Smith has lodged a document in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court accusing the former Labor prime minister of the ­alleged offence of “intentionally” giving “false or misleading ­evidence” to the royal commission into union governance and corruption in 2014. The alleged offence harks back to Ms Gillard’s appearance as a royal commission witness, when she answered questions under oath about her role helping former boyfriend and union ­official Bruce Wilson set up a “slush fund” called the AWU Workplace Association in the 1990s.

Royal commissioner Dyson Heydon found in his interim ­report that Ms Gillard committed no wrongdoing legally, and did not recommend her for prosecution. Mr Heydon did, however, ­agree some money from $400,000 accumulated in the slush fund was used by Mr Wilson for renovations on Ms Gillard’s house.

Smith lost his radio host job at 2UE in 2011 after a dispute with the station’s then owner, Fairfax Media, over his pursuit of Ms Gillard and the slush fund. He has continued to publish related ­material on his website, MichaelSmithNews. A Victoria Police officer and experienced prosecutor before his radio days, Smith has included affidavits from two former senior officials of the West Australian government ­Office of Corporate Affairs.

ENDS