Soccer star’s nanny waved through by Labor minister

Former Labor immigration ministers allowed Italian soccer star Alessandro Del Piero’s nanny into the country on a tourist visa.

Italian former professional footballer Alessandro Del Piero spends the day on the beach with his family and au pair Esmeralda Huanca Ramirez, left.

Former Labor immigration ministers Chris Bowen and Tony Burke allowed Italian soccer star Alessandro Del Piero’s nanny into the country on a tourist visa, and fast-tracked the case of a Lebanese national whose entry into Australia was supported by a Labor donor.

Revelations about the two immigration cases involving Bill Shorten’s senior enforcers come as parliament resumes today, with Labor to attack Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton over his intervention to grant two au pairs tourist visas.

A government source told The Australian the immigration department under Mr Bowen was allegedly “heavied” into granting Del Piero’s nanny a tourist visa on two occasions, in September 2012 and January 2013. The source said there was no ministerial intervention in the case but departmental staff made file notes to “protect themselves” after Mr Bowen’s office allegedly pushed for tourist visas to be granted to nanny Esmeralda Huanca Ramirez.

Del Piero signed a two-year contract with Sydney FC in September 2012 in what was hailed as the “biggest signing in Australian football history”.

Ms Ramirez also travelled to Australia in late 2013 and 2014 when Scott Morrison was immigration minister but was granted a working holiday visa — not a tourist visa — after being sponsored by Del Piero.

Labor and the Greens have increased pressure on Mr Dutton following revelations he used ministerial powers to allow two au pairs into Australia on tourist visas after AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan and a former Queensland police colleague made representations to his office.

Tony Burke, left, and Chris Bowen. Picture: Kym Smith

The parties argue Mr Dutton did favours for “well-connected mates”. However, the minister has said he acted no differently than he did in the hundreds of other visa interventions he has made, including after requests from Labor MPs.

Greens MP Adam Bandt has pledged this week to move a no-confidence motion against Mr Dutton, who is also facing questions over his eligibility under section 44 of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, a Labor-led committee is considering asking the Senate to extend an inquiry into the au pair controversy so sacked Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg can be invited to give evidence on one of the au pair cases.

Mr Burke’s intervention as ­immigration minister involved a push to grant a Lebanese man permanent residency despite his department telling him such action was “not considered appropriate”.

The man Mr Burke tried to help, Samer Al Shaar, entered Australia on a tourist visa in December 2012 with the support of businessman Talal Yassine, who is the managing director of Islamic superannuation and investment fund Crescent Wealth, which ­donated $61,250 to the Labor Party in 2016-17.

Mr Yassine is also connected to Mr Bowen, who attended the launch of Crescent Wealth in December 2012 and appointed Mr Yassine to the Australian Multicultural Council in 2011 to “advise and consult the government on multicultural issues and inform national policy”.

Mr Bowen’s wife, Rebecca Mifsud, was appointed a board director of the Crescent Foundation in 2016.

In an update to the Labor frontbencher’s register of members’ interests on 22 December, 2016, he said: “My wife Rebecca Mifsud has been appointed to the board of the Crescent Foundation. This is a charity and she is not remunerated.”

The Australian understands Mr Al Shaar lodged an application for a protection visa in March 2013 shortly after arriving in Australia.

According to a government source, in August that year the department received a “direction” from Mr Burke’s office asking for Mr Al Shaar’s case to be referred for consideration for the possible granting of a permanent visa.

In a submission to Mr Burke, the department advised there was no “unique or exceptional circumstances” in Mr Al Shaar’s case and, because he had an active protection visa application, a permanent resolution was “not considered ­appropriate at this time”.

Mr Burke disregarded the ­advice, according to the government source, and told his ­department he wished to intervene to proceed with granting Mr Al Shaar a permanent residency visa, pending standard identity and ­security checks.

But Mr Al Shaar’s case was referred to incoming immigration minister Mr Morrison before a visa could be granted when Labor lost power to the Coalition in September 2013. Mr Morrison declined to intervene to grant Mr Al Shaar a permanent residency visa and his protection visa application was subsequently refused by the department.

The Refugee Review Tribunal affirmed the department’s decision in January 2015, noting his activities in Lebanon, including in the political Future Movement and his role in the 2010 election, would not cause him serious or significant harm from Hezbollah or its supporters if he returned.

Mr Al Shaar left Australia in May 2016.

Asked about the matter, Mr Yassine said: “I understand no visa was issued and Mr (Al Shaar) has returned.” The Australian does not suggest Mr Yassine did anything wrong in supporting Mr Al Shaar’s tourist visa application.

Mr Burke said he had sought advice and progressed the matter but never issued a visa because a number of significant checks had not occurred. “Without which I would not issue a visa. In every instance of ministerial intervention the minister forms a different view to the department,” Mr Burke said.

“The fact that the process took so long draws a stark contrast to Mr Dutton’s interventions which took hours. Without access to departmental records, I cannot ­answer with respect to support Mr Yassine gave the application.”

The Australian revealed last week Mr Burke personally lobbied the government in support of a business visa for an Islamic ­extremist and hate preacher who advocated the execution of homosexuals and subjugation of women, but was later denied entry.

Mr Bowen’s spokesman did not respond to government claims the department had been “heavied” under his watch but said the department was an independent ­decision-maker.

The spokesman stressed it was the department — not Mr Bowen — that granted the tourist visas for Ms Ramirez “as they would have done in hundreds of thousands of cases between 2010 and 2013”.

“That is the opposite of what happened in the Dutton cases,” the spokesman said. “The Dutton au pair cases clearly involve the minister directly intervening to use his powers to overturn the ­department’s decision and grant visas to au pairs at airports. Unlike Dutton, Mr Bowen did not and would not do this.”

Sydney FC could not confirm the circumstances of Ms Ramirez’s visas, citing the length of time since they were ­issued.

Mr Burke, manager of opposition business, said Labor would target government frontbenchers for allegedly misleading parliament after they pledged support for Malcolm Turnbull in the midst of the Liberal Party leadership crisis and then voted to dump him in a partyroom meeting.

“It’s hard to know where to start this sitting. Seven ministers have potentially misled the House, one of them might not be even eligible to be a member of parliament, and the Prime Minister doesn’t know why he’s there,” Mr Burke said.

“The real challenge this time is where on earth do you start with an unstable government that describes itself as The Muppet Show.”