Michael Brissenden reported this story on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 08:00:00

MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The shadow special minister of state Stephen Conroy says he's been informed by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) that it will conduct raids on the Department of Parliamentary Services at Parliament House today.



The raids are in relation to the alleged leak of documents to the media about the rollout of the National Broadband Network.



The AFP launched an investigation in December following a referral from the company responsible, NBN Co.



The office of the former communications minister and the homes of two Labor staffers were raided during the election campaign in Melbourne in May.



Senator Conroy says the AFP is seeking access to the emails of Labor staffers.



He joins me on the line now.



Senator Conroy, good morning.



STEPHEN CONROY: Good to be with you.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The AFP is clearly still looking for the source of the leak, the investigation is continuing. Why wouldn't they continue with the raids?



STEPHEN CONROY: Well, what we've seen here is an effort by the NBN Co to hide the embarrassment that Malcolm Turnbull faces with a $56 billion cost, that's a $15 billion blowout in the cost of Malcolm Turnbull's national broadband network.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: But they have been referred, I mean they've been referred, you know, the NBN Co has referred this and the AFP are conducting an ongoing investigation.



Are you surprised that they would continue to look for information in this way?



STEPHEN CONROY: Parliamentary privilege is a law of Australia and the Federal Police are fully aware that I have claimed parliamentary privilege over all of the correspondence between myself, staff, staff of other shadow ministers in the course of our duties.



Our obligation to the people of Australia is to expose waste and mismanagement by the Turnbull Government and what we're seeing here is an attempt to intimidate people to not actually do their parliamentary duties.



Of all of the information that they gained when they raided my office back during the election campaign is currently in the safe of the parliamentary clerk of the Senate and will be the subject of a vote in Parliament as to whether or not that information will be made available to the police.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: And you say that's the same, you'll take the same approach to whatever information or material is gathered in these raids today essentially to try and, I guess, keep it from public view. Doesn't that make you look like you have got something to hide?



STEPHEN CONROY: Not at all. We're protecting the whistleblowers who have seen when anybody inside NBN Co has pointed to the fact that the claims by the management and the Government aren't true, they've been sacked.



And so whistleblowers inside NBN Co had no choice but to expose, using members of Parliament, the blowouts in costs and the not meeting their rollout targets at NBN Co.



So, what is at stake here is the ability of members of Parliament to protect the whistleblowers who come to them and give them information that demonstrates that the government of the day is not actually achieving what it's claiming in public.



And Malcolm Turnbull once made his name protecting whistleblowers. Well, now he's setting the police on them.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: You have previously accepted that the AFP are acting independently in this but this morning you say that this is an attempt by Malcolm Turnbull to hide what you describe as his incompetent administration of the NBN.



Do you still think the AFP is acting independently?



STEPHEN CONROY: Well, the AFP are simply acting on the request of the National Broadband Network Company with Malcolm Turnbull's mates on the board who are desperate to provide cover for him, you know, for the costs and the rollout schedule of the NBN have blown out.



And what concerns me the most though is that the NBN have called in the Federal Police using sections of the law which I believe are not valid.



The NBN Co was set up for the purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth and it is not a public authority.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: So are suggesting the Government should step in and stop the investigation?



STEPHEN CONROY: Well, I think Malcolm Turnbull should accept that the legislation of the NBN Co does not allow NBN Co to use the police to investigate whistleblowers.



This is an absolute abuse of process and any reading of the legislation by anybody makes it clear that NBN Co have illegally called the police in to conduct this investigation.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: So you are suggesting that the Government should step in and stop it?



STEPHEN CONROY: Well, I think that this whole investigation is about covering up Malcolm Turnbull's incompetent administration of the NBN and its rollout and its costs.



It's a $56 million project; we were promised before the 2013 election it will be $29 billion, massively blown out. And Malcolm Turnbull is desperate to keep that under wraps.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: This is not uncommon is it, for the AFP to investigate leaks? Why should this one be any different?



I mean, you haven't complained about other AFP investigations or raids into politically sensitive issues. The Peter Slipper affair comes to mind, for instance.



STEPHEN CONROY: Well, as I said, if you read the legislation, Section 95 of the National Broadband Network Companies Act, it states NBN Co is not a public authority.



And the police have been asked to investigate if Commonwealth officers have leaked information.



The problem is with any reading of this legislation, NBN Co staff are not Commonwealth officers, so NBN Co are using the police in a way in which the legislation clearly states they should not be.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Okay, Stephen Conroy, we'll leave it there. Thanks very much for joining us.



STEPHEN CONROY: Thanks very much.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Shadow special minister of state, Stephen Conroy.

