Tanner must reveal source of information about AFP investigation

The Hon Julie Bishop MP
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Deputy Leader of the Opposition

The Minister for Finance today failed to explain why he chose to risk jeopardising an Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation by releasing sensitive information about that investigation during Question Time on Tuesday, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop said.

On Tuesday, Mr Tanner said, “… a fake email, that was, according to the Australian Federal Police, created on a Treasury computer and emailed from Treasury to the computer at the home of Mr Grech. Although it was subsequently deleted from the Treasury computer, the AFP was able to determine the origins of the email.”

Mr Tanner refused to reveal the source of these serious allegations and initially claimed in his answer to a question today that the information was in an official AFP statement, and later claimed that it was revealed by Joe Hockey in the Parliament on Monday.

Neither of Mr Tanner’s explanations is true.

The only statement by the AFP released on 22 June makes no mention of Mr Tanner’s allegations, and Mr Hockey’s statement to Parliament did not include these allegations.

In response to a question, the Attorney-General later confirmed that his office did not provide information about the AFP investigation to the Minister for Finance.

It is concerning that a Minister would recklessly reveal information about an ongoing police investigation and ignore the legal principle of presumption of innocence.

He must reveal the source of his information.

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