Peter Dutton au-pair scandal: Labor senator caught up in AFP raid
THE Border Force employee investigated by the AFP for leaking details of Peter Dutton’s au-pair scandal rang Labor politician Louise Pratt when the AFP arrived to seize documents relating to the leak of Mr Dutton’s decision to grant visas for au-pairs, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
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THE Border Force employee investigated by the AFP for leaking details of Peter Dutton’s au-pair scandal rang a Labor politician as the raid was unfolding.
The Daily Telegraph understands the employee phoned Labor Senator Louise Pratt when the AFP arrived to seize documents relating to the leak of the Home Affairs Minister’s decision to grant visas for au-pairs.
After receiving the phone call from the employee, Ms Pratt is then understood to have phoned the AFP regarding the raid.
Ms Pratt declined to comment on the nature of the conversations or her relationship with the Border Force employee.
Yesterday afternoon, the Senator formally applied for the documents seized during the raid to remain sealed.
She defended her decision to try ensure the documents surrounding who leaked the classified information remain confidential.
“I claimed parliamentary privilege over material seized by the AFP, which related to an inquiry undertaken by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, which I Chair,” she said.
“The Senate has asked the Privileges Committee to consider my privileges claim, in accordance with the usual process.”
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Ms Pratt accused Mr Dutton of trying to “bully” the senate.
“Peter Dutton is desperate to cover up his role in issuing visas to foreign au-pairs of Liberal Party mates and Liberal Party donors, but he can’t bully the Senate,” she said.
Mr Dutton has denied asking the AFP to investigate the source of the leak surrounding the scandal that engulfed him in the week following the leadership coup bid.
Government sources questioned whether the leak was politically motivated and why Labor would want to keep the documents secret: “What do they have to hide? Why is Labor so concerned about these documents? Do they link Labor to the leak?”
The AFP raid on Thursday followed Mr Dutton’s ministerial intervention to grant visas to a French au-pair connected to the family of AFL chief Gillon McLachlan.
He also granted a visa for an Italian woman linked to a former Queensland police colleague.
Hundreds of requests for visa decisions to be overturned have been made by Labor MPs, including Chris Bowen and Tony Burke.
