“No influence”: AFP denies NBN raids politically motivated

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news The Australian Federal Police today said there had been zero political influence on the seven month investigation into damaging leaks from the NBN company which yesterday culminated in raids on Labor Party offices, with the Government itself only being told about the investigation yesterday.

Late last night AFP officers raided the Melbourne office of former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, and the house of at least one Labor staffer working for Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare, in an apparent attempt to ascertain the identity of whistleblowers who have leaked a series of key documents from within the NBN company.

The extraordinary move was confirmed by AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin this morning, after it was revealed by Labor last night.

Delimiter and a number of other media outlets have also been reportedly named as part of the search warrant issued last night, although the AFP has not been in contact with Delimiter regarding the issue.

In a nationally televised press conference in Canberra this morning, AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin categorically ruled out any political influence on the NBN leaks investigation.

Colvin said the matter had been referred to the AFP by the NBN company in December last year, with the AFP having conducted an investigation since that time, culminating in yesterday’s raids, which weren’t concluded until the early hours of yesterday morning.

The AFP Commissioner said that the AFP always acts “independently” and “according to the law”.

“There has been no influence on the AFP in the conduct of this investigation,” he said.

Colvin said the Government became aware of the investigation shortly after the commencement of yesterday’s raids after the AFP informed it. Shortly afterwards, Colvin called Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to inform him of the raids, in a very brief conversation, and then Senator Conroy.

“We have acted independently from Government,” said Colvin.

The AFP Commissioner said the timing of the raids were not influenced by “external factors” such as the election campaign, but “by the progress of the investigation”. The AFP believes that the offending leaking behaviour was also being carried out during the conduct of the investigation over the past seven months.

Colvin also confirmed that Labor had requested parliamentary privilege apply to the seized documents.

This means that the documents have been sealed, and that the AFP has no access to the documents until Parliament itself can determine the legitimacy of the parliamentary privilege claim. As Parliament has been dissolved due to the Federal Election being called, this cannot be done until after Parliament returns following the Election.

Colvin said the fact that the AFP’s investigation was not public over its life has “aided our investigation in many ways”.

The AFP Commissioner noted that a staff member from the NBN company was present at both sites of yesterday’s raids, providing a degree of expertise as to the authenticity and origin of the documents being seized. The NBN officer was listed on the search warrant as a “constable assisting” the investigation.

Colvin would not confirm whether journalists’ metadata has been accessed as part of the investigation.

There is no requirement to make journalists aware of their metadata having been accessed, under last year’s Data Retention legislation, although government-appointed public interest advocates would have the chance to argue privately against such access, if they chose.

The AFP Commissioner confirmed that Communications Minister Mitch Fifield was not aware of the investigation.

In general, Colvin said, the AFP received leak investigation requests from a number of different government departments.

“This matter was given no more or less precedence or seriousness than any other matter,” he said.

Image credit: Screenshot of ABC News broadcast of Colvin’s press conference, believed to be covered under fair dealing

35 COMMENTS

  1. “We have acted independently from Government,”

    Funny how all the Libs are running around using essentially the same phrase in reverse, coincidence???

    • Now wasn’t he Abbotts captains pick for the job. ?
      Nah nothing political or doing mates favours, never never.

  2. Early hours of this morning, not yesterday morning.

    As Labor have said this morning, the NBN Co is an arm of government, not an independent entity. They may have decided to refer the matter to the AFP, but there are two implications to such a directive:

    1) NBN Co would not have done so without informing the shareholder ministers, and given his close involvement with the NBN there’s no way Malcolm wouldn’t have been informed
    2) The Directors and senior management of the NBN were directly appointed by Malcolm specifically because of their close ties to him, Telstra and the LNP’s objectives. Even had they decided in this direction independently, it would have been because the understanding was that such a move was advantageous to the Government.

    Again, as Labor have stated, there is no point in pursuing whistle blowers unless the truth is inconvenient, because there is no benefit in hiding the truth unless its publication is inconvenient. These leaks are damaging for the NBN company because the direction they’ve taken makes no financial, technical or rational sense – the NBN company have made strategic construction and financial decisions to meet political objectives. The leaks are damaging for the LNP and Malcolm personally for the same reasons.

    And as the AFP Commissioner has said, the purpose of these raids is as much about stopping the leaks as it is about finding and prosecuting the leaker(s). I’d say it is entirely about intimidating the leakers.

