, he described the Australian Greens as eco-fascist.{{cite news

|title = Brandis defends Greens-Nazis comments

|work = Lateline

|publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation

|date = 31 October 2003

|url = http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2003/s980044.htm

|access-date = 3 December 2007

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071228224326/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2003/s980044.htm

|archive-date = 28 December 2007

|url-status = dead

|df = dmy-all

}}

Brandis claimed over $1,000 in taxpayer expenses to attend the inaugural Sir Garfield Barwick address in Sydney on 28 June 2010. The event was billed as a Liberal party fund-raiser.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/aug/13/security-committee-chair-says-bomb-syria-politics-live|title=Labor probes Dyson Heydon link to Liberal fundraiser – question time live|author=Katharine Murphy|work=The Guardian|date=13 August 2015 }}

In 2016 Brandis was caught on a "hot mic" calling his state colleagues in the Queensland Liberal National Party "very very mediocre".{{cite web | url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/george-brandis-caught-on-hot-mic-calling-lnp-colleagues-mediocre-and-not-very-good-20161121-gsu432.html | title=George Brandis caught on hot mic calling LNP colleagues 'mediocre' and 'not very good' | date=21 November 2016 }}

{{see also|Howard government|Abbott government|Turnbull government}}

On 23 January 2007, Brandis was appointed Minister for the Arts and Sport, replacing Senator Rod Kemp. He lost his ministerial position on the defeat of the Howard government in the 2007 election.

On 6 December 2007 the new Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, Brendan Nelson, appointed Brandis Shadow Attorney-General, a position he continued to hold under the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull.

On 2 June 2008 Brandis, in his capacity as Shadow Attorney-General, referred the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws – Superannuation) Bill 2008 to a Senate committee for review. The aim of the bill was to remove legislative provisions that discriminated against gay and lesbian citizens, in this case relating to superannuation.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/threat-to-stall-samesex-reforms/2008/06/01/1212258652642.html |title=Threat to stall same-sex reforms |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2 June 2008 |access-date=20 May 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2008/63_08.html |title=Australian Human Rights Commission |publisher=Hreoc.gov.au |date=28 May 2008 |access-date=20 May 2011}} Brandis stated that the Opposition believed discrimination of this type should be removed and supported the Labor government's bill against the more conservative elements of his own party.{{cite news| url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/new-libs-stance-as-senator-supports-samesex-reforms-20080925-4o4n.html | location=Melbourne | work=The Age | title=New Libs' stance as senator supports same-sex reforms | first1=Dan | last1=Harrison | date=26 September 2008}} However, he insisted on a review of the proposed legislation prior to enactment. The bill was passed into law with bipartisan support on 9 December 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/Act1.nsf/0/05E450CC650CC645CA25751F0076E7DE?OpenDocument |title=Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws—General Law Reform) Act 2008 |publisher=Comlaw.gov.au |access-date=20 May 2011}}

Brandis consistently opposed proposals for a bill of rights.{{cite news| url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24782526-5016424,00.html | work=The Courier-Mail | title=George Brandis in battle for bill of rights | first=Dennis | last=Atkins | date=10 December 2008}}

In January 2010, Brandis commented on a controversial debate between Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on the topic of advice given to children regarding abstinence.

File:Brandis-CeBIT-crop.jpg

Following the 2010 Australian federal election, at which he was returned, Brandis was appointed Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Minister for the Arts and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate in the Abbott shadow ministry.{{cite web|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/parl/43/Shadow/index.htm |title=Department of the Parliamentary Library – Shadow Ministry |publisher=Aph.gov.au |access-date=20 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917122739/http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/parl/43/Shadow/index.htm |archive-date=17 September 2010 }}

In 2011, Brandis submitted specific accusations to NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione that sitting federal M.P. Craig Thomson committed larceny and fraud through misuse of a credit card in the Health Services Union expenses affair. This led to some questioning Brandis's suitability as attorney-general if the opportunity ever arose.{{cite news

| last =Barnes

| first =Greg

| title = What sort of A-G would George Brandis make?

