Dutton slams ‘false, misleading’ claims made by ex-Border Force chief Roman Quaedvlieg
PETER Dutton has issued an explosive statement denying claims made by the former Border Force chief about the minister’s granting of a visa to an Italian au pair.
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PETER Dutton has issued an explosive statement denouncing bombshell claims made earlier by the former head of the Australian Border Force about the minister’s intervention in the case of an Italian au pair’s visa.
Mr Dutton described the allegations, made by Roman Quaedvlieg in a letter written after yesterday’s Senate hearing ito the au pair affair, as “false, misleading and clearly defamatory”.
He accused Mr Quaedvlieg of being “bitter about the loss of his job” and questioned the former Border Force boss’s mental health in light of his “disturbing behaviour”.
Mr Dutton said the allegation that Mr Quaedvlieg had received a phone call from his chief of staff Craig Maclachlan in June 2015 about the Italian au pair’s case was “entirely false and indeed fabricated”.
“It is a fabrication and it is impossible for this conversation to have occurred,” Mr Dutton said.
“Mr Maclachlan was not employed by me at that time and didn’t join my staff until 7 October 2015.
“Equally, it is impossible for Mr Maclachlan to have had any knowledge of the matter, at that time, because he was not even employed by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.”
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Fairfax Media reported the former Border Force boss had written to the inquiry to claim Mr Maclachlan called him to ask for help for a “friend” of the minister regarding the au pair, who was being detained at Brisbane airport over concerns she planned to work while in Australia on a tourist visa.
It was revealed last week the Italian woman was intending to work as an au pair for Queensland cop Russell Keag who worked with Mr Dutton when he was a police officer in the 1990s.
“Mr Quaedvlieg is bitter about the loss of his job and it is has been concerning to hear allegations about Mr Quaedvlieg’s engagement with the media and Labor over a long period of time,” Mr Dutton said.
“But the fabrication of evidence to a Senate committee takes his behaviour to a disturbing level.
“The fact is Mr Quaedvlieg has been under enormous pressure since the commencement of the investigation by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) which resulted in his termination as the Australian Border Force (ABF) Commissioner for misconduct.
“As is a matter of public record, Mr Quaedvlieg remains under criminal investigation by ACLEI and another person related to this matter is subject to charges.
“I can only assume that the pressure and personal toll of these investigations have resulted in Mr Quaedvlieg making an enormous error in judgment by submitting false evidence to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee.
“It is for these reasons, I have asked ABF Commissioner Mr Michael Outram to offer Mr Quaedvlieg any support to address his personal or mental health issues.”
The dramatic development comes after Labor accused Mr Dutton of misleading Parliament earlier this year over his claim that he had no personal connection to the intended employer of the au pairs.
“The Prime Minister needs to explain why Peter Dutton should remain a minister,” Labor’s immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said.
“New evidence received by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee au pair Senate Inquiry indicates that Peter Dutton both knew the employer of the Brisbane au pair and used his powers of ministerial intervention to grant a tourist visa to that au pair.”
Highlighting that Mr Dutton told Question Time on March 27 that he had no connection to either au pair’s employer, Mr Neumann said: “It is clear Peter Dutton has misled the House. Misleading the Parliament is a sackable offence for a Minister.”
Mr Quaedvlieg reportedly outlines in his letter to Labor Senator Louise Pratt, chair of the Senate inquiry, that Mr Maclachlan asked him to personally inquire about the au pair’s detention at Brisbane airport and to provide advice about the steps the Minister would need to take to intervene to release the woman.
He then reportedly states that he went on to check the woman’s detention and learnt her visa had been cancelled after Immigration officials found evidence that showed she intended to work in Australia.
Mr Dutton told 2GB radio this morning before reports of Mr Quaedvlieg’s letter emerged that there was a “former senior ABF officer” who leaked damaging information out.
He also said Labor was looking for a “smoking gun that doesn’t exit” with the au pairs inquiry.
He has denied being close with Mr Keag, saying he was just a colleague he worked with 20 years ago.
Mr Quaedvlieg also outlines that he told Mr Dutton’s chief of staff if the Minister wanted to intervene in her case, he would have to go to the Department of Immigration’s “ministerial intervention team”.
The Home Affairs Minister this morning sought to discredit Mr Quaedvlieg as a disgruntled former employee who was fuelling the political storm over his decision to intervene in the two au pairs cases.
Mr Quaedvlieg was sacked from his role as Australian Border Force Commissioner in March after a nine month investigation into claims he helped his girlfriend get a job in his organisation.
Yesterday, the inquiry heard testimony from AFL chief Gillon McLachlan regarding the case of a second au pair, French woman Alexandra Duewel, who Mr Dutton stopped from being deported.
Senator Pratt’s office told News Corp it was unable to disclose what documents the au pairs inquiry had received.
Mr Quaedvlieg’s letter had yet to be published among the submissions on the inquiry’s web page on the Parliament House website.
KEY POINTS FROM THE AU PAIRS INQUIRY
*AFL boss Gillon McLachlan sought information on behalf of a friend about an Argentine polo player’s application for a business visa in 2014.
*McLachlan said the visa had already been approved when the AFL’s head of government relations and former Liberal staffer Jude Donnelly contacted a former colleague in then prime minister Tony Abbott’s office over the matter.
*McLachlan didn’t think his involvement in lobbying Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in the 2015 case of a French au pair who worked for his second cousin would change the outcome.
*The au pair was saved from deportation.
*McLachlan said he had met Dutton about six times. He described their relationship as normal for any minister on either side of politics.
*The leaking of emails about Dutton’s intervention in the French au pair case has been referred to the federal police.
*Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo said the department would never put Dutton in a position to act unlawfully.
*Migration agent Eve Watts recalled two of her six applications for ministerial intervention had succeeded. Both were linked to Liberal MPs.
Originally published as Dutton slams ‘false, misleading’ claims made by ex-Border Force chief Roman Quaedvlieg