Lenore Taylor
Chief Political Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald December 13, 2012
What next in the Slipper case?
So where to for the players in the Slipper affair after yesterdays scathing court ruling?
THE Gillard government is considering an inquiry - and possibly legal action - to delve into Coalition links with the former Peter Slipper staffer James Ashby's explosive sexual harassment claim after it was thrown out by the Federal Court as a scandalous ''political attack''.
In a scathing and unexpected judgment, Justice Steven Rares found the sexual harassment case was an ''abuse of process'' carried out for the ''purpose of causing significant public, reputational and political damage to Mr Slipper'' and advancing the interests of the Liberal National Party.
Labor frontbencher Mark Dreyfus said the judgment - which named the former Howard government minister Mal Brough and senior Queensland LNP figures - showed the Coalition had been involved in an ''attempt to overthrow the government by sinister anti-democratic means''.
Peter Slipper ... has no chance of returning to the speaker's chair.
Labor also called for the immediate dis-endorsement of Mr Brough, who is the LNP candidate for Mr Slipper's Queensland seat of Fisher, and who the judge found had worked with Mr Ashby and another staffer as they planned the sexual harassment claim.
Mr Dreyfus said Labor was ''looking at what further action needs to be taken'' and sources said an inquiry, or even legal action, was possible as Labor demands answers and seeks to use the decision to turn the tables on the Coalition's recent political attacks.
Mr Slipper, who was forced to resign as Speaker after texts containing explicit descriptions of female genitalia became public as a result of the case, said he felt ''vindicated'' by the judgment.
''I have always maintained that Mr Ashby's application was about manipulating the justice system to inflict damage on my reputation and political career and to advance the interests of the Liberal National Party,'' the now independent MP said in a statement.
Mr Ashby said outside the court in Sydney he was ''extremely disappointed'' and was likely to appeal.
Mr Brough said in a statement he had ''at all times acted appropriately'' and the Queensland LNP issued a statement standing by him. He said the judgment did not change anything about the text messages.
The judge described the texts as ''vulgar'' but said there was no ''trace of psychological or emotional suffering'' by Mr Ashby.
The Coalition criticised Labor for agreeing in October to a $50,000 settlement with Mr Ashby in the parallel claim he had brought against the Commonwealth, as his employer.
Even as it settled, the government insisted the case was vexatious, but it did not anticipate that the court would throw it out and the Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, said on Wednesday she ''stood by'' the decision to settle, based on her risk assessment at the time and the desire to avoid the costs of a lengthy trial, or the possible appeal.
Mr Ashby's high-profile lawyer Michael Harmer was also found to have abused court process by including allegations about misuse of Cab charge vouchers in Mr Ashby's original statement of claim, while later dropping them. He was accused of professional misconduct for making ''scandalous and irrelevant'' allegations under privilege.
Mr Harmer said he was ''shocked and disappointed'' by the judgment, which was ''simply not justified by the evidence''.
Despite being dropped from Mr Ashby's case, the Cab charge allegations are still being ''actively considered'' by the commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
And although the case has been dismissed, Mr Slipper has no chance of returning to the Speaker's chair.
Ms Roxon said his successor, Anna Burke, was now in the job and ''there is no intention for that to be changed''.