| publisher = ABC

| date = 29 August 2012

| url = http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2860776.html

| access-date = 13 August 2013 }}

Brandis faced public scrutiny when it was revealed that in 2011 he had billed the taxpayer for attending the wedding ceremony of Sydney radio shock-jock Michael Smith, who had colluded with Brandis to publicise the Craig Thomson media saga.{{cite news

| last =Maley

| first =Jacqueline

| title = George Brandis pays back wedding expenses

| publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald

| date = 29 September 2013

| url = http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/george-brandis-pays-back-wedding-expenses-20130929-2um4m.html

| access-date = 22 October 2013 }}{{cite news

| last =Knott

| first =Matthew

| title = Michael Smith: Brandis honest, legit over wedding night expenses

| publisher = Crikey

| date = 30 September 2013

| url = http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/09/30/michael-smith-brandis-honest-legit-over-wedding-night-expenses/

| access-date = 22 October 2013 }}

As Arts Minister, Brandis received significant criticism from the arts industry for a $105 million cut to the Australia Council for the Arts funding in the 2015–16 Australian Federal Budget.{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/george-brandis-turns-arts-into-political-football-with-1047m-australia-council-cuts-20150513-gh0d0n.html|title=George Brandis turns arts into 'political football' with $104.7m Australia Council cuts|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=13 May 2015 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-17/brandis-accused-of-neglecting-arts-politicising-funding/6629322|title=Private arts donors Neil Balnaves and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis accuse George Brandis of neglecting arts community, politicising funding|work=ABC News|date=17 July 2015 }} The money was reallocated to a new program, The National Program for Excellence in the Arts (NPEA). The NPEA in turn has been criticised by many artists and arts organisations for lacking the "arms-length" funding principles that have applied to the relationship between the government and the Australia Council since its inception in the 1970s. These principles have traditionally had bipartisan support.{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-regrettable-rise-of-the-arts-bureaucrat-20150518-gh4o01.html|title=The regrettable rise of the arts bureaucrat|work=The Age|date=19 May 2015 }}{{cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/writers-and-publishers-are-all-at-sea-under-brandis-and-the-npea-44842|title=Writers and publishers are all at sea under Brandis and the NPEA|author=Stuart Glover|date=20 July 2015|work=The Conversation}}{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/the-australia-council-must-hold-firm-on-arms-length-funding-24460|title=The Australia Council must hold firm on 'arm's length' funding|work=The Conversation|date=17 March 2014 }} Brandis had been criticised previously for giving Melbourne classical music record label Melba Recordings a $275,000 grant outside of the usual funding and peer-assessment processes.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jul/04/australias-arts-funding-crisis-george-brandis-one-man-show|title=George Brandis and the arts funding crisis: one hell of a one-man show|author=Ben Eltham|work=The Guardian|date=3 July 2015 }} Brandis's changes to funding arrangements, including the quarantining of the amount received by Australia's 28 major performing arts companies, are widely seen to disadvantage the small-to-medium arts sector and independent artists. Following Malcolm Turnbull's successful spill of the leadership of the Liberal party in September 2015, Brandis was replaced as arts minister by Mitch Fifield.{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/cabinet-reshuffle-artists-call-on-new-arts-minister-mitch-fifield-to-undo-the-damage-done-by-george-brandis-20150920-gjqvpk.html |accessdate=18 November 2021 |title=Cabinet reshuffle: artists call on new arts minister Mitch Fifield to 'undo the damage' done by George Brandis |website=Sydney Morning Herald | date=September 20, 2015 | author=Patrick Hatch}}

File:George Brandis and Pat Dodson 02.jpg]]

The Abbott government took a proposal to amend the Racial Discrimination Act to the 2013 Federal Election. The Government argued that the Act unduly restricted free speech in Australia, by making "insult" and "offence" the test for breach of the law.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-22/racial-discrimination-act-promise-check/5364682 Promise check: Repeal section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act]; www.abc.net.au; 8 May 2016 As Attorney-General, Brandis argued the case for amending the Keating government's controversial Section 18C of the Act. In March 2013, Brandis released draft amendments for community consultation, and announced that the proposed changes would "strengthen the Act's protections against racism, while at the same time removing provisions which unreasonably limit freedom of speech." After community consultation, the Government was unable to secure support for changes to the Act from the Senate, and the Abbott government shelved the proposal. The draft amendments had met with criticism from the ALP, Liberal MP Ken Wyatt, and an alliance of racial minority representatives including Jewish lobby groups concerned with holocaust denials in the media.

