26-09-2023, 11:40 AM
Clancy Moore
Mon 25 Sep 2023 08.16 BST
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Michael Pezzullo, and Liberal powerbroker Scott Briggs, represented by hundreds of messages over five years, appears to show how the very senior public servant used his power for his political purposes.
Brought to light by journalists, this sorry saga outlined what looks like Pezzullo’s attempt to influence policymaking and political appointments by successive governments through his position and Briggs, a former New South Wales Liberals vice-president who personally knew former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.
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First, the messages show Pezzullo using his relationship with Briggs to put forward his opinions, including to have “moderate” Liberal MPs sacked from their cabinet positions and replaced by MPs more favourable to his views.
Second, in what could be seen as an attempt to further his own power, Pezzullo, then secretary at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, was also found to have lobbied hard for the creation of the all-powerful Department of Home Affairs. His aim was to have one department, which included taking Australian federal police and Asio from attorney generals, with him at the helm. Again, this would appear to show a public servant acting for his own self-interest.
Third, in an Orwellian move, Pezzullo tried to lobby to silence media reporting and limit the role of whistleblowers on national security issues. As the public servant responsible for law enforcement, Australia’s spy agency and domestic national security issues, he tried to influence the then prime minister Morrison to censor media outlets reporting on issues of national security. In another plotline closer to Nineteen Eighty-Four, Pezzullo also suggested using laws that are meant to protect people speaking out to instead jail reporters using information gained from whistleblowers.
Much better to read full article at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...government
Mon 25 Sep 2023 08.16 BST
......
Michael Pezzullo, and Liberal powerbroker Scott Briggs, represented by hundreds of messages over five years, appears to show how the very senior public servant used his power for his political purposes.
Brought to light by journalists, this sorry saga outlined what looks like Pezzullo’s attempt to influence policymaking and political appointments by successive governments through his position and Briggs, a former New South Wales Liberals vice-president who personally knew former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.
......
First, the messages show Pezzullo using his relationship with Briggs to put forward his opinions, including to have “moderate” Liberal MPs sacked from their cabinet positions and replaced by MPs more favourable to his views.
Second, in what could be seen as an attempt to further his own power, Pezzullo, then secretary at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, was also found to have lobbied hard for the creation of the all-powerful Department of Home Affairs. His aim was to have one department, which included taking Australian federal police and Asio from attorney generals, with him at the helm. Again, this would appear to show a public servant acting for his own self-interest.
Third, in an Orwellian move, Pezzullo tried to lobby to silence media reporting and limit the role of whistleblowers on national security issues. As the public servant responsible for law enforcement, Australia’s spy agency and domestic national security issues, he tried to influence the then prime minister Morrison to censor media outlets reporting on issues of national security. In another plotline closer to Nineteen Eighty-Four, Pezzullo also suggested using laws that are meant to protect people speaking out to instead jail reporters using information gained from whistleblowers.
Much better to read full article at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...government