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| Peter Dutton au pair visa inquiry: AFL boss to give evidence to Senate committee – live | Peter Dutton au pair visa inquiry: AFL boss to give evidence to Senate committee – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Abetz again: | |
| The ministerial intervention in these two cases, in the department’s view, were completely legal? | |
| Pezzullo: | |
| Well we would never put the minister in a position of acting unlawfully. Acting within the relevant guidelines we provided submissions which set out certain options and he exercised his options [within] the law. | |
| Abetz concludes that it was all entirely appropriate. Case closed! | |
| Abetz is now asking whether he’d be breaking the law if he let a tourist do the washing up after he invited them over for dinner. | |
| Many a person that has been on a tourist visa has in fact stayed at our residence and has kindly assisted on occasion with washing up or preparing a meal for my wife and I and I was just wanting to ensure that would not be a breach of the law. | |
| Good that we’re sticking closely to the issue at hand. | |
| Eric Abetz is here! | |
| He’s asking whether either of the two women at the centre of this had a criminal record. | |
| “Not on the information I have,” is the response from Malisa Golightly, a deputy secretary from the immigration department. | |
| Abetz then asks whether either of the two women broke any condition of the visa while they were here. | |
| “Not to my knowledge,” Golightly says. | |
| Watt then intervenes to ask whether the department ever actually did any compliance checks. | |
| Golightly: “In visas as short as this we wouldn’t usually do compliance work.” | |
| “So when you say that to your knowledge people complied, that’s because no one ever really checked,” Watt responds. | |
| Abetz then suggests people have a right to the presumption of innocence. | |
| Hm. | |
| Immigration officials didn’t bring any of the relevant case files to the Senate hearings this morning. They’re here to help, though! | |
| Labor committee members are asking for a breakdown of the 25 subclass 600 visa interventions. Murray Watt says he believes that to June this year there had been only 14 such interventions and that the other 11 have come since then. | |
| Watt: | |
| For all the talk about thousands of cases where minister Dutton has compassionately, generously intervened ... it could be that it’s as few as 14 times that he’s intervened to grant someone this kind of visa, the first being the Brisbane case. | |
| Watt is digging into the numbers on interventions. | |
| We’re told there have been 25 ministerial interventions for people on tourist visas – such as the Brisbane case and the Adelaide case – since Peter Dutton became immigration minister in December 2014. | |
| Watt suggests the Brisbane case I referred to earlier was the first time Dutton used his ministerial powers to intervene and grant a visitor (subclass 600). | |
| Pezzullo says he’ll have to check that. | |
| Labor’s Murray Watt opens with a zinger. | Labor’s Murray Watt opens with a zinger. |
| There’s only one question, isn’t there? What’s the go with the au pairs? | There’s only one question, isn’t there? What’s the go with the au pairs? |
| He’s trying to make a serious point though. The government has been less than forthcoming on this case, and he wants to know whether the department officials will actually answer questions. | He’s trying to make a serious point though. The government has been less than forthcoming on this case, and he wants to know whether the department officials will actually answer questions. |
| Pezzullo is reading out an opening statement. He says the departments will be able to give evidence on the two cases (we’re calling them the Brisbane case and the Adelaide case) but not on the minister’s thinking process. | Pezzullo is reading out an opening statement. He says the departments will be able to give evidence on the two cases (we’re calling them the Brisbane case and the Adelaide case) but not on the minister’s thinking process. |
| He’s outlining the minister’s broad powers to intervene in individual immigration cases under the act. | He’s outlining the minister’s broad powers to intervene in individual immigration cases under the act. |
| What is or is not in the public interest are matters for the minister to decide. | What is or is not in the public interest are matters for the minister to decide. |
| He then goes to how common or otherwise these interventions are. We beat him too it, though, so you can just read about it here. | He then goes to how common or otherwise these interventions are. We beat him too it, though, so you can just read about it here. |
| OK we’ve begun, just running through the rules of the committee and then we’ll hear from Michael Pezzullo, Michael Outram and other Immigration and Border Force officials. | OK we’ve begun, just running through the rules of the committee and then we’ll hear from Michael Pezzullo, Michael Outram and other Immigration and Border Force officials. |
| Looks like we’re running a few minutes late here. | Looks like we’re running a few minutes late here. |