{{cite news

| last = Owens

| first = Jared

| title = George Brandis rejects concerns Holocaust denial will become lawful

| work = The Australian

| date = 26 March 2014

| url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/george-brandis-rejects-concerns-holocaust-denial-will-become-lawful/story-e6frg97x-1226865114888

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

{{cite news

| last = Danby

| first = Michael

| title = George Brandis has given Australia's racists a free rein

| work = The Guardian

| date = 25 March 2014

| url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/25/george-brandis-has-given-australias-racists-a-free-rein

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

{{cite news

| last1 = Aston

| first1 = Heath

| last2 = Swan

| first2 = Jonathan

| title = ALP to rally migrants to fight race hate law changes

| work = The Age

| date = 26 March 2014

| url = http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/alp-to-rally-migrants-to-fight-race-hate-law-changes-20140325-35gig.html

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

{{cite news

| last1 = Massola

| first1 = James

| last2 = Swan

| first2 = Jonathan

| title = George Brandis releases planned sweeping changes to race hate laws

| work = The Sydney Morning Herald

| date = 25 March 2014

| url = http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/george-brandis-releases-planned-sweeping-changes-to-race-hate-laws-20140325-35fe3.html

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

Aston, Heath; Massola, James. [http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-government-backdown-on-race-laws-20140805-3d6my.html Tony Abbott government backdown on race law] The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014

Brandis did not support the Labor government's proposed media reforms in 2013, and was outspoken in support of greater press freedom, particularly for Andrew Bolt who was found to have breached racial vilification laws in commenting on Indigenous Australians of mixed-race descent.

As Attorney-General in 2014, Brandis furthered his push to amend the RDA, in part to allow media commentators such as Andrew Bolt greater freedom of expression,

{{cite news

| last = Vasek

| first = Lanai

| title = Coalition signals bid to change race laws breached by columnist Andrew Bolt

| work = The Australian

| date = 29 September 2011

| url = http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/east-timor-takes-timor-gap-case-with-australia-to-the-hague-amid-bullying-claims/story-fni0fiyv-1226776411698

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}} and to legally ensure that "people do have a right to be bigots".

{{cite news

| last1 = Harrison

| first1 = Dan

| last2 = Swan

| first2 = Jonathan

| title = Attorney-General George Brandis: 'People do have a right to be bigots'

| work = The Age

| date = 24 March 2014

| url = http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/attorneygeneral-george-brandis-people-do-have-a-right-to-be-bigots-20140324-35dj3.html

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}} Brandis labelled Bolt's comments on mixed descent Aboriginal people, found by the Federal Court to be racial vilification, as "quite reasonable",

{{cite news

| last = Alexander

| first = Harriet

| title = Crossin a victim of prejudice: Brandis

| work = The Newcastle Herald

| date = 25 January 2013

| url = https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/1257521/crossin-a-victim-of-prejudice-brandis/

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}} although the federal court found Bolt violated the RDA and the plaintiffs were awarded an apology and legal costs. Professor Marcia Langton was a vocal public critic of Brandis's proposed repeal of the part of the RDA on which the Bolt case was based.

{{cite news

| last = Langton

| first = Marcia

| title = Keeping Andrew Bolt in Business

| work = The Saturday Paper

| date = 22 March 2014

| url = http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2014/03/22/keeping-andrew-bolt-business/1395406800#.UzJZHvmSy1g

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

{{cite news

| last = Merritt

| first = Chris

| title = Attorney-General George Brandis's first task: repeal 'Bolt laws' in name of free speech

| work = The Australian

| date = 8 November 2013

| url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/attorney-general-george-brandiss-first-task-repeal-bolt-laws-in-name-of-free-speech/story-e6frg97x-1226755431421#

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

In 2017, Brandis condemned Pauline Hanson for wearing a Burqa in the Senate Chamber, explaining her "stunt" ridiculed the Muslim community and mocked its religious garments, and he cautioned her against the offence she might cause to the religious sensibilities of Muslim Australians.{{Cite web|date=2017-08-17|title=Full transcript: Brandis condemns Hanson's burka stunt|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-17/george-brandis-pauline-hanson-burka-senate-transcript/8817366|access-date=2020-10-14|website=www.abc.net.au|language=en-AU}}

Brandis supported and approved a December 2013 ASIO raid on Bernard Collaery’s Canberra office (a legal representative for East Timor), where all documents and computers were seized by the government, and which Brandis claimed was for national security interests.

