The Attorney General’s office used an opaque process to appoint law firm Gilbert+Tobin as lawyers assisting the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion without open tender. Stephanie Tran reports.
In response to questions on notice from Senator David Shoebridge, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland revealed that law firm Gilbert+Tobin was not selected through an open tender, but via a restricted “request for quote” process limited to firms on the federal government’s Legal Services Panel.
Gilbert & Tobin is a major sponsor of business lobby group the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC). The AICC is associated with companies involved in war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian territories such as weapons company Elbit Systems.
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According to the government’s response, the Official Secretary of the Royal Commission invited “a number of law firms” from the Government Legal Services Panel to submit quotes to assist the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS), which had already been appointed as Solicitor Assisting.
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Open in new tab The department has not disclosed which firms were invited to participate, nor how many were considered. Instead, a selection panel within the Office of the Royal Commission assessed submissions based on experience and “value for money”, before recommending Gilbert+Tobin.
The ‘selection panel’ is not identified.
Rowland, herself a former partner at Gilbert+Tobin, “had no role in the procurement process” and was only informed after the decision had been made.
Gilbert+Tobin is a major sponsor of Israel lobby group, the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC), which in turn is sponsored by multiple weapons manufacturers, including Elbit Systems, a company complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, according to a UN report.
There is no indication in the response that any specific risks associated with Gilbert+Tobin’s external advocacy via AICC or client relationships were formally assessed prior to its appointment. Nor whether any disclosures were made by the firm before the contract was awarded.
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