The Labor Party leaked to the media, on the 5th of February 2026, private communication between Attorney-General Michelle Rowland and NACC Commissioner Paul Brereton which is clearly designed to embarrass Brereton and have him removed either by resignation or sacking if need be.
National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Commissioner Paul Brereton, who has previously been found to have engaged in “officer misconduct” by failing to recuse himself in the Robodebt investigation, is again under investigation by the Inspector of the NACC Gail Furness SC.
This time Brereton is under investigation for suspected “agency maladministration or officer misconduct” and again for failing to recuse himself when he has a conflict of interest.
Labor Party leaks to the media
On Thursday, the 5th of February 2026, the ABC published an article titled “Attorney-General asked anti-corruption chief to explain himself after Defence ties emerged”, which starts off:
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland served the head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) with a blunt “please explain” letter last year, in which she reprimanded him for failing to “adequately address” the precise nature of his ongoing connections to Defence.
Paul Brereton has been under sustained pressure over those links after revelations by the ABC he was granted an age extension to continue to consult for the body that carried out the Afghanistan War Crimes Inquiry and did so on the NACC’s time without the knowledge of the corruption watchdog or government.
“Your recent declaration of interests, and your earlier declaration of interests provided to the former Attorney-General on 11 August 2023, do not provide details of the nature and extent of the activities you are undertaking at the request of IGADF,” Ms Rowland wrote on October 12 in a letter obtained by the ABC.
“No declaration was made of the extension in June 2024 of your compulsory Defence retirement age to August 2026. Nor did the Commission’s responses to questions at Senate Estimates in February 2025 adequately address the nature of your ongoing engagement and provision of advice to the IGADF.”
The ABC says later in the article, “A separate nine-page response from Mr Brereton to Ms Rowland on October 22, also seen by the ABC, defended his approach and disclosures, declaring he did not disclose the precise nature of his continuing involvement because he did not consider it “material”. (Click here to read more)
When the journalist says “also seen by the ABC”, that means it had to have been a leak. The journalist does not say what the source is nor do they say who or what was the source for the Rowland letter.
There could have been only one source for the above leaked letter, and that is from the office of Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, as NACC Commissioner Paul Brereton was not going to leak against himself.
The following day, on Friday the 6th of February 2026, the ABC published an article titled “Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus warned anti-corruption chief to ‘manage’ or ‘avoid’ conflicts”, which starts off:
Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus warned Paul Brereton he would need to “actively manage” or “ideally, avoid” any perceived conflicts of interest related to defence, ahead of him taking on the role of national anti-corruption commissioner.
A letter, provided to parliament by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) inspector Gail Furness, provides new insight into the expectations set by the Albanese government for Mr Brereton well before he began facing criticism over his disclosures to parliament about his ongoing advisory work relating to the Afghanistan War Crimes inquiry.
Mr Dreyfus wrote to Mr Brereton on March 30, 2023, asking him to “develop and implement” a “robust conflict of interest management plan” in relation to his continued involvement with the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force.
It also asks him not to undertake any “new or ongoing formal work” for the body once he became commissioner in July of that year. (Click here to read more)
The source of the Mark Dreyfus letter is identified as “A letter, provided to parliament by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) inspector Gail Furness”, but there is no source identified in the first ABC article about the Michelle Rowland letter, which points to it being a leak from Rowland’s office.
When a government leaks against a public servant, you know their time is up, and they would know as well. It is what is called a “constructive dismissal”, where they are trying to get the person to resign so they can avoid sacking them.
The leak also sends a clear message to the Inspector of the NACC Gail Furness SC, that the government wants Paul Brereton gone and she better do a good job with her new investigation into Paul Brereton.
It should be noted that the Inspector of the NACC Gail Furness SC protected Paul Brereton when she investigated him in 2024 and found he had engaged in “officer misconduct”. Her findings were predetermined and the bare minimum she could find, given all the evidence. (Click here to read more)
Given this is the second time that Paul Brereton is being investigated for the same charge, “officer misconduct”, for concealing a personal interest and failing to declare it and/or recuse himself, he has to go.
If Gail Furness SC tries to protect Paul Brereton again, she will have to go as well, and the government has let her know that with the leaked letter from Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.
It is also worth noting that “Deputy Commissioner Nicole Rose will be leaving the NACC to relocate overseas.” (Click here to read more)
Nicole Rose is best known for originally sweeping the Robodebt investigation under the carpet with the help of Commissioner Paul Brereton. I have to wonder if Nicole Rose was tapped on the shoulder and told her time was up.
Independent MP Helen Haines who has been a big supporter of the NACC and is Deputy Chair of the NACC Oversight Committee, has finally woken up to the fact that the NACC has failed, as per the below video below from the 11th of February 2026, where she asks Attorney-General Michelle Rowland about the NACC’s failure.
The NACC is not a baseball league that has a rule of 3 strikes and you’re out.
One strike, “officer misconduct”, and that should have been the end of Paul Brereton as NACC Commissioner. But a second strike of “agency maladministration or officer misconduct” has to be the end of Brereton at the NACC, otherwise there will be calls for the Attorney-General to go, and Michelle Rowland knows it.
The NACC was designed by the Labor Party and Liberal Party to conceal corruption, not expose it, and Commissioner Paul Brereton was in on the joke from the start. But he has become a liability for the government and they want him gone now.
If Paul Brereton digs in as NACC Commissioner and refuses to go, it could get ugly, as it requires both houses of parliament to vote to sack him as per section 250 of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022.
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Categories: National Anti-Corruption Commission
Paul Brereton was the judge in Mt sons compensation case, he waited till the insurance company’s went into receivership before coming down with garbage findings, then I found out he used to be an insurance barrister, isn’t that a conflict of interest, still working for the insurance companies.
The fact that he was selected for the role in the first place is the scandal. The uni party will just replace him with someone elsewhere of his ilk. The time it takes to investigate these complaints is a joke and at a minimum he should be on administrative leave, as it stands he’s being permitted to influence the work of the Nacc when his conduct is being investigated .
Brereton has been a disastrous appointment from the outset. But it appears that finding a suitable judge in Australia to preside over the NACC may be fraught with difficulty. We seem to have an issue with high office legal minds and their apparent lack of ethics. Really a rather disgusting state of affairs in Australia. Sooo many over the last decade have shown their total lack of conscience and wanting to go a good job. And they don’t seem to care.
He must go and be investigated by the very body. A pity the government has to be so backdoor about it. Suspend him and prosecute.
Commissioner Percival Gravy-Train: accountability in permanent review
Commissioner Percival Gravy-Train has attracted an unusual level of cross-commentary agreement: few can agree on institutions, but many seem to agree this was an appointment that raised more questions than it resolved.
Concerns persist around perceived conflicts of interest and overlapping professional ties that critics argue are never fully separated, only continuously “managed” through evolving administrative language. What is described officially as governance is, to some observers, beginning to resemble careful continuity rather than clear independence.
Equally consistent is the pace of scrutiny: investigations, when raised, move into extended review cycles that appear to soften over time rather than sharpen into conclusions. Supporters call this due process; critics describe it as accountability placed on indefinite hold.
And through it all, Gravy-Train remains exactly where he has always been—close to public authority, close to public money, and just far enough from final answers that responsibility never quite has to land anywhere in particular.
NOTE: This is a satirical commentary reflecting public discussion and perceptions, not assertions of fact.
How typical of the world we inhabit that the boss of the NACC is under investigation. WTAF.