Be more like Trump, Pezzullo 'tells' Albo

Disgraced former home affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo can’t help himself, commenting once again on domestic and international policy and giving the Prime Minister more unwanted advice.

He thinks the Australian Government should be more like the US administration of Donald Trump.

In an interview with the ABC, Mr Pezzullo suggested Anthony Albanese would do well to follow the Trump example.

He particularly emphasised immigration and refugee policy, saying like the US under Trump, Australia should also be more aggressive in pushing other countries to take back their citizens who have committed violent crimes while in the country.

“The Americans are saying as part of our diplomatic relationship with you, we would like something from you which is to take your citizens back who have no prospect of remaining in our country,” Mr Pezzullo said in the interview.

“We need to be more activist and more assertive and, indeed, more aggressive in our diplomacy on that front.”

The comments followed the Federal Government’s decision to send three of the so-called NZYQ cohort of non-citizens to Nauru for resettlement.

They include a convicted murderer and a stateless Rohingya man who was convicted of raping a 10-year-old girl in Australia.

In 2023, the High Court ruled that the man, known as NZYQ, could not be held in immigration detention for life.

Mr Pezzullo welcomed with caution the Albanese government’s move to strike a deal with Nauru over the trio.

The government will pay the tiny Pacific nation to take them.

But Mr Pezzullo said while it gets them out of Australia, deporting convicted criminals to their countries of origin should be the priority.

Resettling individuals in third-party countries should only be a fallback option, he said

Resettlement deals such as the Nauru one take far too long, Mr Pezzullo said, adding that the Australian Public Service should be better used in that regard.

“It’s really a function of the tempo and the urgency set from the very top,” he said.

“We’ve got amazing public officials in our country. They will turn things around on a dime if that’s the direction given to them.”

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre has strongly opposed the government’s decision to deport members of the NZYQ cohort to Nauru, saying the move sets a dangerous precedent and raises serious concerns about human rights and fairness.

“There has to be consideration of the lawfulness of banishing people offshore when they’ve been living as part of our community – it’s a complete disregard of people’s human rights,” deputy chief executive officer Jana Favero said.

“To send people to Nauru is a life sentence, and we are considering all options, including legal challenges, and will continue to fight for people’s rights”.

Mr Pezzullo was sacked as Home Affairs secretary in 2023 after it was revealed he used his close relationship with Liberal Party powerbroker Scott Briggs to influence appointments and policy under former Coalition governments, allegedly sending more than 1000 encrypted messages to the influential NSW Liberal figure over a five-year period.

His appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia was also subsequently officially terminated.

Yet he continues to comment publicly on political matters, usually about the prospect of war.

He was the lead author of the 2009 Defence White Paper and obviously believes he still has much to offer in the domain.

Last year, he suggested an “eminent persons group” be established to mentor a strategic assessment of the likelihood of war in the region and what extra preparations might be required.

His idea is for the eminent persons group, which would be external to the government, to consist of all “living former deputy secretaries of defence strategy and former vice chiefs of the Defence Force”.

Mr Pezzullo is himself a former deputy secretary for strategy of the Defence Department.

Referring to the group as an “all-star” union, Mr Pezzullo said it could guide and mentor the strategic assessment project, which would be conducted by “the best and brightest Australian minds from think tanks and academia, as well as serving Australian Public Service and Australian Defence Force members”.