Peter Dutton demands inquiry into when Anthony Albanese was briefed about Dural caravan plot
Peter Dutton has called for an independent inquiry to probe why Anthony Albanese was kept out of the loop about a potential anti-Semitic “mass casualty” terror plot.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to reveal when he was made aware of the discovery of an explosives-laden caravan in Dural seemingly bound for significant Sydney Jewish sites.
Police were made aware of the suspected terror plot on January 19, briefed NSW Premier Chris Minns on January 20 — nine days before the story broke on January 29. Conflicting reports suggest Mr Albanese was either only briefed a few days before the discovery became public, or on the day the story broke.
After using all of their questions during Question Time on Wednesday to press the PM to provide details, the Opposition Leader has now written to Mr Albanese to request an inquiry into the circumstances around when he was briefed.
Mr Dutton said “an eminent Australian from the criminal intelligence and law enforcement community” should lead the inquiry and said the findings to be made public.
“I have written to the Prime Minister today asking for an independent inquiry in relation to the fact that the Prime Minister of our country wasn’t notified for nine days, 10 days of what was believed to be the biggest planned terrorist attack in our country’s history,” he said.
“And it is inconceivable that the Prime Minister didn’t know about it.”
Mr Dutton has suggested Mr Albanese was not briefed earlier by police or intelligence agencies because they feared the PM or his office would “leak information”.
Asked for evidence to support his claim, he said he would not comment on “discussions I’ve had with individuals” in agencies, but that there was “nothing else that adds up”.
Mr Dutton, pressed on whether the AFP had questions to answer on the timeline, said he didn’t think there had been a “breakdown” in that process.
“The NSW police have either made a deliberate decision not to advise the Commonwealth so that the Prime Minister wasn’t advised because they are worried he would leak the information … Beyond that there is no other reasonable explanation,” he said.
He said the inquiry would not distract resources and rejected the suggestion his demand was politically motivated.
Earlier on breakfast television, Mr Albanese had queried whether such an inquiry was a “sensible use of resources”.
“What’s important is tracking down the perpetrators of these crimes. It is, I find it, frankly, absurd that people think, for example, that resources should be diverted, that the AFP and intelligence agencies should be engaged in a political process rather than doing their job,” he said.
“And you know what my job is? It’s really simple. It’s to back our authorities to do their job. And that’s what I do.”
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