In the case of Senator Hanson-Young, he was responding to a report in Fairfax Media that she had been the target of secret surveillance operation during a visit to the Australian-run detention centre on Nauru.

A former security guard had outlined the alleged operation, code-named Raven, in a submission to a Senate inquiry and Wilson Security – the company contracted to guard the detainees – had confirmed that "individuals" had been disciplined for "acting beyond their brief".

When Mr Dutton was asked to comment, he described the story as "complete nonsense", branding Hanson-Young "an embarrassment to our country".

"I challenge the media, frankly, to go back and look at some of the claims that Senator Hanson-Young's made over the last couple of years and look at what's been substantiated," he added. "Most of it is attention seeking. Ultimately, in the end, she's wrong and that's, I think, more of a reflection on her than anybody else."

It was Senator Hanson-Young who went public with allegations of sexual abuse by security guards at the Nauru centre last year that led to the Moss inquiry that reported in March.