BATHURST’S Federal member of parliament has had his political allegiances, views on police corruption, drinking habits, friendships and other personal details secretly documented by the nation’s peak criminal intelligence body.
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The Australian Crime Commission’s secret file on Member for Macquarie, Bob Debus details his conduct and conversations with senior officials whom he met at a dinner in the Northern Territory in April.
Mr Debus is also the Federal Government’s Minister for Home Affairs.
The file was written by one of the ACC’s most senior officers, general manager Chris Enright, and is marked “confidential – not for distribution”.
It includes several potentially embarrassing and personal details about Mr Debus and describes his relationships with former prime ministers Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating, including his apparent “awe” of both men.
It is understood Mr Debus and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd were informed of the contents of the document about 10 days ago and were furious, the Age newspaper reported yesterday.
One source said Mr Debus, whose portfolio includes the crime commission, had demanded an explanation from the ACC’s CEO Alastair Milroy.
Mr Debus said on Thursday night that the contents of the document were not sanctioned by the ACC and that the personal observations of the author “were subjective, naive and in many respects grossly inaccurate”.
A former senior security official said it was highly inappropriate for any security or police agency to record details about a government minister, let alone the minister responsible for law enforcement and justice in Australia.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Milroy denied the commission had a file on Mr Debus and described the Enright document as “unofficial personal notes”.
Mr Milroy said the ACC had launched two investigations: one into the preparation of the “uncorroborated” notes by an ACC staff member, and another into the accessing and misuse of the material by a third party.
- AAP