Michaelia Cash says she was demeaned by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus’ “appalling” behaviour during a heated meeting to discuss religious discrimination laws on Tuesday, which ended with the Liberal senator storming out of the room.
The two sides blame each other for the altercation during which voices were raised.
It was the latest in a series of meetings held between the Government and Opposition to try to reach a bipartisan approach to the contentious religious discrimination laws. The meeting was supposed to further negotiations over the legislation, which the Coalition insists it is still open to backing.
But it was derailed by what Senator Cash saw as aggressive and demeaning behaviour by Mr Dreyfus. He is understood to have told her to pause or take a breath and to have put his hand up in a “stop” gesture, possibly while leaning over the table.
“Mr Dreyfus needs to stop playing games with his religious discrimination legislation,” Senator Cash, the shadow attorney-general, said in a statement.
“As I told Mr Dreyfus, he needs to take on board the feedback he has received from the faith communities and release his legislation publicly.”
The Attorney-General’s office disputes Senator Cash’s version of events and said Mr Dreyfus did not raise his voice.
Staff who were present told colleagues it was Senator Cash who entered the room with a raised voice while pointing at people, making them uncomfortable.
“Senator Cash’s claims are not correct. The Attorney-General did not raise his voice and at no point was aggressive or demeaning,” a spokesman for Mr Dreyfus said.
“Senator Cash interrupted the Attorney-General, described his request for the Opposition’s position on religious discrimination as unreasonable, and walked out of the meeting.”
The Government held initial meetings with staff from Senator Cash and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s offices earlier in the year, and Anthony Albanese had two shorter personal discussions with Mr Dutton.
The Government provided Senator Cash with a copy of the draft legislation in March, but it was subject to a confidentiality order.
The Coalition has called on the Government to either release an exposure draft or introduce the bill to Parliament so it can be open for public scrutiny.
Mr Dreyfus attracted headlines in December when he had a heated exchange with a female reporter during a press conference, telling her not to interrupt and saying he would not be apologising to anyone after the High Court’s ruling on indefinite immigration detention.