Home Affairs chief Mike Pezzullo stands aside over texts to Liberal Party powerbroker

Key PointsMike Pezzullo has stood aside after being accused of attempting to improperly influence political decisions.Text messages show Pezzullo suggesting potential ministerial appointments to his portfolio.Pezzullo has been referred to the Australian Public Service Commissioner.

Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo has been stood aside pending an investigation, after accusations he inappropriately attempted to influence key decisions made by the former Coalition government.

A number of crossbenchers have demanded Pezzullo resign over leaked text messages, which show he used Liberal powerbroker Scott Briggs as a political back channel to two former Liberal prime ministers.

The cache of text messages – first reported by the Nine newspapers – show Pezzullo suggesting that now-Coalition leader Peter Dutton be appointed Home Affairs Minister, and lobbying for tougher censoring of media reporting on national security.

Anthony Albanese and Clare O’Neil confirmed Pezzullo has been stood aside pending the investigation. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil on Monday confirmed she had referred Pezzullo, who has led the Home Affairs department since he pushed for its creation in 2017, to the Australian Public Service Commissioner.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed Pezzullo had been stood aside pending an investigation after discussions with a number of ministers, including O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.

“Minister O’Neil has spoken with Mike Pezzullo, the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs this morning and has asked that he stand aside whilst this investigation takes place,” he said.

“He has agreed to stand aside. That action is appropriate. We’ll await the findings of the investigation, which we will expedite.”

Peter Dutton worked closely with Pezzullo, and defended his former departmental secretary. Source: AAP / Dave Hunt

Albanese stressed it was “important that these processes are allowed to take their course”, and he would therefore make no further comment.

O’Neil said she referred the matter “immediately” upon learning of the texts.

“The secretary of my department and I communicate frequently, as you can imagine. We didn’t speak before about the messages before this morning,” she said on Monday.

“But when I spoke to the Secretary this morning, I asked him to stand aside. That’s the appropriate course of action.”

What do the texts show?

More than a thousand text messages were sent over years between Pezzullo and Briggs, a former vice-president of the NSW Liberals and close confidante of former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.

Under the Westminster system, public servants are expected to act impartially and remain separated from political machinations.

But on the night before Morrison replaced Turnbull in 2018, Pezzullo texted Briggs to say Peter Dutton should return to the Home Affairs minister role.

He also pushed for the promotion of other conservative politicians, including appearing to call for former prime minister Tony Abbott to be “rehabilitated”.

According to the messages, he also suggested the Liberals sack former defence minister Christopher Pyne, labelled former defence minister Marise Payne “completely ineffectual” and “a problem”, and said he “almost had a heart attack” when Julie Bishop was linked with a tilt at the prime ministership in 2018.

Others show Briggs directly asking if Pezzullo had any messages he wanted him to convey before a dinner with Morrison and Turnbull.

It is not suggested the messages show corrupt or illegal conduct, but arguably that Pezzullo overstepped the required impartial nature of heading a government department.

How are politicians reacting?

Dutton defended his former departmental secretary, insisting Pezzullo had always acted with the national interest as his priority.

“If the prime minister doesn’t have confidence in Mr Pezzullo, he should say so,” he said.

“I can tell you from my time as minister, Mr Pezzullo served the government faithfully … I think he was able to, in all his interactions, put the country first.”

The pair worked closely to create the Department of Home Affairs, an overarching portfolio combining Australia’s immigration and domestic security wings. There were also rumours Pezzullo was interested in following Dutton to the Department of Defence, though that did not materialise.

Nick McKim has called for Pezzullo’s resignation. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

Greens senator Nick McKim said Pezzullo’s behaviour showed contempt for the “principle of accountability” embedded in Australian democracy.

“Mr Pezzullo’s time as a senior public servant needs to end and it needs to end today,” he said.

“His brazen attempts to manipulate the political process and his failure to respect the boundaries between politics and the public service mean that his position is untenable.”

“If Mr Pezzullo wants to play in the political sandpit, then he should stand for parliament.”

Independent MP Sophie Scamps described Pezzullo’s behaviour as “clearly not aligned” with his responsibility, and his position as “untenable”.

“Australia depends on a fiercely impartial, transparent and accountable public service. An apolitical independent service is one of the important pillars of our democracy,” she said.

“When taxpayer funded public servant leaders who are supposed to implement the policies of the government of the day stray from public service into politics, we all lose.

“Given today’s revelations … it is clearly time for new leadership at the Department of Home Affairs.”

– Additional reporting from AAP.

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