The federal opposition is questioning whether Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has apologised to her department’s boss Stephanie Foster, after a reported altercation in which she dressed down Ms Foster.
Sky News has reported Ms Foster left in tears after being summonsed to explain why she disclosed documents on the crimes committed by released immigration detainees, which the government wanted to keep private.
The Coalition has used question time to pressure Ms O’Neil to admit to the reported meeting, and whether she had apologised to Ms Foster.
Batting away that question, Ms O’Neil responded her relationship with Ms Foster and the Home Affairs department was constructive.
“I work very closely with the secretary of my department,” Ms O’Neil responded.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley asked again:
Sussan Ley: “I refer to media reports about interactions between the secretary of the department and the ministers she serves. The minister for immigration was asked about these reports and gave a clear denial.
“I ask the [home affairs] minister again: did she verbally abuse the secretary, causing the secretary to leave her office in tears?”
Clare O’Neil: “This question has been asked in a number of different ways, I have answered in a number of ways, all of which have been accurate.
“I would say to the deputy leader of the opposition, I enjoy a very close and warm relationship with the secretary of my department, she is a public servant of decades of standing, serving the national interest in our government.
“It’s why I supported the prime minister’s decision to appoint her to this position, and we continue that warm and collaborative relationship.”
The federal government has been under intense pressure as it seeks to pass new laws that would give the government powers to jail non-citizens who refuse to cooperate with attempts to deport them, as well as ban travellers from several countries that do not have arrangements to accept involuntary deportees.
It is the latest attempt to resolve the consequences of a High Court order to release a refugee being held in immigration detention, and the subsequent release of about 150 others in similar circumstances to him.
Since then, another High Court challenge has raised the prospect of a further cohort of detainees being released into the community, which in part is what has pushed the government to introduce new legislation to get ahead of a potential finding that they, too, should be released.
The opposition has repeatedly used Question Time to maximise attention on the immigration and home affairs ministers over the saga, accusing the government of being caught off guard and slow to respond.
On Wednesday, however, the government hit back after the Liberals sided with the Greens to refer the new bill to a committee, delaying its passage.
The ABC has contacted the home affairs minister and the Department of Home Affairs for comment.