AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw has sidestepped questions on what the PM knew about caravan terror plot

Politicians have clashed while trying to ask the nation’s top cop why the Prime Minister was apparently kept in the dark about the alleged caravan terror plot.

Labor has tried to shut down questioning of the Australian Federal Police chief on the

brewing storm around when Anthony Albanese was informed of the alleged caravan terror plot.

In a fiery exchange during a hearing into the AFP’s annual report on Thursday, Coalition MP Llew O’Brien and Greens senator David Shoebridge both tried to ask AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw about the issue.

But Mr Kershaw shut down the line of questioning, telling the committee a public forum was not the appropriate place to address the matter.

“That question relates to an ongoing investigation … according to the briefings I’ve received, that’s not the purpose of today’s hearing,” he said on Thursday afternoon.

Committee chair, Labor senator Helen Polley, also moved swiftly to shut down any discussion over why there was an apparent delay in informing the prime minister of the investigation.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw appeared at the parliamentary joint committee on law enforcement hearing on Thursday. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“I understand why you are asking that question (but) we are here to talk about annual report,” she said.

“If you are going to go for an ongoing investigation, it is not appropriate.”

Mr O’Brien and Mr Shoebridge objected to Senator Polley’s move.

At the end of the hour for the committee hearing, Senator Shoebridge moved for an extension of time to question Mr Kershaw and the other AFP representatives on the matter.

But Senator Polley refused his request and ruled instead for a 15-minute private meeting.

Senator Shoebridge expressed frustration at the move and then he and Senator Polley began speaking over one another.

“Using the government’s numbers to shut down the inquiry into what millions of Australians what an answer to,” he shouted.

Senator Polley derided Mr Shoebridge’s complaint as “very theatrical”.

The AFP representatives sat quietly as the politicians squabbled and did not offer any further comment.

The Coalition has been pressuring the Prime Minister to reveal when he knew about the alleged Sydney plot for a week.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has formally called on Mr Albanese to set up an independent probe into when he was briefed about the explosive-laden caravan linked to an alleged anti-Semitic terror plot in Sydney.

It has been reported the Prime Minister was not informed of the discovery until just before it was made public on January 29, 10 days after the discovery of the caravan on January 19.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has said he was briefed on January 20.

The Opposition Leader on Thursday said it was “inconceivable” that Mr Albanese did not know about the find.

“I have written to the Prime Minister today asking for an independent inquiry in relation to the fact that the Prime Minister of our country wasn’t notified for nine days, 10 days of what was believed to be the biggest planned terrorist attack in our country’s history,” he said.

“It is inconceivable that the Prime Minister didn’t know about it.

Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett spoke in broad terms around how ministers are informed of sensitive operations. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“It’s inconceivable, if you think about it, during the conversations that the Prime Minister had with the Premier, who had been briefed on the 20th of January, that neither the Premier nor the Prime Minister raised the issue in the discussions.”

He said if Mr Albanese had not been told then it was because investigators feared information would be leaked.

“I don’t think there’s any breakdown in the process,” Mr Dutton said.

“The NSW Police have either made a deliberate decision not to advise the commonwealth so that the Prime Minister wasn’t advised because they were worried he was going to leak the information.

“Beyond that, there’s no other reasonable explanation.”

Mr Albanese has dismissed the idea of an inquiry as “absurd”.

Thursday’s hearing broke down in acrimony over the escalating political furore.

The police searched an address in Dural NSW near where a caravan was found on Derriwong Road that allegedly contained explosives and antisemitic material. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Mr Dutton has called for an inquiry into why the prime minister was not informed of the caravan plot for 10 days. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Before the blow-up, both Mr O’Brien and Mr Shoebridge queried the AFP on the process by which ministers and senior figures such as prime ministers are informed of sensitive terror investigations.

Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett did not reference the caravan plot specifically, but said in broad terms internal oversight bodies within different agencies decide when to deliver information to ministers.

“They (briefings with ministers) occur as often as they need to when it is deemed appropriate,” she said.

“We determine based on a number of factors when it is appropriate to do so.”

She said sensitive investigations were often “unique” and decisions on briefings were often made on a “case-by-case” basis.

Originally published as AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw has sidestepped questions on what the PM knew about caravan terror plot