    • What are the requirements with regards to the Caretaker Conventions of notifications to a Shareholder Minister?

      Any comment from Renai on this?

    • ‘Even had they decided in this direction independently, it would have been because the understanding was that such a move was advantageous to the Government. ‘

      Its debatable that it is advantageous to the govt. many simple minded folk think like your comments, that its a conspiracy, so bad LNP. ie works against them.

      ‘Again, as Labor have stated, there is no point in pursuing whistle blowers unless the truth is inconvenient’

      Whats the point of having secret stuff, if anyone can share it with the public without consequence? I’m not suggesting these documents shouldn’t be shared, I haven’t seen them. But whats in this particular case isn’t the point. The point is politicians have been doing it repeatedly, knowing its wrong. This time they got caught. and id expect the next politicians to try it to get the same treatment regardless of what side of politics they are on.

      Personally, I find this hilarious. its about time politicians got in trouble for doing stuff they know is wrong.

      • Personally, I find this hilarious. its about time politicians got in trouble for doing stuff they know is wrong.

        Except the leaker is most probably not a politician, just a guy/gal trying to do their job. It’s just convenient for Malcolm to raid the ALP for all the obvious reasons. If you choose to buy that, that’s your call, just don’t come crying about “the state of the country” in the future.

        • ‘ It’s just convenient for Malcolm to raid the ALP for all the obvious reasons.’

          does he work for the AFP now does he? does he know that? the feds would have gone where the evidence led, not where Malcolm claimed it did. But don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.

          • does he work for the AFP now does he?

            No, they work for him. You know how things work in Australia, right?

            Thanks for playing.

  3. “The AFP Commissioner noted that a staff member from the NBN company was present at both sites of yesterday’s raids, providing a degree of expertise as to the authenticity and origin of the documents being seized.”

    Does this mean that Morrow and the MTM outright lied to Senate committee? (or was it that their answers were so wrapped in political dialect that their butts are covered?).

  4. I have full confidence that these raids were performed for reasons of Notional Security.

    • As opposed to the leaking of national security information (Defence) that was never ever investigated. :)

  5. The best is that the raids were carried out with the media present.

    Which means someone in the AFP or NBN leaked that they were occurring (assuming that there was no knowledge by anyone else).

    Which thereby requires the same level of investigation to take place into who at the AFP/NBN leaked that there was to be a raid on the leakers.

    Who wants a $1 bet that that investigation won’t see the light of day?

  6. In a nationally televised press conference in Canberra this morning, AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin categorically ruled out any political influence on the NBN leaks investigation.

    Frankly, I don’t believe him. The timing of this is just too favorable for Malcolm. And where are the raids for actual national security related leaks of cabinet documents (the subs, the immigration stuff, etc)?

  7. Is it just me, or do I sense these raids may have been triggered by the terrible news from the Mediterranean about the loss of the Egyptian aircraft? It certainly smacks of the situation in the UK on 11 Sept 2001, by Jo Moore, who worked for Stephen Byers, the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. Miss Moore’s memo, written at 2.55pm on September 11, when millions of people were transfixed by the terrible television images of the terrorist attack, was widely condemned for suggesting “It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury. Councillors expenses?”

    I’d really like to see what messages Colvin received from any Government ministers or their aides yesterday……… “It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury. NBN leaks?”

  8. “The AFP Commissioner noted that a staff member from the NBN company was present at both sites of yesterday’s raids, providing a degree of expertise as to the authenticity and origin of the documents being seized.”

    The NBN staff member then proceeded to send copies of these documents (which they had already been told were privileged and needed to be sealed) from their phone to all the folks back at NBN Co…nice.
    Both NBN Co and the AFP would seem to be culpable on this one…

    I think we need a hearing on all the supposed CiC documents NBN Co has claimed…the public has a right to know, and their claim needs to be challenged!

    • The NBN staff member then proceeded to send copies of these documents (which they had already been told were privileged and needed to be sealed) from their phone to all the folks back at NBN Co

      Three leaks, 32 documents. I suspect they “raided” a lot more than “leaks”. Stuff like the ALP campaign structure and plans. Of course it wasn’t the AFP’s fault, it was the NBN guy they allowed along…

      The whole thing stinks.

