House debates

Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Questions without Notice

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

2:52 pm

Photo of Peter DuttonPeter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

At the time—and this happened in 2015, from memory—there was no employment arrangement in relation to the officer that you spoke of before. As you pointed out, the officer is a departmental liaison officer in my office now, but that's only happened in recent times. It was immaterial—I wouldn't have given it a thought—but, yes, he would know the officer, as Mr Quaedvlieg does. Mr Quaedvlieg was a detective in the Queensland Police Service at the same time as I was. He's been mates with the officer to whom you refer now probably since 2002, I suspect. So there are many other facts that you might want to bring out or that I'll be prepared to at the right time.

Let me say this: I have been very clear, open and honest in relation to all of these matters. Yesterday, I was alleged to have misled parliament. At the end of question time, the Leader of Opposition Business hopped up and apologised to me for the mistake that he had made in making that allegation. No claim that has been put by the discredited person, Mr Quaedvlieg, or his mouthpieces within this parliament have been proven to be correct. I'm not going to be distracted by these personal attacks again, because what they distract from is what I have done in this portfolio and what really drives those opposite to the point of distraction. I have cancelled 3,763 noncitizen criminal visas, including 194 bikies, 648 drug dealers—

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