The embattled head of the Australia's corruption commission has defended his involvement with the defence force watchdog amid calls for him to step aside over potential conflicts of interest.
Commissioner Paul Brereton disclosed he consulted with the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force on his inquiry into potential Australian war crimes in Afghanistan about 22 times since 2023.
Mr Brereton said he had consulted for about 24 hours in total, and most were mundane clarifying questions about his report, which found credible information about 23 incidents of potential war crimes involving the killing of 39 Afghans between 2005 and 2016.
He described his involvement with the inspector-general as "very modest, informal assistance" for which he wasn't paid.
He said it would be "utterly absurd" if he couldn't provide clarity on his report, which only he could answer some questions about following his four-and-a-half-year investigation.
The agency, as an integrity body overseeing the defence force, complemented the work of the commission in ensuring public officials act with integrity, he added as he questioned where a conflict of interest would lie.
The commissioner has recused himself from any defence-related matters, saying he accepted there was a public perception about potential conflicts of interest because of his engagement with the inspector's office.
Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission - the watchdog's watchdog - Gail Furness revealed a spike in complaints about the commissioner's potential conflict of interest.
There have been close to 90 complaints about Mr Brereton's potential conflict of interest since July 1, compared a handful the previous financial year, due to media reporting on the issue.
How conflicts of interest were managed was the pertinent issue, Ms Furness said.
She is investigating the referrals about Mr Brereton's potential conflict of interest, which would take months, not weeks, she said, pointing to the hundreds of documents she has recently received.
Mr Brereton remained defiant during an, at times, combative parliamentary hearing with the committee overseeing the commission on Thursday.
"I don't accept that it's a reasonable perception, but I have stepped away because there is some perception," he said on the public discourse over a potential conflict.
He said he told the then-attorney-general he intended to provide advice to the inspector in a limited capacity when he was given the role in 2023, when pushed on whether he should end consultations.
"The time to raise this with me was then, not now," he said.
Stepping down from all duties related to defence wouldn't mitigate a potential conflict of interest due to his decades of involvement, so a recusal would be required anyway, he said.
Mr Brereton was also reluctant to agree to the timely disclosures when he engaged with the inspector, saying people who wanted to undermine war crime investigations could piece together his meetings with other events.
He offered an annual update, including the amount of time spent consulting.
He then claimed people making referrals to the Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission about his conduct had an interest in his war crimes report's recommendations not being implemented.
But he provided no evidence to back up the assertion when pushed, and admitted he hadn't seen the names of the complainants.
Deputy commissioner Nicole Rose revealed she had pushed strongly for the blanket recusal, saying public perception had become an issue for the commission.
Mr Brereton rated the commission's performance in its first two years as a seven when asked to score it out of 10.