  9. Continuity with change.

    Not unsurprisingly shortly after that comment, the case in question is now under hiatus until well after the federal erection 2016.

    Not political one, is a complete load of stinking horse hockey! Although it be a convenient one just when ALP was running a one point five percent lead in the latest opinion polls.

    You will also note “Fairfax Media”, have been prominently publicizing these so called NBN leaks.

    Take note no federal Gestapo clodhoppers were seen visiting the premises of Faifax Media. Or, is it because the Fairfax media group will have two dozen QC’s with a phalanx of court orders issued by a federal magistrate before the federal Gestapo clodhoppers have been in their premises in under thirty minutes.

    Although the Edward Snowden leaks 2013, show that all media journalists are bugged by the local big five group Gestapo, anyway. ASIO/ASUS/AFP is the Oz end of the big five democracies that spy on it’s own country citizens.

    Or, I am dumbstruck by such a fallacious comment from a senior police officer, who should know better. It is a miracle his pants did not catch fire, for telling such blatant misinformation.

    Sadly , due to a severe lack of active mononeurons. The Australian Federal Police Force, has been unable to investigate the most simple cases ranging from the Hilton Hotel bombing in 1978. All the way up to the murder of Colin Winchester in 1989. There are many other cases where the AFP were not able to bring the criminal galahs transporting Oz flora and fauna on US military aircraft to justice as well.

    But then again, who would have thought it is now illegal for five people to sail a tinny beyond the three mile limit.

    As for all political Gestapo police forces in either former communist block countries or even so called democratic countries. To these political Gestapo police forces, providing full disclosure and telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the media or it’s citizens is not an option.

    As for the scandal plagued NBN. Perhaps we should ask the management at Oz number three telco, Sing-Tel Optus, how five million dollars of scrap decommissioned copper cable was sold to the NBN for eight hundred million dollars? Bargain of the century, is it not! Although Telstra is set to sell fifty million dollars of scrap copper to NBN for the sum of eleven billion dollars in the near future.

    Truth is stranger than fiction.

    • Take note no federal Gestapo clodhoppers were seen visiting the premises of Faifax Media. Or, is it because the Fairfax media group will have two dozen QC’s with a phalanx of court orders issued by a federal magistrate before the federal Gestapo clodhoppers have been in their premises in under thirty minutes.

      More likely because the AFR is run by an ex-Murdoch employee…Fairfax ain’t what it used to be…

  10. Police being politically influenced, H0w R3dIcul0uS! When ever in history would police and politics mix?
    When WA Inc was operating in the 80’s, did the police threaten and intimidate members of the public who would not tolerate widespread government corruption(?), of course they did… oops that’s a bad example! What about Queensland then at the time(?)… darn another hopping mad example. New South Wales perhaps(?)… forgot the Fitzgerald enquiry did we? Victoria(?)… alright then, lets take a look instead for other examples in Australia’s history. When would police and politics have any time to mix(?)… actually they probably have had a lot of time to mingle. So perhaps then instead we could look back into history(?)… on second thoughts lets not even go there.

    We should probably also avoid looking too closely at even moderately recent years while we are at it, occupy our time with more noble pursuits instead. However, have we not seen both the ALP and LNP, aroused to the very faintest whiff of blood, attempt to use law enforcement to bring about their adversaries end? Have we not seen both these political movements abuse the freedoms, human rights and good will of Australians for either their own political capital or strategic advantage, only to accuse each other of the same offence.

    THE UNAVOIDABLE TRUTH
    !!!*************************************************************************************************!!!

    Both of these political organisations are currently so engaged in cutting off their own noses to spite their face,… they have completely failed to notice that the publics’ patience has began to evaporate along with their last glimmers of hope – that their very well paid representatives can remember their purpose is in fact to collaborate and bring about totally superior alternative solutions only possible through mutual co-operation!

    !!!*************************************************************************************************!!!

  11. Strange way to do a investigation.

    When you do a raid, you raid everything involved in the investigation not just one or two, chances are you are going to let evidence be destroyed by not raiding everyone at the same-time.

    Also I would be investigating how the media arrived at the same-time as you did, seems you may have a leak that needs plugging.

    Fail one AFP, time to go back to school.

  12. Karenharrison67, can’t you see we are busy trying to fix the problems of the world and make the world a safer and more harmonious place, now fuck off.

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