{{cite news

| last = Allard

| first = Tom

| title = George Brandis pleased with court ruling in East Timor spying case

| work = The Age

| date = 5 March 2014

| url = http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/george-brandis-pleased-with-court-ruling-in-east-timor-spying-case-20140305-345ol.html

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

Shortly after the raid, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the Australian government was not permitted to use or view any of the raid evidence. Brandis claimed the ICJ ruling was a good outcome for the government.

{{cite news

| last = AAP

| first = AAP

| title = International Court of Justice bans Australia from spying on East Timor

| work = The Australian

| date = 4 March 2014

| url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/international-court-of-justice-bans-australia-from-spying-on-east-timor/story-e6frg6so-1226844389340

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}} The Timor Gap case involved allegations of ASIS spying during commercial negotiations with the East Timorese over the $40 billion oil and gas reserves of the contested Greater Sunrise fields within the East Timorese exclusive economic zone.

{{cite news

| last = Deutsch

| first = Anthony

| title = Australia gas deal renews tension

| work = Financial Times

| date = 14 March 2010

| url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c6510cf2-5eef-11df-af86-00144feab49a.html#axzz2x28jQCuH

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

Additionally Brandis approved the ASIO raid and passport cancellation of a former Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) agent, who was a director of technical operations at ASIS and the whistle-blower on the allegations of commercial spying done by Australia on East Timor, which consequently prevented the unnamed former agent from testifying at the ICJ in the Netherlands.

{{cite news

| last = Whinnett

| first = Ellen

| title = East Timor takes Timor Gap case with Australia to the Hague amid bullying claims

| work = The Herald Sun

| date = 5 December 2013

| url = http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/east-timor-takes-timor-gap-case-with-australia-to-the-hague-amid-bullying-claims/story-fni0fiyv-1226776411698

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

{{cite news

| last = Taylor

| first = Lenore

| title = Timor-Leste spy case: Brandis claims 'ridiculous', says ambassador

| work = The Guardian

| date = 4 December 2013

| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/timor-leste-spy-case-brandis-claims-ridiculous-says-ambassador

| access-date = 26 March 2014

}}

In February 2015, it was reported that more than $15,000 of taxpayer money was spent on a second custom-built bookshelf in Brandis' Parliamentary office to house Brandis' collection of books and law reports.{{Cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/second-george-brandis-bookcase-costs-15000-after-first-was-too-big-to-move-20140224-33cm1.html|title=Second George Brandis bookcase costs $15,000 after first was too big to move|last=Knott|first=Matthew|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-18}} There had earlier been a $7,000 taxpayer-funded bookcase purchased in 2010 to store $13,000 worth of tax-payer funded books, but a new bookcase was reportedly required because the 2010 version was too large to move to Senator Brandis' new office following the change of government.

In February 2015, Brandis made headlines when he questioned the independence and impartiality of the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs, following the public release of a report by the Commission into children in detention which was critical of the Government. Brandis said he had lost confidence in Triggs and the Commission because in October 2014 she had given "inconsistent and evasive" evidence to Senate estimates when explaining the timing of her decision to hold the investigation into children in detention which resulted in the report.{{cite news

| last = Whyte

| first = Sarah

| title = 'A fatal perception of bias': George Brandis admits he asked Gillian Triggs to resign'

| work = The Sydney Morning Herald

| date = 24 February 2015

| url = http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/a-fatal-perception-of-bias-george-brandis-admits-he-asked-gillian-triggs-to-resign-20150224-13n59y.html

| access-date = 1 March 2015

}} Brandis said that the "political impartiality" of the commission had been "fatally compromised" because the commission had only investigated the issue after the Liberal-National Coalition were elected to power, even though there had been a large number of people in detention under the previous Labor government. This, Brandis claimed, was a "catastrophic error of judgement".

Triggs defended her decision to commence the investigation in early 2014, saying that although the number of detainees had begun to fall while the Coalition were in Government, the length of time in detention had been rising.

