Press release about random visa checks in Melbourne was received on Wednesday, spokesman confirms, but sources say it was also sent on Thursday

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The “very, very badly worded” Australian Border Force press release that appeared to threaten random visa checks on the streets of Melbourne was twice sent to the office of the immigration minister, Peter Dutton Guardian Australia has been told.

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It was also allegedly cleared at a high level in the border force’s Canberra headquarters.

After the release sparked a snap protest on Friday and forced the Victorian police operation to be abandoned, the border force commissioner, Roman Quaedvlieg, said it had been “cleared at a low level in the organisation”.

But a spokesman for Dutton confirmed on Sunday it had been sent to his office on Wednesday as an attachment to a briefing note about the weekend operation. “It was not opened or read because it looked like a routine operation,” the spokesman said.

Sources later told Guardian Australia a shorter briefing note, again with the press release attached, was sent to Dutton’s office again on Thursday morning. Dutton’s spokesman was contacted for comment.

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Quaedvlieg conceded on Friday the media release had been cleared by the Victorian and Tasmanian commander of the border force, Don Smith, who was quoted in the original release saying, “ABF officers will be positioned at various locations around the CBD speaking with any individual we cross paths with,” and, “You need to be aware of the conditions of your visa; if you commit visa fraud you should know it’s only a matter of time before you’re caught out.”

But according to former immigration department officials, including the former communications head Sandi Logan, who say they are informed by current officials close to the issue, the border force assistant secretary for communications and media, Mark Jeffries, also cleared it.

The border force was contacted for comment, but late Sunday referred all questions to the minister’s office.

The force and Victoria police continue to face questions about exactly what role was envisaged for the six ABF officers who were to be deployed in Operation Fortitude.

It is understood six border force officers were to be involved, at two separate locations, to undertake checks as requested by the Victorian police.

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, described the saga as one of the government’s most “catastrophically silly” ideas on Saturday.

“It’s like a uniformed version of the Prince Philip decision,” he told reporters in Perth. “As more facts came to light yesterday, I don’t think there’s a single Victorian and indeed a single Australian whose jaw just didn’t hit the ground.”

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The Greens called for the powers of border force officers to be clarified. “It needs to be cleaned up; they’re not an arm of the military and they’re not a police force,” Senator Sarah Hanson-Young told the ABC, adding: “It’s not clear at all what they think their role is, what indeed the powers are.”

The prime minister, Tony Abbott, said his department had no prior knowledge of the operation.

He said nothing untoward had happened except the agency had issued a poorly worded press release, describing it as a mistake and “over the top”.



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“We would never stop people randomly on the street and demand their visa details,” he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

Such operational news releases were often issued under the authority of agency officials and not the government, Abbott said. “That all happens at arm’s length from ministers, at arm’s length from the executive government.”

The original release said the operation was to involve Metro Trains, Yarra Trams, the sheriff’s office, the Taxi Services Commission, the ABF and Victoria police. As it would have “a particular focus on people travelling to, from and around the CBD, the group of agencies will work together to support the best interests of Melburnians, targeting everything from antisocial behaviour to outstanding warrants”.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report