The head of the Department of Parliamentary Services has accused members of the building’s security staff of leaking classified information about recent white powder incidents in a “calculated” attempt to “undermine public confidence”.
Secretary Robert Stefanic revealed he had met with the head of the Australian Federal Police on Friday to “consult” over a potential investigation to track down the leakers, but said there was no active inquiry at the moment.
He would soon email DPS staff to inform them of the development, he said.
“These leaks are calculated to generate publicity and create the false impression of the security operation that may undermine public confidence in the security of parliament house,” Mr Stefanic told a Senate Estimates hearing on Monday.
The department was facing questions from Labor senators over its handling of two recent discoveries of suspicious white powders in the building.
The most recent incident earlier this month, first reported by Buzzfeed News and later confirmed by the AFP, involved white powder sent to prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s office.
The material was tested by security officers who were, according to the media reports, equipped with cheap disposable painting overalls from Bunnings Warehouse. Anonymous officers reportedly told Buzzfeed they lacked sufficient training in the mobile testing device.
Asked to verify the claims, the head of DPS’s security branch Graeme Anderson could not confirm whether the overalls were $6 disposables from Bunnings but agreed to come back with an answer later on. He said security staff were “equipped appropriate to the threat”.
In an earlier incident in November last year where white powder was found in parliament’s main entrance foyer, not far from a public café, Mr Anderson resolved the matter himself by tasting the powder.
Labor senator Kimberley Kitching questioned whether that approach was in keeping with security protocols, which recommend the involvement of the federal police.
But Mr Anderson said the protocols were designed for those without “subject matter expertise”, explaining he had responded to about a dozen white powder incidents in his past career with the AFP. He also was confident that he “knew what anthrax is and what it is not”.
“I only tasted the substance, senator, after it was clear that this was not an incident. This was not a suspicious substance,” Mr Anderson said.
“There was nothing suspicious about this. The only decision in my mind was whether this was salt or sugar.”
When Senator Kitching asked which it was, Mr Anderson confirmed it was sugar.
‘I’ll burn this security department to the ground’
Senator Kitching also asked Mr Anderson if he had told colleagues he would “burn this security department to the ground and start again with different people”.
The senator said she had heard stories of Mr Anderson repeating the phrase on a “number of occasions”, including “in a lift”.
Mr Anderson replied: “Apparently, senator. I don't recall saying that, but I might have said that.”
The security chief said the phrase - if he ever said it - was not intended as a threat.
“There's a number of things that need correcting within security branch. I wasn’t referring to people at all if I made that statement. I can’t recall making that statement.”
“It sounds like something I might have said,” he added.
The Senate hearings are ongoing.
