Former border boss Roman Quaedvlieg linked to au pair scandal
A SENIOR adviser to Labor leader Bill Shorten was the chief of staff for controversial former border force boss Roman Quaedvlieg, who has been accused of stoking the au pair scandal.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A SENIOR adviser to Labor leader Bill Shorten was the chief of staff for controversial former border force boss Roman Quaedvlieg, who has been accused of stoking the au pair scandal.
The revelation about the link to one of Mr Shorten’s top staffers — Paul Iozzi — comes after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton labelled Mr Quaedvlieg the new Godwin Grech, the infamous whistleblower who faked an email which led to Malcolm Turnbull’s downfall in 2009.
Using parliamentary privilege, Mr Dutton also sensationally accused the former head of his department of “grooming” a woman 30 years his junior.
MORE NEWS
Peter Dutton au pair email revealed in Question Time
Credlin: Dutton deserves medal, not senate inquiry
“This smear is coming from the former Australian Border Force commissioner, a man who was, as commissioner, sacked from his position. He is a man who had groomed a girl 30 years younger than himself. He is discredited and disgraced,” Mr Dutton said.
And in a warning to Labor he invoked “Utegate”, which helped bring an end to Mr Turnbull’s time as opposition leader.
“He (Mr Quaedvlieg) is somebody that the Labor Party shouldn’t rely on. I think what’s happened here is that a lot has been promised to the Labor Party, but it’s clear to me that Roman Quaedvlieg is your Godwin Grech,” Mr Dutton said.
“What he does is put out these fictitious bits of information and salacious details that he can’t back up.”
In 2009 Mr Turnbull used an email provided by former Treasury official Mr Grech, which turned out to be fake, to accuse then PM Kevin Rudd of misleading Parliament.
Mr Dutton has been under pressure to explain his decisions to use ministerial powers to intervene to stop the deportation of an Italian nanny in 2015 after his office was contacted by a former police colleague and a similar case involving a French au pair after AFL boss Gillon McLachlan’s staff contacted his office.
He has denied any wrongdoing and said that these sorts of interventions were common having been used more than 4800 times during his tenure.
Mr Iozzi, who has worked for Mr Shorten since August 2016, was chief of staff to Mr Quaedvlieg from July 2015 to July 2016 and prior to that was a senior staffer at Border Force.
Mr Quaedvlieg responded to Mr Dutton’s statements on social media: “Grooming? Are you serious? That has a legislative meaning. Is that what he meant? Parliamentary privilege huh?” He also labelled it “extraordinary behaviour” from a cabinet minister.