Peter Dutton to face no-confidence motion over au pair saga

The coalitionâs control over parliament will be tested next week when Labor and the Greens attempt to move a motion of no-confidence in Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton over the au pair saga.
Pressure is mounting on the failed Liberal leadership challenger over his intervention in two visa cases to save two European au pairs from deportation in 2015.
Despite his denial of misleading parliament about his use of ministerial discretion, Greens MP Adam Bandt said the minister has a case to answer.
Fellow crossbencher Andrew Wilkie and Labor are set to support him.
The vote is set to be tight with the governmentâs numbers in the lower house diminished by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbullâs resignation and Kevin Hoganâs move to the cross bench.
âPeter Dutton has failed to explain why he misled parliament and now he must go,â Mr Bandt said on Monday.
âPeter Dutton told parliament he had no personal connection with the au pairâs potential employer, but then he went on radio and said the man was a former police colleague.â
Dutton told Parl he had no personal connection with someone he helped with an au pair.
Then said on radio the person was a former police colleague.
Today he doubled down, denied misleading Parl &stood â100% behind his statementsâ.
Youâve been caught out, Dutton.
Time to go.
â Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) September 1, 2018
âPeter Dutton has since doubled down, confirming that he knew the man he helped while maintaining there was nothing wrong with his statement to parliament.â
The cases relate to an Italian au pair who was linked to Mr Duttonâs former Queensland Police colleague, and a French woman who had worked for a relative of AFL boss Gillon McLachlan.
Mr Bandt says Mr Dutton misled parliament by saying he had no personal connection to the cases.
âPeter Dutton has been caught out, he has no explanation and if he wonât resign, parliament should make it clear it has no confidence in him,â the Greens MP said.
But Mr Dutton has strenuously denied any misconduct, saying heâs kept a list of Labor MPs who have come to him with âquirkyâ visa cases.
âLabor can ask me 10 questions every day when we go back if thatâs what they want to do, but theyâll get a whack back,â the minister told reporters in Brisbane.
âTo say I had some personal link or that I was acting on behalf of, you know, somebody that I was personally associated with is complete nonsense.â
Labor leader Bill Shorten said the home affairs minister was under the pump because of internal pressure relating to his role in dumping Mr Turnbull.
âItâs not what you know itâs who you know under this Liberal government. Thatâs not the way to run an immigration policy,â Mr Shorten told reporters in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, Opposition spokesman for infrastructure Anthony Albanese made light of Mr Duttonâs challenge, telling ABCâs Q&A: âAnyone who thought Peter Dutton was the answer must have been asking themselves a pretty weird question.â
âPeter Dutton hasnât polled in double figures as preferred leader ever,â he said.
-with AAP







