Peter Dutton helped au pair who worked for former police colleague, report says

Peter Dutton is facing claims that an au pair he saved from deportation went to work for a former police colleague.

Peter Dutton, centre, denies he was personally lobbied by AFL boss Gillon McLachlan to intervene in the deportation case of au pair Alexandra Deuwel.

Peter Dutton defied advice from a senior Australian Border Force official when he personally intervened to stop a French au pair from deportation after being lobbied by AFL boss Gil McLachlan.

Mr Dutton says he stepped in to save 27-year-old Alexandra Deuwel because he thought it was a “bit rough” for a young woman with no criminal history to get kicked out of the country.

He overruled advice from a high-ranking Australian Border Force officer who warned details provided by the woman did not support the minister intervening.

Reports have also emerged that another nanny Mr Dutton saved from deportation - one of two cases unveiled earlier - was a Brisbane-based nanny for one of the minister’s former police colleagues.

Fairfax Media is reporting that a woman was released from detention in 2015 after a request from the family of a man known to Mr Dutton from their time together in the Queensland Police Service.

It is one of two cases, unrelated to that of Ms Deuwel, that is the subject of a looming Senate inquiry.

Shorten demands PM act

Bill Shorten has demanded Scott Morrison intervene in the au pair scandal surrounding Mr Dutton and explain why Ms Deuwel’s deportation was overruled by the Home Affairs Minister at “lightening speed”.

The Opposition Leader said the Prime Minister needed to explain Mr Dutton’s actions, after leaked emails show he went against departmental advice to allow Ms Deuwel to stay in Australia.

Mr Dutton moved swiftly after his office was contacted by the AFL, on behalf of Gillon Mclachlan, whose cousin was supposed to be hosting Ms Deuwel.

“What was so special about this French au pair? What was so special about the other nannies that got the commonwealth government moving at lightning speed?” Mr Shorten said.

“Mr Morrison now needs to not hide any more about this issue, he needs to explain his view on Mr Dutton’s actions. I think there are a lot of Australians who might have had someone they wanted to stay longer on a visa but they obviously don’t have the sort of access to Mr Dutton that some people have.”

Mr Shorten noted there are people who wait for “hours” to get Centrelink calls answered and there are 120,000 people on waiting lists for aged-care packages.

“But if you are a French au pair and you know someone apparently this government will give you top grade service,” he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is pushing Scott Morrison to act on the au pair drama engulfing Peter Dutton. Picture: AAP

Dutton ignored department advice over au pair’s deportation

Mr Dutton allowed the French woman on a tourist visa to stay in Australia against his department’s advice, despite evidence she had struck a deal with the cousin of Mr McLachlan to work as an au pair

The Herald Sun has obtained emails showing Mr McLachlan had lobbied the department of immigration and border protection for ministerial intervention to prevent the deportation of Ms Deuwel.

The liaison officer between the immigration department and Mr Dutton’s office, Stephanie Forrestor, responded with details of why Ms Deuwel was due to be denied entry into Adelaide at 2015.

Ms Forrestor wrote that text messages proved she planned to go against the advice of Australian Border Force officers and would look after Mr MacLachlan’s children in return for free accommodation. This was not allowed under her tourist visa.

Ms Deuwel claimed this did not contravene her visa as she was a “volunteer”.

She had previously worked as a nanny for Mr MacLachlan when she was in Australia in 2013 and 2014.

Ms Forrestor confirmed Mr Dutton had the power to intervene on the case, which he did on the condition she was counselled that she “cannot work, even volunteer or do in-kind work”.

Mr MacLachlan wrote to his cousin Gill McLachlan on the matter before 11am on November 1, 2015. The next action was taken by the AFL’s head of government relations, Jude Donnelly, who liaised with Ms Forrestor.

The decision to deport her was overruled by Mr Dutton before 10pm the same day.

In a response to the email leaks, Mr Dutton said ministerial intervention is invoked when the department has made a “negative decision”.

“In hundreds of cases each year the Immigration Minister (including every Labor and Liberal minister before me) considers cases where a visa has been cancelled or a negative decision is handed down by the department,” Mr Dutton said in a statement.

“By definition, given the department has made a negative decision, they don’t advise me to change their decision. I make decisions on the merit of individual cases according to the law.”

Au pair deportation ‘a bit rough’

Mr Dutton has denied he was personally lobbied by AFL boss Gillon McLachlan to intervene on the deportation of a French au pair.

Mr Dutton said he did not overrule the decision to deport au pair and yoga teacher Alexandra Deuwel because she was staying with the cousin of Mr McLachlan, Callum.

Mr Dutton said he intervened on the case because he thought it was “a bit rough” Ms Deuwel would be deported.

“I didn’t speak to Gill McLachlan about this,” Mr Dutton told 2GB radio.

“Where you have got a young girl staying here on a tourist visa staying with a family, in the interview, there are questions put about what you are doing here and the rest of it. All of that then leads to a young girl being detained, as I recall it, in one of the immigration areas, or the cell there, and was to be turned around on a plane.

“I had a look at he case and I made a judgment on the merit of the case, not my knowledge of the person who had referred it, and I looked at it and thought ‘look it is a bit rough’.

“There is no criminal history, she has agreed that she wouldn’t work while she was here, as I understand it she never overstayed her visa, hasn’t committed any criminal offences and I thought it was an application of common sense.”

Mr Dutton said he intervened on hundreds of deportation cases a year and there was nothing unique about Ms Deuwel’s situation.

“There are delegates within my department that deal with matters and, generally speaking, the most urgent matters, or controversial matters, visa cancellations or denial of visas around people who are coming here on speaking tours, somebody that has been caught up by bureaucratic anomaly they are the sorts of matters that will come to me,” he said.

He said the story was being pursued because he had enemies in the media.

“The Greens have set up some dodgy Senate inquiry, let them play their games,” he said.