{{cite news

| title = Fact check: Triggs correct on the length of time children spent in detention

| work = Australian Broadcasting Corporation

| date = 24 February 2015

| url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-23/triggs-detention/6083476

| access-date = 1 March 2015

}}

Further controversy arose when Triggs told a Senate Estimates hearing that Brandis' departmental secretary had on 3 February 2015 asked her to resign, just prior to the public release of the commission's report. Triggs said that she was told that she would be offered "other work with the government" if she resigned.{{cite news

| last = Kenny

| first = Mark

| title = Julie Bishop admits role with Triggs was discussed

| work = The Sydney Morning Herald

| date = 27 February 2015

| url = http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/julie-bishop-admits-role-with-triggs-was-discussed-20150227-13q0nw.html

| access-date = 1 March 2015

}}

{{cite news

| last = Gogarty

| first = Brendan

| title = Comment: did Brandis break the law in requesting Triggs' resignation?

| work = SBS Australia

| date = 26 February 2015

| url = http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/02/26/comment-did-brandis-break-law-requesting-triggs-resignation

| access-date = 1 March 2015

}} Initially the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, denied that any offer of any other role was made to Triggs. However, Bishop conceded that an international role had been discussed with Triggs in early February, during a meeting in her office with the secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, Chris Moraitis.

Some government sources had suggested that Triggs had wanted to be "looked after" if she quit the commission. However, Triggs said she "categorically denies any suggestion that the issue of a job offer and resignation came at [her] instigation". Triggs said at the Senate hearing that she considered the offer made to her a "disgraceful proposition".

These events prompted Mark Dreyfus, Labor's Shadow Attorney-General, to refer the matter to the Australian Federal Police.

{{cite news

| last = Gordon

| first = Michael

| title = Labor refers offer to find another job for Gillian Triggs to federal police

| work = The Sydney Morning Herald

| date = 25 February 2015

| url = http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-refers-offer-to-find-another-job-for-gillian-triggs-to-federal-police-20150224-13nqek.html

| access-date = 1 March 2015

}} Dreyfus said that an offer by Brandis to an independent statutory officer of an inducement to resign, with the object of affecting the leadership of the commission to avoid political damage, may constitute corrupt or unlawful conduct. The Australian Senate also took up the matter, passing a motion to censure Brandis on 2 March.{{cite news | url = http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/attorneygeneral-george-brandis-censured-over-gillian-triggs-affair-20150302-13sm22.html | title = Attorney-General George Brandis censured over Gillian Triggs affair | work = The Age | date = 2 March 2015 | access-date = 2 March 2015}}

File:George Brandis 2017.jpg]]

In October 2016, allegations were made by Australia's Solicitor-General, Justin Gleeson SC, suggesting that Brandis attempted to block the Solicitor-General from providing legal advice to members of the Australian Government without first seeking and receiving the permission of the Attorney-General.

{{cite news

| last = Keany

| first = Francis

| title = Labor calls for resignation of George Brandis following public stoush with solicitor-general Justin Gleeson

| work = ABC News

| date = 5 October 2016

| url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-05/solicitor-general-says-george-brandis-did-not-consult-on-issues/7906588

| access-date = 5 October 2016

}} Further allegations were made by Labor party ministers that Brandis had misled parliament on the issue, including those by the Shadow Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, who challenged the independence of Brandis's office.

On 25 November 2016, The West Australian newspaper reported that the reason for Brandis issuing the direction was that Gleeson had provided advice on behalf of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in a High Court case over the collapse of The Bell Group in 1991. The Western Australian government had passed legislation (Bell Group Company’s Finalisation of Matters and Distribution of Proceeds Act 2015), elevating the Insurance Commission of WA in the queue of Bell Group creditors ahead of the ATO. In April 2015, the WA state government received an assurance from then federal Treasurer Joe Hockey that the Commonwealth would not intervene, however the ATO sought advice from Gleeson as its counsel that federal taxation law overrode the state legislation. The paper alleged that Brandis had told Gleeson not to run the argument, however it was still contained in the ATO's submission to the High Court, which subsequently unanimously rejected the WA government's case and struck down the Bell Act.{{cite news|last1=Probyn|first1=Andrew & Wright, Shane|title=Bell Group bombshell: How the State Government's secret $1 billion deal was torpedoed|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/33318001/1-billion-bell-group-bombshell/#page1|access-date=28 November 2016|work=The West Australian|date=25 November 2016|archive-date=28 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128135854/https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/33318001/1-billion-bell-group-bombshell/#page1|url-status=dead}}

