15/12 BRILLIANT SAMUEL LETTER RE ASHBY / SLIPPER

Politicians' charter

• From:The Australian 
• December 15, 2012 12:00AM

IN the actions brought by James Ashby against the commonwealth and Peter Slipper, the commonwealth paid $50,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

On the same facts, a judge of the same court has given summary judgment to Slipper, dismissing Ashby's case as an abuse of process.

It may well be true that the predominant purpose of the action was to pursue a political attack against Slipper. But what of the judge's statement that "it is not necessary to make any finding about whether Mr Slipper did sexually harass Mr Ashby".

Assume for a moment that, instead of being a Coalition MP who had left his party to become Speaker, Slipper had been the president of a golf club who was found to be promoting a competing club.

If Ashby had been the bar steward, would he have had an action against the club president for harassment dismissed because he may have collaborated with committee members who wanted to see the president overthrown? I doubt it.

The rules against abuse of process would be nothing but a politicians' charter if a political attack against a respondent were to be held by the courts as more serious than any other kind of attack. That is what would bring the administration of justice into disrepute among all right-thinking people.

David Samuel, North Richmond, NSW