Text messages showed Italian au pair intended to work while on tourist visa

TEXT messages on a phone found on an Italian au pair, whom Peter Dutton intervened to allow into the country on a tourist visa, indicated she was coming to the country as “an au pair”, according to documents released today.

TEXT messages on a phone found on two European au pairs, whom Peter Dutton intervened to allow into the country on tourist visas, indicated they were coming to Australia as “au pairs”, according to Immigration Department documents released today.

The Minister was warned that in one case taxpayers would have to wear the cost of cancelling a flight to remove one of the women.

A text in one case showed one woman was offered work baby sitting “to fund fun”.

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Despite this Mr Dutton sought “urgent” intervention, with his office requesting the department provide a briefing on the girl’s case “within an hour”.

A Labor-led Senate inquiry has been looking into cases in which Mr Dutton intervened to allow European au pairs into the country.

In one Brisbane case, on June 17 2015, a former police colleague of Mr Dutton, Russell Keag, made a request via the Minister’s publicly available email address about 4pm.

New emails and documents reveal why the Italian au pair was detained at Brisbane airport on that date.

A “Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation” reveals a series of text messages on the girl’s phone, according to an Immigration officer.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in Question Time in the House of Representatives. Picture: Kym Smith

“A search of your mobile phone revealed the following message: From (redacted): I don’t know if you are keen or not to earn some extra cash while you are here occasionally baby sitting for friends?? Can put the word out for you if you are and a few friends would use you occasionally?? Locally?? Bit of cash for fun.

“You: Perfect!... and for baby sitting... Sure!”

A further message of the phone stated:

“To (redacted): Hello (redacted) Thanks a lot! I’m very well and preparing myself to depart at the end of (redacted) to Australia. How are you?,” the document states.

“From (redacted): How wonderful! As an au pair or for the university?...

“To (redacted): As an au pair”

Despite this, emails from Mr Dutton’s senior Department Liaison show that the Minister was seeking urgent intervention from Immigration within two and a half hours of the email from Mr Keag.

“This is urgent. The Minister requires this submission tonight (preferably within the next hour as he has an appointment at 7.30pm,” the liaison officer wrote.

“If he agrees (to intervene and grant a visa) then someone needs to be available to grant the visa this evening.”

The document trail shows the Minister had received the submission regarding the Italian girl’s case agreed to intervene by 9.13pm and the matter had been dealt with by 11.43pm at night.

Mr Dutton, as Immigration Minister, has discretionary power to intervene in visa cases and it is not suggested he has exceeded this power.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

The Senate inquiry previously heard there was no evidence the au pair worked while in Australia and she left within the visa’s timeframe. But it also heard no investigations to check if she worked were conducted by the Department.

Also released were interview notes related to the French au pair, who AFL boss Gillon McLachlan asked Mr Dutton to intervene to allow in on behalf of his second cousin Callum MacLachlan.

“Messages on your mobile phone between you and your former employer (redacted), stated that (redacted) has invited you to (redacted) house, so you can do au-pair type work for (redacted) on the 2nd, 4th and 26th of November 2015,” the Immigration inspectors note states.

“You have stated that in return for helping with the children, cooking, and riding their horses you will receive free accommodation for three months. You stated you will not receive monetary payment.”

The report notes that she had previously been counselled against working in Australia while on a tourist visa, including not to undertake any form of work including child minding.

The Department explicitly advised the Minister against intervening in this case.

“The ABF does not agree with the content, or think it appropriate that the Minister intervene and have made some changes to the doc (sic) for your consideration,” a department email stated.

Mr Dutton was also advised that his decision would cost the taxpayer money, as the department would have to pay for cancelling the Emirates flight to remove the French au pair from the country.

“They just wanted the Minister to be aware of this as part of his decision making”

Mr Dutton said there ended up being no cost to the Commonwealth in cancelling the flight intended to remove the French woman and labelled the Senate inquiry a “witch hunt” .

“This is nothing more than a witch-hunt. It was always the case, and, if they can point to something to the contrary, let them do that,” he said.

“But I suspect they can’t because they haven’t provided the evidence and

that was clear in the inquiry.

“The two issues you talk about don’t deviate from normal practice, not for me as

Immigration Minister, not for Chris Bowen as Immigration Minister, and many before that.”