Former Labor communications minister Stephen Conroy says the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have told him they will search the Department of Parliamentary Services at Parliament House this morning for emails from Labor staffers over suspected leaks to the media about the National Broadband Network (NBN).
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“What we are seeing here is an effort by the NBN Co.to hide the embarrassment that Malcolm Turnbull faces with a $6 billion cost, that’s a $15 billion blowout in the cost of Malcolm Turnbull’s National Broadband Network”, he said.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield was not aware of the AFP’s plans but said the agency was independent and Mr Conroy’s comments showed he was attacking the integrity of the AFP.
The AFP seized documents from the office of Senator Conroy and a staff member in a late-night raid during the federal election campaign, sparking questions about its timing.
In an extraordinary breach of protocol, the NBN employee accompanying police officers took images of files and sent them to his employer even though the materials were the subject of an immediate parliamentary privilege claim by Conroy, which should have ensured the materials were sealed until the Senate could determine a position on his privilege claim.
In May the federal police raided the office of Conroy and the home of a staffer of Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare.
Senator Conroy also questioned the legal justification of the company’s action in asking the AFP to investigate, given it was not a public authority.
He said the ability of politicians to protect whistleblowers was at stake and has called on the Turnbull Government to step in.
“I think it’s weird for a member of parliament to say that they should have the right to determine what is and what is not within the AFP’s jurisdiction”, he told ABC radio.
“NBN Co have illegally called the police in to conduct this investigation”.
The minister denied it was an investigation into whistleblowers.
“I won’t be apologising to Stephen”, Fifield said last month. It’s something that’s been called into question by the Australian Labor Party.
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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rejected any suggestion of Government interference when the May raids were carried out, saying the organisation operated “entirely independently of the Government”.