Prior to the 2016 federal election, Brandis appointed a Liberal Party donor and Brisbane lawyer, Theo Tavoularis, who had represented Brandis' son in court, to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Later in December 2016, Brandis appointed two former Members of Parliament and members of the Liberal Party, who had been voted out at the 2016 federal election, to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a 7-year term. Each role has a salary of over $200,000.{{Cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/george-brandis-names-former-liberal-mps-for-200000-tribunal-role-20161215-gtc1wj.html|title=George Brandis names former Liberal MPs for $200,000 tribunal role|last=Remeikis|first=Amy|date=2016-12-15|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-15}}

Leading up to the 2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Brandis was increasingly willing to assert "small-l liberal" positions and publicly criticised the coalition government and members of his own party, particularly the Conservative-wing of the party, including Immigration Minister Peter Dutton.{{Cite web|date=2017-10-20|title=Grattan: Dutton-Brandis rift deepens as Home Affairs behemoth rises|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-20/dutton-brandis-rift-deepens-home-affairs-michelle-grattan/9069500|access-date=2020-10-14|website=www.abc.net.au|language=en-AU}} Brandis was reported as being concerned about the new formation of the Department of Home Affairs under Dutton. Shortly after Dutton criticised lawyers who represented refugees and asylum seekers as "un-Australian", Brandis gave a speech which championed lawyers and their role in ensuring the supremacy of the law against the executive government, which was largely seen as an attack on Dutton's comments.

Brandis formally resigned from the Senate on 8 February 2018.{{Cite web|date=8 February 2018|title=Media Statement – Senator Brandis Resignation|url=http://scottryan.com.au/homepage/media-statement-senator-brandis-resignation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208000836/http://scottryan.com.au/homepage/media-statement-senator-brandis-resignation|archive-date=8 February 2018|work=Scott Ryan, President of the Australian Senate}} In his farewell speech to the Senate he was critical of anti-terrorism laws being used by his own party as a "political weapon" and warned against the "powerful elements of right-wing politics" who had abandoned concern for the rights of the individual in favour of a "belligerent, intolerant populism".{{Cite web|date=2018-02-07|title=Political right captured by "belligerent, intolerant populism", Brandis warns|url=https://www.afr.com/politics/political-right-captured-by-belligerent-intolerant-populism-brandis-warns-20180207-h0vkce|access-date=2020-10-14|website=Australian Financial Review|language=en}}

Brandis was appointed to fill the post of Australia's next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/brandis-warns-liberal-values-under-threat|title=Brandis warns liberal values under threat|date=7 February 2018|work=SBS News}} Due to take up the role in March 2018, an Achilles tendon injury delayed his official term start until 3 May 2018.{{Cite news |url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/alexander-downer-to-remain-as-high-commissioner-in-london-because-of-achilles-injury-to-george-brandis/news-story/af564103795cac08d8948909ca2b123b |title=Achilles injury to George Brandis |first=Paul |last=Starick |work=Adelaide Advertiser |date=16 April 2018 |access-date=22 April 2018}} His term as High Commissioner ended in 2022 and he was subsequently appointed a professor at the Australian National University,{{Cite press release |date=2022-06-22 |title=Leading lawmaker George Brandis joins ANU |url=https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/leading-lawmaker-george-brandis-joins-anu |access-date=2022-06-22 |work= |publisher=Australian National University |language=en |df=dmy-all }} to teach at the ANU College of Law with a focus on national security, law and policy. He is an Advisory Board member of the Council on Geostrategy.{{Cite web |date= |title=Advisory Board |url=https://www.geostrategy.org.uk/advisory-board/ |access-date=30 October 2024 |website=The Council on Geostrategy}} He is a regular columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-14 |title=George Brandis |url=https://www.smh.com.au/by/george-brandis-p536c1 |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• [https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/queensland/george_brandis Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator George Brandis] at TheyVoteForYou.org.au

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandis, George}}

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