Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls NSW Police Commissioner over Angus Taylor investigation

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended his decision to call the NSW Police Commissioner over the investigation into Energy Minister Angus Taylor. Find out why ScoMo says it was OK to phone a friend.

The relationship between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller is under scrutiny after Mr Morrison called the top cop to ask him about the investigation into Energy Minister Angus Taylor.

Mr Morrison last year identified Mr Fuller as one of his two “best friends,’’ while Mr Fuller said they were former neighbours, and joked that Mr Morrison used to take his bins in.

But on Wednesday Mr Fuller said he had no personal relationship with the Prime Minister, and that he had missed three calls from him because he didn’t have his number in his phone.

The call by Mr Morrison to Mr Fuller kicked the controversy surrounding Mr Taylor up a notch, days after police established a strike force to investigate how Mr Taylor came to have a document, which he distributed to the media, wrongly inflating travel costs for the City of Sydney.

There was embarrassment for the Prime Minister last night when he wrote to the Speaker advising he had incorrectly quoted a Victorian police detective as confirming former Labor leader Julia Gillard had been under investigation by police. Mr Morrison conceded that in fact the comments had been made by radio journalist Ben Fordham.

Labor referred the original Taylor matter to police, and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese asked Mr Morrison how he could argue the call was appropriate.

Mr Morrison said he had advised parliament on Tuesday of his intention to contact the police, which he said was necessary “to fulfil my undertaking to the House and discharge my responsibility under the statement of Ministerial Standards to inform myself of the nature, substance and instigation of the investigation under way.’’

The Prime Minister told radio 3AW in September last year that two of his “best friends’’ had shut down gang crime in NSW, naming former commissioner Andrew Scipione and Mr Fuller.

On Wednesday Mr Fuller said he saw no problem with Mr Morrison making the call, saying the PM “didn’t ask me any questions that were inappropriate.

“I’m comfortable with the discussion that we had over a few minutes,’’ he said.

“At this stage the allegation itself is around a complex piece of criminal law. We are unsure at this stage even if we have reached a benchmark of it being a criminal matter.’’

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Mr Fuller said he received three missed calls from a “phone number I don’t have in my phone.

“I don’t have the number. He (Mr Morrison) is my local member and I have met him a few times.

“I have never had dinner at the Lodge with him.

“Am I proud that our local member is the Prime Minister, yes, I am, but I certainly don’t have a personal relationship with the Prime Minister.’’

He said he wanted the investigation into Mr Taylor finished as quickly as possible because “ these types of investigations can consume an enormous amount of resources from New South Wales police and they are a great diverter of my time.’’

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