Dutton cautions Home Affairs chief over ‘inappropriate’ call to Senator

Michael Pezzullo has been told to not call Senators, even if he believes they’ve slandered him.

Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs Michael Pezzullo. Picture: Kym Smith

Peter Dutton has warned Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo to not make future “inappropriate” phone calls to Senators, even if he believes they have made “outrageous lies and slander” about his character.

A public spat has emerged after Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick claimed Mr Pezzullo called to intimidate and silence him over personal criticism he had levelled after the Australian Federal Police raids on the media last week.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered Home Affairs Minister Dutton to counsel his department secretary, as such a phone call could be seen as “concerning”.

Mr Dutton said he discussed the matter with Mr Pezzullo on Tuesday morning.

“Like me he is disgusted at some of the outrageous lies and slander he and I are subjected to,” Mr Dutton said. “But nonetheless I advised the Secretary it was inappropriate to contact Senator Patrick even if just to point out the inaccuracies in the Senator’s press release.”

Mr Dutton advised Mr Pezzullo against making future phone calls to politicians who criticised him publicly.

“Further I advised it was counter productive because I have always found Senator Patrick to be a person of the sort of character who would seek to misrepresent the Secretary’s words, and the Secretary agreed the contact was not appropriate and that is where the matter ends.”

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said he personally has a good relationship with Mr Pezzullo but “senior bureaucrats need to be cautious about the contact they have (with Senators) and it needs to be appropriate”.

Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick. Picture: AAP

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton. Picture: AAP

Senator Patrick has been one of the fiercest critics of the AFP raids, and implied there is a double standard, with leaks embarrassing to the government pursued more vigorously than others.

After releasing a statement that said “Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo clearly hate media scrutiny”, the Senator said he was contacted by the Home Affairs boss.

“Mr Pezzullo opened his telephone call with a complaint about media comments directed at him,” Senator Patrick said yesterday.

“(Mr) Pezzullo suggested these remarks had ‘slandered him’, though he quickly indicated he would not take that any further, before remonstrating with me for making my remarks from my position of ‘high office’ in circumstances in which he claimed he had no real ability to respond.

“He took the view that while I was in my rights as a Senator to comment about and indeed criticise his Minister, Peter Dutton, I should refrain from commentary about him, the Secretary of Home Affairs.”

Mr Pezzullo strongly rejected Senator Patrick’s claims, saying he only asked him to “reflect” on his “unfounded” comments about him and the department after raids on the ABC and the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst.

“My sole request made to him by telephone was to ask that he reflect on his adverse references to my purported view of media scrutiny,” Mr Pezzullo told the ABC.

“His comments were unfounded and not able to be responded to by me in the media as quite properly I lack the public platform that he has, and uses.

“I was grateful that he took my call and appreciative of the fact that he undertook to consider my representations, which of course he was under no obligation to do.”

Greens senator Jordan Steele-John was also contacted by Mr Pezzullo in December after he criticised him during a debate on the floor of parliament over encryption laws and “the secrecy of his department”. But rather than a phone call, Mr Pezzullo sent a letter directly to Senate President Scott Ryan, copying in Senator Steele-John, where he raised concerns about the personal attacks being levelled at him.

After reflecting on the phone conversation, Senator Patrick believes the head of the country’s powerful security department was attempting to interfere with his work as a Senator.

But he doesn’t believe Mr Pezzullo was offended.

“He is a very robust character, not a shrinking bureaucratic violet. He is a significant figure within the Australian Government, well able to defend himself from criticism. He has the ability to rebut anything said in the media, just as his colleagues in the Defence Department do at the “Off the Record” section of Defence’s web page.”

Senator Patrick has previously spoken in favour of breaking up the mega Home Affairs portfolio and department, and suspects that may have influenced Mr Pezzullo’s motives.

“No matter how I try to reconcile Mr Pezzullo’s words, I was left with the distinct impression of a menacing tone in his remarks and an unmistakeable message that criticism and scrutiny is not welcome,” he said yesterday.

“In a quiet but significant way I was the subject of the next stage of oversight clampdown where the apparatuses moves from intimidating the media, who are charged with the responsibility of informing the public of questionable conduct by Government officials, to intimidating Members of the parliament who have a constitutional responsibility to oversight government.”

The South Australian senator said he would continue his work and won’t be intimidated.

“I won’t stop criticising Ministers or secretaries or other senior official as I discharge my responsibilities. They are all duty bound to account for the exercise of power and the discharge of their responsibilities. And I won’t be intimidated.”