Attorney general says whether former Greens senator will have to pay salary and allowances is up to Scott Ryan

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The attorney general, George Brandis, has no sympathy for Scott Ludlam, who he said had been extremely negligent when he ran for the Senate at three elections despite still being a New Zealand citizen.

Ludlam resigned his West Australian Senate seat on Friday when it was brought to his attention that he still held dual Australian-New Zealand citizenship, making him ineligible to hold office.

Brandis said Ludlam had been “very ungracious” and “extremely mean-spirited” when the former South Australian senator Bob Day was also found to be ineligible for election earlier this year.

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“So I don’t think we should shed too many tears over the consequences of Mr Ludlum’s own negligence,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

He expects the high court will order a “countback” of the vote for the WA Senate election last year, which will “almost certainly” result in the election of another Greens senator.

Brandis said Ludlam could face a substantial debt repayment for the salary and allowances he received during his tenure as a senator. He said there is also a “100 pounds” fine for every day that a person not eligible to sit does sit in the Senate.

“Whether or not debt would be waived as it has been on previous occasions is a matter for the special minister of state, senator Scott Ryan,” he said.

The former deputy Greens leader was first elected in 2007 and retained his West Australian seat at the 2013 and 2016 elections.

Brandis will meet with the global technology giant Apple this week in an attempt to gain an agreement to allow police and intelligence agencies access to encrypted information from suspected terrorists and criminals. Technology companies, like Facebook, have flagged concerns they will be forced by security agencies to comply.

Brandis said the government would be seeking voluntary cooperation as a first preference.

“But we will also be legislating so that we do have that coercive power if need be if we don’t get the cooperation we seek,” he told Sky News. “We will be pursuing both of these avenues.”

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Brandis also said the Turnbull government was still committed to a plebiscite on same-sex marriage but would not use the method to resolve other social issues, such as euthanasia.

He said the legalisation of same-sex marriage was a “unique issue”.

“I don’t see that method of resolving a complex or difficult social question being adopted in relation to other difficult or trying social questions,” said.

Brandis was asked several times whether the government intended to take the same-sex marriage plebiscite, that was rejected by the parliament, to the next election.

“That policy has not changed,” he told Sky News.

The plebiscite was rejected by the parliament earlier this year, with Labor, the Greens and others wanting a conscience vote for MPs.

Brandis also declined to say whether he thought a planned private member’s bill from West Australian Liberal senator Dean Smith to force a parliamentary conscience vote would pass the Senate where the government does not have a majority.