| While we wait, I’ll try to give you a quick rundown of the curious case of Peter Dutton and the au pairs to now. | While we wait, I’ll try to give you a quick rundown of the curious case of Peter Dutton and the au pairs to now. |
| As I mentioned earlier, the AFL boss Gillon McLachlan will give evidence later today. | As I mentioned earlier, the AFL boss Gillon McLachlan will give evidence later today. |
| Dutton intervened in the case of a young French woman, Alexandra Deuwel, after McLachlan raised the young woman’s case when she was detained at Adelaide’s international airport late on 31 October 2015. | Dutton intervened in the case of a young French woman, Alexandra Deuwel, after McLachlan raised the young woman’s case when she was detained at Adelaide’s international airport late on 31 October 2015. |
| Deuwel had previously worked for McLachlan’s relatives Callum and Skye MacLachlan in South Australia and was returning to visit them. | Deuwel had previously worked for McLachlan’s relatives Callum and Skye MacLachlan in South Australia and was returning to visit them. |
| In a another case, a young Italian woman Dutton saved from deportation came to Australia to work for the family of a former police force colleague living in Brisbane. | In a another case, a young Italian woman Dutton saved from deportation came to Australia to work for the family of a former police force colleague living in Brisbane. |
| We’re due to start here soon but before we do it might be worth reflecting on just how much of a distraction this has become for the new Scott Morrison government. | We’re due to start here soon but before we do it might be worth reflecting on just how much of a distraction this has become for the new Scott Morrison government. |
| Our political editor Katharine Murphy wrote earlier in the week that Labor and the Greens were working the numbers for the motion when the parliament resumes next week, and that at least one cross bencher was on board. | Our political editor Katharine Murphy wrote earlier in the week that Labor and the Greens were working the numbers for the motion when the parliament resumes next week, and that at least one cross bencher was on board. |
| The numbers are very tight in the House with the government down one courtesy of Malcolm Turnbull resigning as an MP. | The numbers are very tight in the House with the government down one courtesy of Malcolm Turnbull resigning as an MP. |
| In case you missed it, read that here. | In case you missed it, read that here. |
| Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian Australia’s liveblog of the Senate legal affairs committee’s hearing into the home affair minister Peter Dutton’s au pair saga. | Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian Australia’s liveblog of the Senate legal affairs committee’s hearing into the home affair minister Peter Dutton’s au pair saga. |
| Today, finally, we hope to come a little bit closer to an answer to the question preoccupying Australia: what’s the go with the au pairs? | Today, finally, we hope to come a little bit closer to an answer to the question preoccupying Australia: what’s the go with the au pairs? |
| First this morning we expect to hear evidence from Michael Pezzullo, secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, and Michael Outram, the commissioner of Australian Border Force. | First this morning we expect to hear evidence from Michael Pezzullo, secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, and Michael Outram, the commissioner of Australian Border Force. |
| We’ll then hear from Helen Duncan, a registered migration agent of nearly two decades. Duncan’s submission to the inquiry compared the minister’s decision in the cases of the two au pairs with his failure to heed the pleas of a Vietnamese family who had lived, worked and studied in Australia for a decade. She’ll be joined by Eve Watts, a migration consultant and Sarah Dale, the principal solicitor from the Australian Refugee and Casework Service. | We’ll then hear from Helen Duncan, a registered migration agent of nearly two decades. Duncan’s submission to the inquiry compared the minister’s decision in the cases of the two au pairs with his failure to heed the pleas of a Vietnamese family who had lived, worked and studied in Australia for a decade. She’ll be joined by Eve Watts, a migration consultant and Sarah Dale, the principal solicitor from the Australian Refugee and Casework Service. |
| Then, finally, the main game kicks off at 2pm when Gillon McLachlan, the chief executive of the AFL, and Jude Donnelly, the AFL’s head of government relations. | Then, finally, the main game kicks off at 2pm when Gillon McLachlan, the chief executive of the AFL, and Jude Donnelly, the AFL’s head of government relations. |
| You may remember we revealed last week Dutton saved an au pair from deportation, intervening after the AFL’s chief executive officer, Gillon McLachlan, raised the young woman’s case. | You may remember we revealed last week Dutton saved an au pair from deportation, intervening after the AFL’s chief executive officer, Gillon McLachlan, raised the young woman’s case. |
| You can read our preview on what to expect from today’s hearings here. | You can read our preview on what to expect from today’s hearings here. |