Nick Feik

It's the start of a long story.

So the Commissioner of the NAC is Paul Brereton, and he was also conducting the Afghanistan War Crimes Inquiry, started in 2016, ran to 2020.

That was for the Inspector General of the ADF.

He produced the Brereton Report.

He was also a Major General in the Army Reserve.

He went on

obviously to be appointed as the inaugural commissioner of the NAC.

And that relationship, his relationship with the ADF, was the foundation of a series of conflicts.

And he had a professional association with some of the subjects that he was investigating at the NAC.

But it turns out that it was not just an affiliation.

He was doing ongoing consulting work with the Inspector General's office.

And he also had a close association.

In fact, occasionally it was termed a personal association with Catherine Campbell, who was the subject of the Robodebt inquiry.

She was one of the six who was referred to the NAC over Robodebt.

So in multiple ways, the commissioner of the NAC was conflicted or there was a perceived conflict or conflict.

the potential for a conflict in terms of his previous roles and his current role.

That's been the basis of so much controversy and I think is at the heart of his resignation this week.

So the background is that a few weeks ago, the Green Senator David Shoebridge moved a successful Senate motion.

He directed Brereton and the three other NAC deputy commissioners to attend budget estimates this week to give evidence and to answer questions.

On Monday, though, Brereton announced his resignation, taking effect on 6 July.