Kristina Keneally cancelled ASIO briefing for Peter Dutton attack

Kristina Keneally admitted on Twitter that she cancelled a ­requested security briefing with ASIO on Tuesday at the last minute.

Labor’s home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally. Picture: AAP

Kristina Keneally admitted on Twitter that she cancelled a ­requested security briefing with ASIO on Tuesday at the last minute so she could launch an ­attack on Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in the Senate.

In a series of tweets, Labor’s home affairs spokeswoman said she had asked to reschedule a meeting planned for 3pm with the Department of Home Affairs ­because she had important business in the Senate.

The tweets came in response to inquiries made to Senator Ken­eally’s office by The Australian as to why the confidential briefing on foreign interference from ASIO and other Home Affairs ­officials was cancelled. Senator Keneally said she had not cancelled the meeting but asked for it to be rescheduled because of time-crucial Senate business.

“I have just received a text message from the @australian asking me if I cancelled a briefing offered by the Department of Home Affairs today to make a speech in the Senate,” the first tweet said. “Before you read it in tomorrow’s paper, I thought I’d answer it with a thread.”

Senator Keneally said she needed the time in parliament to raise the issue of a failure by Mr Dutton to answer questions on ­notice about airplane arrivals.

The questions on notice relating to asylum-seeker arrivals by plane had not been answered and were up to 35 days overdue.

Senator Keneally’s office said the time in the Senate to raise such matters was restricted to after question time, which concludes at 3pm. This was the same time as the ASIO briefing.

Senator Keneally accused Mr Dutton of leaking details of the briefing to the media.

Mr Dutton’s office said it would not respond to the claims because it did not comment on private ­national security briefings.