Peter Dutton responds to ‘nannygate’ claims, accusing Labor MPs of asking for help, too

A DEFIANT Peter Dutton has implied his “nannygate” saga is payback for his failed leadership coup and revealed senior Labor frontbenchers privately asked him hundreds of times last year alone to use his ministerial power to intervene in visa cases.

A DEFIANT Peter Dutton has implied his “nannygate” saga is payback for his failed leadership coup and revealed senior Labor frontbenchers privately asked him hundreds of times last year alone to use his ministerial power to intervene in visa cases.

In a counter-attack today aimed at setting the record straight, the Home Affairs Minister has detailed how he has regularly overturned his department’s advice on “commonsense” grounds, including after being approached for help by Federal Labor MPs.

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Mr Dutton, under fire for using his ministerial discretion to help out high-profile Australians and a former colleague from two decades ago, today outlines heartbreaking cases he has privately intervened in since he was handed the then immigration portfolio in December 2014.

Mr Dutton told The Sunday Mail: “People are playing games and the timing of this attack off the back off the leadership issue a weeks ago is suspicious at best,” after it was revealed he overturned his then-Immigration and now Home Affairs department’s decision to deny two European au pairs their tourist visas.

Despite media reports there were three interventions, the 2015 cases relate to two women, one who was temporarily based in Brisbane and one in South Australia.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan lobbied Mr Dutton on behalf of his cousin to allow French woman Alexandra Deuwal into the country. Department officials believed Ms Deuwal had the wrong visa and determined she should be deported on arrival.

Mr Dutton was also asked by a former Queensland police colleague to help Italian woman Michela Marchisio, who also faced being deported on arrival because they believed she would breach her visa.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

Since December 2014 he has received more than 9000 representations from MPs and Senators asking him to use his ministerial discretion to overturn his department’s decisions to deny visas.

In the past financial year, Labor’s opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen asked Mr Dutton in 192 cases, and Labor frontbenchers Anthony Albanese, Tony Burke and Shayne Neumann collectively more than 50 times.

When Queensland Labor Senator Claire Moore and Greens Senator Nick McKim brought to his attention his department has refused to provide a visa to a 14-year-old New Zealand boy because he had autism and did not meet the health requirement, Mr Dutton intervened a granted a permanent visa. He overruled the Department when it refused to issue a student visa to a Kenyan mum, who was unable to finish her studies when diagnosed with cancer. Mr Dutton went further, granting her a permanent visa.

And the Labor man who would do Mr Dutton’s job if Bill Shorten won government at the next election has also successfully lobbied Mr Dutton.

Mr Neumann made representations on behalf of two Fijian footballers who wanted their visas extended to play for a local rugby league team. The department denied them visas due to eligibility issues but Mr Dutton intervened and granted visas allowing them to stay.

Mr Dutton said there was nothing unusual about being lobbied to help someone.

“I deal with over 900 cases per year where MPs and members of the public ask me to intervene and overturn the decision of the Department to deny a visa,’’ Mr Dutton said.

“I have helped sick children, people with disabilities, aged parents and many other cases – all where the Department has advised me not to act. I have applied common sense and have acted lawfully and on the merits of each case ... My opponents hate me because of my stance on border protection and this latest attack won’t deter me one inch from continuing to do my job.”