news, federal-politics

Former One Nation senator Rod Culleton has brought a rare private prosecution against federal Attorney-General George Brandis in a Canberra court, accusing him of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Mr Culleton appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday for the first brief mention of the case, alleging Mr Brandis misled the Senate over matters that led to his dismissal. Mr Brandis had been served with a summons but did not appear. Federal prosecutor Peter Botros asked that the case be adjourned for 10 weeks so the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions could decide whether it would take the matter on. Mr Culleton began to speak about the circumstances around the case from the bar table before he was interrupted by Magistrate Karen Fryar. "This is not the place to grandstand, Mr Culleton," she said. "I don't care what happened in the Senate, what matters is what happens here. "What I have is your private prosecution summons." Ms Fryar said it was not uncommon in private prosecutions for territory or Commonwealth prosecutors to consider whether they should take over the prosecution. "In all due respect this is a private prosecution, it's my prosecution, Mr Culleton said. His comments prompted Ms Fryar to respond: "In all respect it's up to the CDPP." Mr Culleton told the magistrate it was in the public interest for him to move the matter forward. "You do what you have to do, Mr Culleton, and I'll do what I need to do, and we'll adjourn the matter," Ms Fryar said. The case was adjourned to November 16. Speaking outside court, Mr Culleton said he had "a very strong case". "People now, if their senators aren't going to step up and properly represent their constituents like I am, they can file a private prosecution for $80 in here and go their hardest. I think it's great." He doubted Commonwealth prosecutors would drop the case if they eventually decided to take it on. "This is a great case. It's all on Hansard, it's in the public interest, we've got all our ducks in a row. When asked if he faced a difficult task in running the private prosecution, Mr Culleton said it was "hard to become a senator too, but I got there". "I've had a look at all my senate manuals, I was in the high court of parliament for a period of time and I've had a look at what the law is really about. "It's not overly complex, it's just about finding an avenue and sticking to it and having right on your side, which is all on Hansard and I'll run my case beautifully." Culleton's election to the Senate was ruled ineligible by the High Court in February after a drawn-out legal battle that began soon after his election.

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