Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am assuming the Attorney-General will find that information for us.

I refer to the Law Officers Act of 1964 which states that the Solicitor-General 'shall be the second law officer of the Commonwealth'. Aside from the Attorney-General, who does the Attorney-General consider to be the primary legal adviser to the Commonwealth government? Does the Attorney-General agree with Associate Professor Gabrielle Appleby, who said there was a risk that governments seeking opinions from lawyers other than the Solicitor-General might be:

… shopping around for politically convenient opinions and not accepting the opinion of the statutorily independent, apolitical Solicitor-General.