Has Parliament been misled by the chiefs of the Department of Parliamentary Services in a fiery Senate Estimates exchange? Michael West reports.
It may be a little too brawny to call for prosecution and prison sentences for the top brass of the Department of Parliamentary Services – such are the penalties for misleading Parliament – but it is fair to ask what the blazes is going on that hill.
In sworn testimony before the Finance and Public Administration Committee on Monday February 24, 2025, the entire Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) executive team claimed it had no “institutional knowledge” of their department having been sued by journalist Marcus Reubenstein in 2021.
This was the quintessential “I know nuthink” routine memorialised by Sergeant Shultz of Hogan’s Heroes fame.
The fact that the department had been sued for vicarious liability for work hours’ defamation and copyright breaches, on the part of a current employee, jogged no memories. Which is funny, because that employee is now suing this publication MWM, and had threatened Reubenstein, MWM and three others four years ago.
In the previous frenzy of litigation by the DPS staffer, Reubenstein had counterclaimed against the public servant and the Commonwealth. Ergo the settlement by the Commonwealth (which appears to have leaked via a data breach by the Government’s lawyers HWL Ebsworth whose data had been stolen by Russian hackers software – more on that later).
So to the mystery of the prolific litigation activities of the DPS library researcher and the blithe lack of knowledge of it on the part of his bosses.
I know nuthink
Last Monday, the DPS top brass were questioned by Senator David Shoebridge in Senate Estimates:
Shoebridge – Thank you for your attendance. Mr [Steven] Fox (DPS) might be best placed to answer. In 2021, DPS was sued by journalist Marcus Reubenstein in relation to a series of publications that were made by [the public servant] while he was working, and on the company dime.
Do you remember that legal action against DPS Steven Fox?
Fox – Thank you. Good morning. I was not in the role in that period. I have been in that role for about 18 months. It precedes my time.
Shoebridge – Do you remember the litigation against DPS?
Fox – No. I do not.
Shoebridge – Alright. Does anyone have institutional memory of the proceedings?
Fox – There’s no-one here that was here at the time but we can answer your questions and take them on notice.
And that they did, amid a heated exchange between Senator Shoebridge and the President of the Senate Sue Lines whose role includes oversight of DPS.
But was there really “no-one here at the time”? Apart from the fact that many of them were there at the time, the name Dianne Heriot appeared on the Hansard transcript as being present at the proceedings.
Dr Heriot was then Parliamentary Librarian; she was succeeded by Steven Fox.
Questions to DPS finally elicited an answer on Friday.
Questions to DPS by MWM
According to the list of DPS attendees recorded on Hansard, Dianne Heriot was in attendance at Monday’s Estimates. She was formerly Parliamentary Librarian when the first press articles were written about [the public servant] 2021.
She was also there at the time when [the public servant] threatened legal action against five parties and settled the Reubenstein defamation claim – with DPS – in 2021.
Yet, throughout the testimony at Estimates it was the DPS position that nobody present had knowledge of the [public servant] situation sufficient to respond to questions.
Correspondence from the government lawyers in the first case involving the public servant in question, HWL Ebsworth, may shed light as to where the Reubenstein v Commonwealth files may actually be.
In 2023, HWL Ebsworth, which represented the Commonwealth, announced it had been the victim of a major cyber-attack, 62 government entities had data stolen, including the DPS. The hack, and data theft, was perpetrated though Black Cat ransomware, which the Australian Federal Police identified was developed by Russian hackers.
In January 2024, in response to an enquiry made by Reubenstein’s lawyer as to his Deed of Settlement, HWL Ebsworth responded: “The Commonwealth considers the confidentiality of the Deed (and settlement) a serious matter.”
Just 13 days after HWL Ebsworth’s unequivocal direction that the Deed was not to be disclosed to any third party, it wrote directly to Reubenstein telling him: “We are writing to inform you of a cyber-attack experienced by HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (HWLE), which has impacted your personal information.”
HWL Ebsworth informed Reubenstein the entirety of files pertaining to his case involving [the public servant] and the Commonwealth had been stolen, including all of Reubenstein’s personal information and “a copy of the Deed of Settlement and Release between you and the Commonwealth.”
According to Reubenstein, six days after he was given notice of his information being stolen, he wrote to HWL Ebsworth partner, Stephen Coyle, and senior associate Jasper Lamber, asking why it took almost a year for them to inform him of the cyber theft; and did it have anything to do with their handing of his inquiry about the Deed a fortnight earlier?
Reubenstein says they did not respond.
The mystery deepens
As to the issue of the bizarre lack of knowledge by the DPS bosses, Heriot’s silence, and the claim that it was only former boss Rob Stefanic who had any knowledge of the matter, they beg the question … why?
Why was Heriot’s successor Steven Fox kept out of the loop (although he was CCed on emails relating to the matter by Stefanic). From last Monday:
Shoebridge – Alright. When did you say you commenced, Mr Fox?
Fox – 18 September, 2023.
Shoebridge – In November 2023, I understand a series of questions were put to DPS by an independent media outlet [MWM] asking if they’re aware that [the public servant] was engaging in further social media commentary during work hours on X under a pseudonym?
You were the parliamentary librarian at the time. Do you recall that? They were made to the secretary at the time. Was any investigation done as to whether or not [the public servant] was during work hours using that X account?
Fox – I’ll need to take it on notice. That was handled by the office of the secretary at the time. Mr Stefanic was the officer who had the questions directed at him.
The return of Questions on Notice is expected within weeks.
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.