Peter Dutton Senate inquiry: ‘What’s the go with the au pairs?’

PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has been brought into the Peter Dutton au pair controversy, as AFL boss Gillon McLachlan appeared before the Senate inquiry.

PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has been brought into the Peter Dutton au pair controversy, as AFL boss Gillon McLachlan appears before the Senate inquiry this afternoon.

Mr McLachlan told the inquiry he had asked for ministerial help with a visa problem before his request for intervention on behalf of a French au pair, which has been the centre of today’s hearing.

The AFL boss said he made an inquiry about the status of a business visa of an Argentine polo player, who was coming to play in Australia, on behalf of a friend.

Mr Morrison was the immigration minister at the time, which was March 2014.

Mr McLachlan said he asked AFL government relations officer Jude Donnelly, a former political staffer for then prime minister Tony Abbott, to make an inquiry about the status of the polo player’s visa.

“I was contacted by someone awaiting a business visa. A friend of a friend who was wanting to come to the country, waiting for the visa to be processed,” he said.

“My understanding as the process had already been approved and was in the process of being processed.”

Scott Morrison has been drawn in to the Senate inquiry

Ms Donnelly told the inquiry she had spoken to an adviser in Mr Abbott’s office, asking them to check on the status.

She said she did not know if Mr Morrison or his office were ever directly approached about her inquiry.

Mr McLachlan said he only met Mr Morrison once about two years ago — which was after the query was made on behalf of the polo player.

Mr McLachlan confirmed he that in June 2015 that he asked for Ministerial help on behalf of his second cousin Callum MacLachlan to help an French au pair who had been held up at Adelaide Airport by the Australian Border Force.

“I got a phone call from my second cousin Callum MacLachlan who was agitated and said to me he has been trying to get hold of the relevant office,” he said.

“It was Sunday and he couldn’t get a hold of anyone.”

He said his cousin told him there had been a mistake as the woman had previously work for him but had become a friend of the family.

“He asked if I had anyway of helping.”

He said he asked Ms Donnelly to assist and did not have any direct contact with Home Affairs Minister Mr Dutton or his office.

Mr McLachlan said he met with Mr Dutton about half a dozen times, including once when he was Sports Minister, at a Parliamentary function and at an AFL grand final.

“It’s a normal relationship I would have with a Minister on either side of politics,” he said.

All visa interventions by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton are being scrutinised by a Senate inquiry. Picture: Dave Hunt/AAP

Earlier, the inquiry heard the French au pair linked to Mr McLachlan would have been deported from Australia the same day Mr Dutton intervened, had he not taken action, a Senate inquiry has heard.

Earlier today the inquiry heard Mr Dutton had requested a submission in one of the au pair cases an hour after his office received an request on a Sunday from a departmental liaison officer with details of the case.

In questioning Liberal senator Eric Abetz, the inquiry heard the au pair would have been deported that same day unless Mr Dutton had taken action, and he would have been in a place where he was uncontactable later that day.

“If the Minister had not intervened when he had the opportunity for intervention been denied to this young lady, who as we already established (had) no criminal record, didn’t breach her visa and departed before the expiration of her visa, would have been deported,” Senator Abetz said.

Labor Senator and inquiry chairwoman Louise Pratt questioned why Mr Dutton’s departure created urgency, as an acting minister would have been appointed.

Mr McLachlan is due to appear before the the inquiry later today.

All tourist visa cases in which Mr Dutton intervened will be reviewed by his department, after Labor senators made accusations of “special little favours” at the inquiry this morning.

Senator Murray Watt had asked for the department to check the previous 14 to 25 tourist visa cases Mr Dutton had intervened in to check if there were any cases linked to MPs, through friends, family or employees, questioning if there were “special little favours from their mate, the Minister”.

Mr Pezzullo agreed to review the cases, but did not commit to publicly releasing the findings.

“If in review the cases something of that character comes to my attention I will give consideration as how to best equip the request you have made,” he said.

He initially declined the request saying it would be “highly intrusive”.

Mr Dutton has said there was nothing unusual about the intervention has he received

In a fiery start to the inquiry earlier today, Senator Watt used his opening question to ask “What’s the go with the au pairs?” and accuse the department of a lack of transparency.

“There’s only one question here today. What’s the go with the au pairs,” he said.

Mr Dutton has come under fire after it was revealed he overruled department advice in 2015 to allow a French au pair to remain in Australia after a request from AFL boss Gillon McLachlan.

He made a separate intervention for an Italian au pair following a request from a former colleague from the Queensland Police Callum MacLachlan.

In an opening statement, Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo said Mr Dutton had received 207 submissions to intervene in visa cases this year and had granted 690 visas for individuals, while during his time as Minister since 2014 he has granted visas for 4129 individuals.

But questioning from Senator Watt revealed just 25 of those 4129 cases related to tourist visas - which the au pairs were travelling on.

It was also revealed that the first intervention took place on June 17, 2015, which was the date of the Italian au pair was allowed in to the country.

“Those numbers that you’ve given us... those were total numbers of interventions by year made by Mr Dutton (under the Act),” Senator Watt said.

“If you’re comparing apples with apples... there have actually been 25 occasions where the Minister intervened to allow someone to stay on a tourist visa.”

Senator Watt said it was his understanding that just 14 of those visas were of sub-class 600 tourist visas, which were the kind the au pairs travelled on, and has sought clarification on this from the Department of Home Affairs.

Senator Watt said the departmental brief given to the Minister indicated at least one of the au pairs was considered “high risk” because they had previously been counselled over a suspicion that they had been working while in Australia on a tourist visa.

“The departmental brief to the Minister advised the Minister that one of those two people was at “high risk” of breaching their tourist because of their past actions in doing exactly the same thing,” he said.

Queensland Labor Senator Murray Watt is questioning the role of Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton at a senate inquiry today. Picture: Gary Ramage

Senator Watt, referring to a leaked email, said it had taken only an hour for Mr Dutton to request a submission in one of the au pair cases after his office received an request on a Sunday from a departmental liaison officer with details of the case.

“Are you aware of any other instances where the Minister has requested a submission to let someone out of detention within an hour of your officers passing on the facts of what this person’s case involves,” Senator Watt said.

Mr Pezzullo said it was a concern that the providence of the emails referred to was not clear and that they may have been “criminally provided”, but agreed to find out average processing times of similar requests.

“We’ll go through the circumstances of the submission, whether it was escalated by the department.. or otherwise,” he said.

The department confirmed that the au pairs left the country within the three-month period of their visa and said there was no evidence they breached the terms of the tourist visa by working while in Australia.

Senator Watt said it appeared no compliance checks were actually done to ensure they did not work, which the department confirmed.

“The department didn’t know whether they complied with their visas because no compliance work actually occurred,” he said.

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz said there was a presumption of innocence and no compliance checks should be required unless there was evidence of wrong doing.

“There’s a presumption of innocence under Australian law and this sort of besmirching does the Labor party no credit,” Senator Abetz said.

“To try to prove a negative is impossible.”

Mr Dutton has said there was nothing unusual about the intervention and he has received thousands of requests in his role as Immigration Minister and Home Affairs Minister and acted on a case by case basis.

He has said neither of the men had his personal contact number or email so had not made a direct approach and likely went through the normal channels.

Mr Dutton has said he had not spoken to or dealt with Callum MacLachlan in the 20 years since they were working in the police together.