Peter Dutton challenged on au pair visa claims in parliament

Peter Dutton has been challenged over whether he misled parliament on visa decisions for au pairs.

Peter Dutton. Picture: Kym Smith

Labor and the Greens have challenged Peter Dutton over whether he misled parliament in denying any personal relationship with the hosts of au pairs who ­requested he overturn negative visa decisions.

The issue was raised by Greens MP Adam Bandt after it emerged that Mr Dutton intervened in a case involving an au pair following an application by a former Queensland police colleague in June 2015.

The Home Affairs Minister yesterday rejected the Labor and Greens claims and was standing “100 per cent behind his statements to the parliament”.

Mr Dutton has come under pressure over the use of special ministerial powers which allow him to overturn visa decisions after leaked emails revealed that AFL boss Gillon McLachlan had lobbied the then immigration minister in November 2015 to allow 27-year-old French woman and yoga instructor Alexandra Deuwel into the country after she was detained.

The appeal from Mr McLachlan was made on behalf of his second cousin, Callum MacLachlan — the son of prominent South Australian pastoralist Hugh Mac­Lachlan who has donated as much as $150,000 to the state and federal branches of the Liberal Party since 1999.

Mr Dutton has also faced questions over his decision to intervene in a separate visa case involving an au pair in June 2015 after a request was lodged by the family of one of his former colleagues from the Queensland Police Service, Russell Keag.

Melbourne MP Adam Bandt. Picture: Chris Pavlich

While Mr Dutton yesterday clarified he had not spoken to Mr Keag in 20 years, Mr Bandt questioned whether the Home Affairs Minister had misled parliament in March this year.

Asked on March 27 by Mr Bandt whether he could categorically rule out any personal connection with the intended hosts of foreign au pairs or the au pairs themselves, Mr Dutton said: “The answer is yes. I haven’t received any personal benefit. I don’t know these people.”

Seizing on Mr Dutton’s previous association with Mr Keag, Mr Bandt yesterday said: “On the face of it, Peter Dutton may have misled parliament when answering my question. Given reports suggesting he has a personal connection with the employer of an au pair, he urgently needs to explain himself. If he can’t, he has no business being a minister.”

Labor immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann also seized on the response from Mr Dutton.

“If Peter Dutton knows the intended employer of one of these au pairs, Peter Dutton has clearly misled parliament,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Mr Dutton issued a statement saying: “Mr Dutton is confident, to the best of his knowledge, he has never met Callum MacLachlan nor has he socialised, met with or had contact with Russell Keag in almost 20 years. He hasn’t spoken with ­either individual regarding these matters before or since these matters were first raised.”

Scott Morrison backed Mr Dutton. “Canberra loves it when dust gets kicked up and people sling some mud about. I don’t see those sorts of activities and machinations as grounds for anything,” the Prime Minister said.