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Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo has been fired from his role over covert dealings with lobbyists and secret efforts to gain and exert political influence during the terms of the Turnbull and Morrison governments.
In a statement released on Monday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the governor-general had terminated Pezzullo’s appointment on the recommendation of the secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Public Service Commissioner.
Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo was stood down in September.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Earlier on Monday, the governor-general in council terminated the appointment of Michael Pezzullo as secretary of the Department of Home Affairs.
“Mr Pezzullo fully co-operated with the inquiry. I thank Ms Briggs [former commissioner Lynelle] for conducting the inquiry,” the statement said.
“Stephanie Foster will continue to act as secretary of the department until a permanent appointment is made.“
Australian Public Service Commissioner, Dr Gordon de Brouwer, determined that Pezzullo breached the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct at least 14 times.
The investigation found that the former secretary
- used his duty, power, status or authority to seek to gain a benefit or advantage for himself,
- engaged in gossip and disrespectful critique of ministers and public servants,
- failed to maintain confidentiality of sensitive government information,
- failed to act apolitically in his employment, and
- failed to disclose a conflict of interest.
The inquiry conducted by Lynelle Briggs will not be made public, as personal information obtained during an investigation of potential breaches of code of conduct is restricted under the Public Service Act.
But a short statement on the findings from the Australian Public Service Commission noted that “given the public nature of the allegations and the importance of upholding confidence in the Australian Public Service, it is in the public interest that the overarching breach findings and the recommended sanction are made available in this case”.
Pezzullo had continued to collect a salary package worth more than $900,000 since standing aside in September, when Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil directed Public Service Commissioner Gordon de Brouwer to investigate whether Pezzullo had breached the code of conduct over his dealings with Liberal Party powerbroker Scott Briggs.
Former commissioner Lynelle Briggs was commissioned to probe Pezzullo’s dealings with Liberal powerbroker and lobbyist Scott Briggs after The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes revealed a cache of messages between the pair. Lynelle and Scott Briggs are not related.
Head of the Department of Home Affairs and its predecessor agency, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, since 2014, Pezzullo has been described as the “hardest nut” in the government.
He proposed the idea for the super-department of Home Affairs in 2001, and finally saw it realised in 2017.
On Monday, September 25, the day after the messages were revealed, Albanese said he wanted to “expedite” the investigation after O’Neil told the department boss to step aside from his post because of the questions over his contact with the powerbroker.
A key issue for investigators was whether Pezzullo had flouted the public service code of conduct and its requirement that he “maintain appropriate confidentiality” and “avoid any conflict of interest” in his work, as well as not sharing any inside information improperly.
The messages revealed how the secretary had utilised Briggs, an influential Coalition lobbyist, as a political back channel to Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison in an attempt to undermine political and public service enemies, promote the careers of conservative politicians he considered allies and lobby to muzzle the press.
Leaked messages and other confidential documents also revealed Pezzullo’s dealings with Labor-aligned lobbyist Chris Fry.
Pezzullo helped arrange for one of Fry’s clients, British American Tobacco, to access a senior departmental official.
But it was Pezzullo’s dealings with Scott Briggs that plunged the public servant into the centre of a major scandal.
Scott Briggs is a lobbyist, businessman, former vice president of the NSW Liberals, and was a close confidante of former prime minister Turnbull and his successor Morrison.
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