In a statement, the AFP said it believed it had acted appropriately and in accordance with the law in raids, saying the NBN staff were assisting with document verficiation. However, documents leaked to Fairfax showed the network’s costs may blow out by $375 million, after it purchasing the badly aged Optus cable TV and broadband network.
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Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus yesterday said the seized documents were protected by parliamentary privilege because former communications minister Senator Conroy was participating in a Senate inquiry into mismanagement of the NBN.
A source said Mr Turnbull agreed to appear on Jones’ 2GB breakfast program on Wednesday for the first time since an on-air argument in 2014, the publication reported.
The raids were conducted in order to identify the source of a series of embarrassing leaks related to the National Broadband Network.
It is believed the NBN referred the matter directly to the police themselves to protect the investigation for as long as possible.
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke said the raids raised questions about “the integrity of Malcolm Turnbull” and it seemed leaks from the national security committee of Cabinet were not treated in the same way.
However, the government has denied any role in the investigation, highlighting that the matter was originally referred to the AFP by nbn co back in December 2015, not the Liberal Party.
While the government has adopted an attitude of “plausible denial”, the political context of the raids is highly significant.
It is believed the Coalition campaign team wanted a truce to be reached before the election campaign began. Its centrepiece was the reduction of corporate tax rates from 30 to 25 percent over the next decade, costing around $50 billion, which the government claimed would stimulate the economy in line with Turnbull’s claim that these are “exciting times” in which to live.
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance slammed the raids by the AFP on Labor offices and the home of a Labor MP’s advisor.
Opinion polls show a negative reaction to the budget, with one recording only 17 percent support for its measures. Labor has questioned the timing of the raids and whether the government had put pressure on police.
The photos have been deleted and can not be retrieved, the letter said. Dutton’s offensive was clearly decided at the highest levels.
Shorten also addressed party faithful in southwest Sydney as the election campaign rolled on.
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The ALP has called on the government to detail its involvement in the matter.
