Prime Minister Anthony Albanese busted protecting Peter Dutton with a fake corruption Inquiry

Shane Dowling

9 months ago

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a corruption inquiry (Monday 31-7-23), to be headed up by Dennis Richardson, into Peter Dutton and the dodgy contract dealings when he was Home Affairs Minister, but it is already pointing to a cover up to protect Peter Dutton at least as far a key allegation is concerned and most likely the whole inquiry is a cover up.

A key allegation that is meant to be investigated is that an acting AFP Commissioner told Dutton at a 12th of July 2018 meeting that Sydney-based Mozammil Bhojani was under investigation over suspected bribes to Nauruan politicians. But despite the verbal warning a month later the Department of Home Affairs, which Dutton was Minister, entered a new $9.3 million contract with Mozammil Bhojani’s company Radiance. (Click here to read more)

If you are new to this story a lot more background information to this matter is covered in an article published on the 30th of July titled “Peter Dutton’s corruption allegations that will almost certainly end his political career” (Click here to read the article)

For some scandalous unexplained reason Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, after he announced the inquiry (31-7-23), allowed Peter Dutton to have a secret meeting with AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw and the AFP now changed their evidence. It is my understanding that Opposition Leaders cannot meet with the head of any public service department unless approved by the Government which raises the question: Why did Albanese approve Dutton meeting with Kershaw?

At a Senates Estimates hearing on Friday the 4th of August 2023 AFP Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan, who said he was also at the 12th of July 2018 meeting, told the hearing that the evidence they had previously given the Senate that Peter Dutton was briefed on the 12th of July 2018 meeting that Mozammil Bhojani was under investigation for bribery was wrong.

The Peter Dutton lies, AFP lies and the time line don’t stack up as per the below video. The video is a must watch and you will see 3 Senators expose the AFP lies. But a quick look at the time line:

On Tuesday the July of 25th the SMH reported on the Mozammil Bhojani $9 million contract, “The Home Affairs Department handed a multimillion-dollar offshore detention contract to an Australian businessman just one month after federal police told then minister Peter Dutton that the man was under investigation for bribery.” (Click here to read more)
On Monday the 31st of July Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a corruption inquiry (Monday 31-7-23), to be headed up by Dennis Richardson, into Peter Dutton and the dodgy contract dealings at Home Affairs when Dutton was the Minister.
Some time between Monday the 31st of July and 9am Friday the 4th of August Peter Dutton had a secret meeting with AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw.
At a Senate Estimates hearing on Friday the 4th of August, that started at 9am, AFP Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan told the inquiry that the previous evidence that the AFP gave the Senate was wrong and that Peter Dutton had not been briefed by the AFP about Mozammil Bhojani being under investigation for bribery.

As you will see in the below video AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw did not inform the Senate that he had a meeting with Peter Dutton but instead Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan let it slip that Kershaw and Dutton met and that is why I refer to it as a secret hearing.

If fact, Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan says in the below video that they were not even going to tell the Senate at the hearing that they had changed their evidence and he says the AFP would have told the Senate “in a few days”.

The video is well worth watching because it goes to the heart of corruption in the federal government. The 3 Senators who expose the corruption with their questions to the AFP are the Liberal’s James Paterson, Labor’s Deborah O’Neill and the Greens’ David Shoebridge:

(Click here to watch the above video on YouTube)

In the above video Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan is all over the place ducking and weaving which is very telling and one of the best lines is when Deborah O’Neill says words to the effect “If I am to take what you are saying on face value” which is in effect saying “I know you are all lying like there is no tomorrow”.

Deborah O’Neill says in the video that Peter Dutton has since stated that the meeting on the 12th of July 2018 did not happen but they AFP say it did happen. So, who’s lying? Initially Neil Gaughan tried to defend Peter Dutton and claim that Dutton hasn’t said the meeting didn’t take place but later when Deborah O’Neill again says Dutton claim the meeting didn’t take place Neil Gaughan says nothing.

The bottom line is that the Labor Party set up an Inquiry into corrupt allegations and then allowed 2 key witnesses, the AFP and Peter Dutton to meet, and then the evidence changed to the benefit of Peter Dutton. In less than 5 days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the Inquiry into Peter Dutton a key part of the Inquiry is now redundant.

One of the most important parts of any corruption investigation is to make sure witnesses do not meet and discuss the alleged corruption as they might collude to give false evidence which is what has clearly happened in this case.

This matter will be back before the Senate Estimates in the future and hopefully the Senators will grill the AFP again and expose more lies.

Politicians from the major parties are happy to shine a light on government corruption when they are in opposition but once they get into power they do not want to know about it.

Anthony Albanese walked the walk and talked the talk when he was opposition leader and wanted to become Prime Minister. Albanese promised a National Anti-Corruption Commission but once elected he reneged on public hearings, he did have a Robodebt Royal Commission, but no one knows if anyone will be held accountable.

And now Albanese has an Inquiry headed up by Dennis Richardson who was the head of ASIO when Australia illegally bugged East Timor in 2004 and Richardson still claims no crime was committed by Australia in East Timor. Dennis Richardson is not a person you want investigating government corruption and having him head up the Inquiry is an insult to the public.

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison was well known for having fake inquiries whenever he wanted to cover up corruption and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is following in his footsteps and if he keeps it up he will eventually follow Morrison out of government. But he probably doesn’t care.

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