'A dangerous precedent': Canavan slams Pezzullo sacking

Mr Pezzullo was terminated from his plum position following an inquiry into allegations that he had messaged a Liberal Party power broker for years, trying to wield influence over political matters.

Appearing on ABC's Afternoon Briefing on Monday, Senator Canavan said "you're very naive if you don't think others do this... it happens all the time".

"It's just that, okay, Mike got caught and maybe that's just how these things roll," he said.

"... I think there's an overreaction here. I wasn't particularly shocked by the messages. As I say, this would happen every day of the weekend."

The Australian Public Service Commission revealed that Mr Pezzullo breached the APS Code of Conduct on 14 occasions, including for using his power to gain personal benefit, according to the inquiry.

Mr Pezzullo was asked to stand aside as Home Affairs boss back in September, after Nine newspapers reported on thousands of messages he allegedly sent to Liberal Party power broker Scott Briggs over five years. This masthead has not seen the messages.

The messages allegedly involved Mr Pezzullo attempting to wield influence on political matters, including over which Coalition MP was appointed as minister of his department.

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But Senator Canavan said that while Mr Pezzullo could be accused of "a little bit of carelessness" in putting this into writing, he didn't deserve to be fired over the behaviour.

"I would challenge anyone in this building to have their phone tabled and have everybody go through all of their messages and not have a single message that would come back as somewhat embarrassing," he said.

"I worry with this kind of condemnation and ultimately this decision, that it's just going to have a chilling effect. There's already enough people in this place that don't speak the truth, who walk on eggshells, whether it's public servants, politicians, media advisors, everybody.

"... It seems to be people are getting sacked now for saying what they think, which I think is a dangerous precedent."

Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite - also appearing on the program - disagreed, describing Mr Pezzullo's behaviour as "incredibly extraordinary".

The Labor minister said that Monday's outcome was a reminder that anything you put into writing could one day be found out and reported on.

"I think it's a timely reminder of the importance of impartiality in our Public Service and also a reminder of the foibles of social media, if you like, and being careful around social media," he said.