Senator accuses Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo of intimidation over AFP raids

Crossbench Senator accuses the Home Affairs boss of trying to silence him over AFP raids.

Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo. Picture: Kym Smith

A public spat has developed between Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick and Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo over the Senator’s commentary about police raids on the media.

Senator Patrick told the ABC he thinks Mr Pezzullo tried to intimidate and silence him during a phone call last week, after the Australian Federal Police raided the ABC and the home of a News Corp journalist.

Mr Pezzullo has strongly rejected Senator Patrick’s claims, saying he only asked him to “reflect” on his “unfounded” comments about him and his department, that the Home Affairs boss said verged on slander.

“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.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has lent his support to a parliamentary inquiry into the raids, after the government opened the door to a probe.

The Coalition will publicly address the raids in coming days.

Senator Patrick gave radio interviews and release a statement last week stating that “Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo clearly hate media scrutiny”.

“I’ve tried to reconcile in my mind what the phone call was about, and the only thing I can think of is that he was trying to get me to be quiet in respect of my criticisms of the Department of Home Affairs,” Senator Patrick said.

“As a Senator, I have a responsibility for oversight of government and I won’t be constrained in what I say about ministers or indeed secretaries if I think they’re not acting in the best interest of their constituents.”

Mr Patrick said as a former submariner he’s lived in an environment of “sharks” and won’t be changing tact in his criticism of any department.

Senator Rex Patrick. Picture: Gary Ramage

‘Open to review’

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the government was open to reviewing laws around press freedom and how it interacted with national security, but stopped short of giving his support to a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr Cormann said the government would make an announcement this week about how it planned to address the police raids on the ABC and a News Corp journalist.

“Press freedom, freedom of the press is a very important feature of our democratic system,” Mr Cormann told RN. “And there are issues to be considered and we’re open to the discussion. What form that will take, that is yet to be determined and when that is determined, relevant announcements will be made.”

Mr Cormann said all laws were “open to review” and that conversation might take place over the next few weeks and month.

“All laws are always open to review,” he said. “And that, you know, that is the sort of conversation that might take place over the next few weeks and months, no doubt.”

Mr Cormann again rejected any suggestion there was political or government interference in last week’s raids.

“Our national security laws are very important, they keep us safe, and it’s very important our law enforcement agencies continue to enforce our laws as passed by the parliament independently, and you know, at arms length from the government of the day, but you know there are issues that have been raised and we are open to the conversation.”

Wilkie backs inquiry

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said he will support a full parliamentary inquiry into the Australian Federal Police raids on the media — but only if it is a joint inquiry by both houses of Parliament.

“Hopefully, there will be some sort of effective inquiry, but ... it mustn’t be an inquiry by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security,” Mr Wilkie told RN Breakfast.

Mr Wilkie said the PJCIS, chaired by Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, is “part of the problem” because “it is monopolised by the major parties and tends to have hawks on it and can’t be relied on to have a really independently minded look at what went on last week”.

The former intelligence whistleblower turned Tasmanian MP wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week calling for the inquiry, which he hopes will make recommendations to strengthen the Public Interest Disclosure Act (whistleblower laws) and looks at the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights which has a legislation freedom of expression.

“Because if we don’t have a healthy democracy, we need a free press, and one of the chilling consequences of the raids last week ... the problem is it sent a very, very loud across the whole of the media that if you cause trouble for the government you can expect a knock on the door from the police.”

Mr Wilkie said he doesn’t believe the government’s claim they knew nothing about the raids and is now in “damage control”.

“If they did know nothing about those raids then it does mean security services are out of control and a law unto themselves,” he said.

“I think right back at the start the government had no idea how big a bee nest it was poking with a big stick, or a wasp’s nest,” he told RN Breakfast.

Mr Wilkie said it’s clear the raids occurred to punish and intimidate the media and prevent future whistleblowers from coming forward.

The Prime Minister will sit down with ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose this afternoon for a frank discussion about her concerns over the raids.

Ms Buttrose said last week that raids on the ABC — over a 2017 report on the actions of soldiers in the Afghanistan War — were “designed to intimidate” and said she would fight for freedom of the press and the public broadcaster’s independence.

The ABC is set to mount a court challenge into the raids, in a case that could test the Constitution’s implied right of political communication.