The Supreme Court of Queensland and the District court of Queensland in Brisbane Credit:Harrison Saragossi In a statement to members, Mr Callaghan was scathing in his criticism of Mr Bleijie's decision to make the conversation public. “As a contemporary politician, the Attorney-General no doubt feels compelled, in the course of every news cycle, to score every point, however petty, in any way possible,” he said. “But it must be understood that the Attorney-General, as Chief Law Officer of the Crown, is the protector and guardian of all our legal institutions, including our courts and the judges who preside in them. “Mr Bleijie is clearly very good at being a politician.”

Queensland Court of Appeal President Justice Margaret McMurdo. Credit:Dave Hunt On Sunday, Mr Bleijie responded to a speech Justice McMurdo gave questioning whether the government had an “unconscious bias” against appointing women to judicial positions. That response included revealing details of a conversation he'd previously had with her to The Courier-Mail. Qld Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Jarrod Bleijie speaking to media about the Qld government's proposed changes to bail in relation to motorcycle gang members. Credit:Glenn Hunt Mr Bliejie told the newspaper he had discussed potential replacements for retiring Court of Appeal Justice Margaret White with Justice McMurdo last year, where Justice McMurdo's husband, Justice Philip McMurdo, was mentioned, before Justice Peter Lyon was recommended.

He said Justice McMurdo did not put any women's names forward. Mr Sofronoff, who resigned last week, said Mr Bleijie’s decision to speak publicly about the private legal issue was “shocking”. Mr Sofronoff said that if a public servant had done the same thing they would have committed a crime. “... He has rendered it impossible for anybody to offer him honest and candid advice in confidence since he has shown that he is prepared to betray a confidence for momentary personal advantage,” Mr Sofronoff wrote in a letter to The Courier-Mail. “The conduct of Mr Bleijie constitutes a breach of his duty to keep confidential the content of discussions held in confidence.

“Queensland deserves much, much better from its first law officer. And, what is most unfortunate, his conduct has the hint of a nasty schoolboy’s snicker in it.” Justice Philip Morrison was eventually appointed to the position in August last year. Justice McMurdo said her recollection of the conversation differed from Mr Bleijie's comments, but would not detail what the pair discussed. Mr Bleijie declined to address Mr Callaghan's comments late Monday night. But earlier in the day, he defended making the conversation public.

He said he had consulted with the legal community on all judicial appointments and therefore was “surprised” by Justice McMurdo's speech. “I consulted the former Chief Magistrate Judge Butler, the current Chief Magistrate, the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Law Society and the Bar Association on all these types of appointments and everyone has been very happy with all these appointments,” he said. “I related the comments I had with the President of the Court of Appeal because she made a speech condemning these types of appointments and I thought it was good to get on the record exactly what happened, a conversation that did occur, in relation to judicial appointments and we've consulted on all these occasions.” Mr Bleijie would not say if he had confidence in Justice McMurdo, but he did say his relationship with the legal fraternity was sound. “It is not about whether we have confidence or not and I don't want to reflect on the judiciary,” he said.

“I am simply saying, we had a conversation, we consulted about judicial appointments and by all accounts, the Law Society, the Bar Association, the President of the court of Appeal, the Chief Justice and the Chief Magistrate are very comfortable with all the appointments we have made. “... I have an ongoing professional relationship with all the stakeholders in the legal industry.” Loading The stoush comes as Mr Bleijie is considering a replacement for Chief Justice Paul de Jersey, who has been named as the next Governor. - with Kristian Silva