A Crown lawyer says the Premier’s chief of staff did not try to influence him over disciplinary procedures for public servants stemming from the Debelle report.

Jay Weatherill’s chief of staff Simon Blewett spoke to an executive solicitor in the Crown Solicitor’s Office, Craig Stevens, to inquire about the disciplinary processes arising from the Debelle inquiry concerning a single public servant, Stevens told a parliamentary committee this morning.

In the face of repeated questions from Liberal members of the committee, Stevens held firm to his evidence that Blewett had in no way sought to influence his advice.

“So you have no concerns at all at the phone call that Mr Blewett had had with you?,” Liberal MLC Rob Lucas asked Stevens

“Mr Blewett was polite and respectful to me, he didn’t seek to influence me, he seemed satisfied with my explanation. No,” Stevens replied.

However, Stevens testified that he wasn’t sure why Blewett had chosen to call him – because the conversation revealed that Blewett was already fully aware of the advice Stevens had provided to the department on discipline processes.

“He already knew what the advice was. As to his motives I assume that it was to keep the Premier informed.”

Earlier, Labor MP Russell Wortley threatened to resign from the committee over comments made by the chair, Family First’s Robert Brokenshire.

In a heated committee meeting, during which Labor and Liberal representatives repeatedly sniped at each other, Wortley accused Brokenshire of abusing his role as chair.

The Premier this week agreed to a request from the committee to have Telstra do a more thorough search of government email archives in an attempt to find an email forwarded by Blewett to an unknown person. The email concerned a case of child sexual abuse at an out of school hours care program.

Brokenshire said earlier this week that he questioned why the Premier had decided to allow Telstra to search for the email.

“I was horrified to wake up at the 6 o’clock news on Wednesday hearing you question the motives of the premier,” Wortley told Brokenshire.

“I jointed this committee because I thought we were looking at child protection.

“Your partisanship and I think for you to make statements like that as chair I think it totally inappropriate… If it does continue to happen in the future, and you do continue to make statements to the press… I’ll be seeking to resign from this committee.

“I think it is totally inappropriate and I think you’ve abused your position as chair.”

The upper house committee is investigating matters arising from the Debelle royal commission.

Former Supreme Court justice Bruce Debelle produced a scathing report about the department’s behaviour following the 2010 arrest of an after school hours worker for the sexual assault of a child at a western suburbs school. Parents weren’t told about the man’s arrest, trial and conviction until October last year – a delay which sparked the Royal Commission.