AAP
The federal Labor government is threatening an inquiry, after a sexual harassment case against Peter Slipper was dismissed as a planned "political attack" involving a senior Liberal running for the former Speaker's seat.
At the height of the legal furore in October, Mr Slipper resigned from the Speaker position after a series of lurid text messages between him and staffer James Hunter Ashby were made public through court documents.
But Federal Court Justice Steven Rares on Wednesday dismissed Mr Ashby's claim after concluding the main purpose was to "pursue a political attack against Mr Slipper", a former Liberal National Party (LNP) MP who turned independent to take the speaker job offered by the government.
In his judgment, Justice Rares found there was evidence of a "combination" involving Mr Ashby, fellow Slipper staffer Karen Doane and former Howard minister Mal Brough, who is running for Mr Slipper's Queensland seat of Fisher.
"Mr Ashby acted in combination with Ms Doane and Mr Brough when commencing the proceedings in order to advance the interests of the LNP and Mr Brough," Justice Rares said.
"Mr Ashby and Ms Doane set out to use the proceedings as part of their means to enhance or promote their prospects of advancement or preferment by the LNP, including by using Mr Brough to assist them in doing so."
Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said the coalition had questions to answer over its involvement in the case, and that Opposition Leader Tony Abbott must explain whether it was appropriate Mr Brough should still run in Fisher in the 2013 election.
"The Federal Court has made it completely clear that Mr Ashby and other members of the Liberal party were working actively to undermine and politically damage Mr Slipper and also to damage the government," she told reporters in Melbourne.
Ms Roxon declined to rule out an inquiry into the matter while Labor parliamentary secretary Mark Dreyfus said the government would study the judgment and consider "what further action might need to be taken".
But Mr Brough said the judgment "changes nothing" in relation to Mr Slipper's text messages to Mr Ashby and the member for Fisher would be ultimately judged by his constituents.
"I reiterate that I have at all times acted appropriately in relation to this matter," Mr Brough said in a statement.
Shadow attorney-general George Brandis said the opposition was "carefully studying" Justice Steven Rares' decision.
Mr Slipper said he felt "vindicated" and that Mr Ashby's application was about manipulating the justice system to "inflict damage on my reputation and political career" to advance the interests of the LNP.
The Federal Court heard Mr Slipper and Mr Ashby had, in the several months after Mr Ashby joined the then-Speaker's office, exchanged text messages and there had been a series of personal incidents.
The judge described the texts as "vulgar" and "vile" but did not find "any trace of psychological or emotional suffering" by Mr Ashby.
The court also heard Mr Ashby and Ms Doane agreed in their texts of March 30 this year that what they were doing "will tip the govt to Mal's and the LNP's advantage".
Mr Ashby, who was ordered to pay costs, is seeking the right to appeal.
"There has been a determined campaign to try and prevent the substantive allegations being heard and judged in open court and to put me to the maximum cost in pursuing justice," he told reporters in Sydney.
The LNP backed Mr Brough's preselection saying he would "provide a strong voice for the people of Fisher".
But Senator Brandis said Ms Roxon needed to explain why the commonwealth had paid Mr Ashby $50,000 to settle its part of the case.
Ms Roxon said it settled "on legal advice" after balancing the risks of continuing the legal action with the cost to taxpayers.
Independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor told AAP they believed Mr Abbott had questions to answer over the coalition's role in the case.
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