Department of Defence signed off on payments worth $154 million to settle two class actions brought by Richard Marles’ wife’s firm

News.com.au - 16/04
Defence Minister Richard Marles revealed that he had recused himself from all responsibility for $150 million in class action settlements over contamination at defence bases after his wife went to work for the law firm running the multimillion-dollar legal action.

Defence Minister Richard Marles revealed that he had recused himself from all responsibility for $150 million in class action settlements over contamination at defence bases after his wife went to work for the law firm running the multimillion-dollar legal action.

The PFAS Contamination Class Action alleged that the Department of Defence negligently allowed toxic chemicals known as ‘PFAS’ to escape from defence bases and contaminate local environments. 

News.com.au can reveal for the first time that Mr Marles has now delegated all responsibility to his junior minister Matt Keogh and no longer receives briefings on the impact of “forever chemicals” and the class actions being run by Shine Lawyers.

Mr Marles made the disclosure after news.com.au raised questions about how any potential conflicts of interest were being managed. 

But it’s understood the arrangements have been secretly in place for years, ever since Mr Marles’ wife went to work at Shine Lawyers.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Rachel Schutze, a respected lawyer who is the Victorian general manager for Shine Lawyers.

Richard Marles and his wife Rachel Schutze. Picture: Mark Wilson

Richard Marles’ response

The questions news.com.au raised flowed from the fact that Ms Schutze lists her e...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]