Peter Dutton in clear over third au pair, only intervened twice

HOME Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has intervened in just two visa cases for au pairs and they are the only times he acted on a tourism visa to allow someone to take a holiday, new department responses reveal.

HOME Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has intervened in just two visa cases for au pairs and they are the only times he acted on a tourism visa to allow someone to take a holiday, new department responses reveal.

The controversy around the au pairs has continued to dog the Morrison Government, which is still dealing with the fallout from Malcolm Turnbull being deposed as Prime Minister.

Mr Dutton’s decision to grant visas to two European au pairs in 2015 has been under the microscope after it was revealed one was at the request of a former Queensland Police colleague of his and the other from AFL boss Gill McLachlan.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton bites back during Question Time in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The Home Affairs Department, responding to a Senate inquiry last week, yesterday confirmed Mr Dutton had intervened in 24 tourism visa cases since December 2014.

His response times ranged from two hours and 40 minutes to five months. Mr Dutton intervened in both au pair cases within hours, but it is not known how long each took.

Of these 24 cases just two involved people where “there were indications that the visa holders may have been engaged in work-related activity as an au pair”.

Sacked Australian Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg suggested that there may have been a third au pair case.

The statement casts doubt over claims by sacked Australian Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg that there may have been a third au pair case.

The department also stated he only intervened in two visitor visa cases for people wanting to stay in Australia for tourism purposes, while the others were for people using it as an interim measure while they applied for a different type of visa.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended Mr Dutton, saying he had been subject to “spurious and false” allegations.

Meanwhile, Mr Morrison told Bill Shorten he should “get over it” after the Labor leader asked why he rolled Malcolm Turnbull.

The new Government will face its first electoral test in just over five weeks when voters in Mr Turnbull’s old seat go to the ballot box to choose a replacement MP.

The by-election in the wealthy eastern Sydney seat of Wentworth will be held on October 20, the Speaker Tony Smith announced yesterday.

Liberals are bracing for a backlash over the removal of Mr Turnbull in the traditionally blue ribbon electorate.