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The privileges committee investigated Christian Porter’s use of a trust to contribute funds to his defamation action against the ABC,but The Guardian got it before it was made public.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

That sparked several MPs,including from the opposition,to urge Mr Broadbent to reverse his decision.

The committee’s report,which was formally released on Tuesday,found Mr Porter had complied with his obligations under Parliament’s register of members’ interests when declaredthe “Legal Services Trust”,described as a blind trust,contributed part of his legal fees for a defamation claim against the ABC over an article he alleged portrayed him as the perpetrator of a rape in 1988.

He denies the historical rape allegation and thecase was settled in May.

Mr Porter had to leave the ministry over the trust,which took contributions from donors whose identities have not been made public.

While the privileges committee cleared Mr Porter,it went on to say current disclosure requirements are inadequate and should be made more detailed.

“The committee considers all members should seek to provide the greatest level of transparency in the disclosure of the source of gifts received by them,” it said in the report,which ran to just two substantive pages.

It said the committee had already begun work on changes that would strengthen the register of members’ interests.

Current rules say gifts worth more than $300 or $750 need to be declared depending on the source and whether there is an appearance of a conflict of interest in the MP’s view. Labor and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the trust arrangementan affront to transparency,arguing it prevented the public from seeing whether nefarious actors were donating to politicians.

When the controversy first appeared,Mr Porter said he had been assured no banned donors had contributed and,at the time of his resignation,explained he had wanted to keep donors anonymous to prevent them facing scorn online.

The Guardianpublished the details of the report on Monday night,prompting Mr Broadbent to say its confidence had been breached and its integrity besmirched through the leak.

“Someone has decided to use the committee as a dirty rag and throw it in the bin,” Mr Broadbent said.

He said the committee would investigate the leak because its “confidence has been surely offended” and if the leak harmed its work,then the leaker could be found in contempt of the House of Representatives.

Mr Broadbent denied any suggestion that the committee was partisan but said as chairman he would take responsibility for what he called a breach of its integrity and would resign as chairman next year.

Russell Broadbent offered to resign from the privileges committee to take ultimate responsibility for the leak of its report.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Several MPs including Health Minister Greg Hunt and the father of the house,Kevin Andrews,then spoke to convince Mr Broadbent not to go.

Labor MP Warren Snowdon said he spoke for his ALP and Coalition colleagues when he said the leak was not Mr Broadbent’s fault and that he still enjoyed the full confidence of the committee.

“The committee,under the stewardship of the Member for Monash[Mr Broadbent] is operated in a completely bipartisan way,with cooperation from everyone on the committee and with great respect for the Member for Monash’s leadership.”

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