Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he has no concerns about Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton's interventions on behalf of foreign au pairs, dismissing the furore as Canberra mud-slinging and arguing there was nothing unusual about Mr Dutton saving the nannies from deportation.
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The PM's defence of the man he beat in last week's leadership ballot came as Labor and the Greens notched up the pressure on Mr Dutton, accusing him of potentially misleading Parliament over his knowledge of the au pairs' employers.
Speaking from Indonesia, Mr Morrison said he had spoken to Mr Dutton multiple times and was satisfied the minister had acted within his powers.
"No, is the short answer, in terms of having any direct concerns there," he said. "I made hundreds if not thousands of decisions as minister for immigration - it would not be unusual to do that. At the end of the day, the minister makes the decision."
Mr Morrison - who preceded Mr Dutton as immigration minister, said decisions on whether to allow someone to remain in Australia had to consider many factors, including the direct impact they would have on someone's life.
"You don't make those decisions in a rush ... you make [them] carefully and in a considered way," he said. "I have no doubt that every time Peter exercised that decision-making authority, in the same way [new Immigration Minister] David Coleman is making them now, they would be following exactly that process."
Mr Dutton faces a Senate inquiry into why he overturned Border Force decisions to deport two au pairs who were detained separately in 2015 on suspicion of intending to work in Australia while on tourist visas.
It has emerged that in one case, in Adelaide, Mr Dutton had reviewed the matter after a request from the office of AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, who raised it on behalf of his cousin, Callum MacLachlan.
In another case, in Brisbane, Fairfax Media revealed Mr Dutton knew the intended employer of the au pair - Russell Keag, a former colleague of Mr Dutton from his days in the Queensland Police.
In March, Greens MP Adam Bandt asked Mr Dutton in Parliament: "Can you categorically rule out any personal connection or any other relationship between you and the intended employer of either of the au pairs?"
Mr Dutton replied: "The answer is yes. I haven't received any personal benefit. I don't know these people. They haven't worked for me. They haven't worked for my wife."
On Friday, Labor's immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann seized on that exchange and said: "If Peter Dutton knows the intended employer of one of these au pairs, Peter Dutton has clearly misled Parliament."
Mr Bandt also said "on the face of it, Peter Dutton may have misled Parliament when answering my question", and called on the minister to explain himself. Both men said the situation "stinks".
A spokeswoman for Mr Dutton said he stood "100 per cent" behind his remarks in Parliament.
"Mr Dutton is confident, to the best of his knowledge, he has never met Callum MacLachlan nor has he socialised, met with or had contact with Russell Keag in almost 20 years," she said.
"He hasn’t spoken with either individual regarding these matters before or since these matters were first raised."
On Friday, Gillon McLachlan confirmed he had a staffer contact Mr Dutton's office on behalf of his cousin Callum, a South Australian pastoralist, whose au pair was detained.
He told 3AW radio he did not believe Mr Dutton had afforded him special treatment. "I was asked to help facilitate a contact and that's what I did," he said. "I felt it was an appropriate request."
Last week Mr Dutton unsuccessfully challenged Malcolm Turnbull for the leadership of the Liberal Party and the prime ministership. He was beaten by Mr Morrison 45 to 40 in a party room ballot.
Mr Morrison reappointed Mr Dutton as Minister for Home Affairs in a cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, but gave Mr Coleman the subsidiary Immigration portfolio, which Mr Dutton previously held.
