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- by: Lanai Scarr May 20 2013
TONY Abbott won't be paying a cent to fight a $1.5 million lawsuit by One Nation co-founder David Ettridge with the Opposition Leader getting his high-powered legal team "pro-bono''.
In a declaration to the parliament, Mr Abbott confirmed Queensland-based McCullough Robertson were donating their time free of charge to work on the case.
"I wish to advise that Mr RG Bain QC is providing pro bono services as counsel in a legal matter and will be assisted by Mr N Ferrett also on a pro bono basis,'' Mr Abbott said.
"McCullogh (sic) Robertson lawyers will act for me on a pro bono basis in the same matter.''
Asked yesterday why the free legal services were obtained, a spokesman for the Opposition Leader said: "An offer was made and it was accepted''.
Brisbane-based McCullough Robertson is Queensland's largest independent law firm. The firm denied News Limited's request for comment when contacted on Friday.
Mr Ettridge yesterday said it was a farce that Mr Abbott was not paying for his own legal costs.
"This is just a case of the soldier ants rallying around the nest,'' he said.
"Mr Abbott doesn't accept responsibility for his breaking of the law and it is clear that he can't even accept the responsibility of paying his own way to defend this case.
"I guess the question needs to be asked is what political favours are being created by that firm that will be called up upon if Mr Abbott is prime minister after the next election.''
Last year Mr Abbott declared he was receiving pro bono legal services from Arnold Bloch Leibler in defending a defamation case brought against him by prominent unionist John Setka.
In March, Mr Ettridge said he hoped law firms would line up to provide pro bono services for him. But yesterday he said he was paying his own costs and expected the case would leave him up to $200,000 out of pocket.
The One Nation co-founder filed an application in the Supreme Court last month claiming Mr Abbott acted unlawfully in 1998 and 1999 by allegedly assisting and encouraging litigation against Pauline Hanson's One Nation party.
He and Ms Hanson together served 11 weeks of a three-year-jail term for electoral fraud in 2003. The convictions were overturned on appeal.
Mr Ettridge is seeking at least $1.5 million in damages.
The matter first went to court earlier this month. It is understood Mr Ettridge will lodge a statement of claim to the court detailing his allegations later this week.
Mr Abbott denies any wrongdoing. "I am confident that everything I did back then was justifiable and could be justified,'' he said last month.
