The man in charge of security at Parliament House has told staff that after a “bad day at the office” he likes to put things in perspective by looking at a picture of Anne Frank’s father standing in the attic where his family hid from the Nazis during World World Two.
In an email sent to hundreds of staff in late May, Graeme Anderson, the assistant secretary of the security branch of the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), played down concerns about lax security at Parliament House, which were first revealed by BuzzFeed News.
“There are bad days at the office, and then there are really bad days at the office," Anderson wrote. "We don’t know yet how bad a day at the office recent negative media attention is yet, but it’s highly unlikely to be as bad as poor Otto’s view from the attic.
“From 2003 to 2016 the number of Australians killed by shark attacks was 27, the same number as died from snake bites and the same number that died from bee/wasp and hornet stings," he continued. "You’ll be relieved to know in the same period no Australian died from a biological or chemical attack.”
Anderson’s “bad day” came after a grilling at Senate Estimates over a BuzzFeed News story that revealed serious deficiencies in security at Parliament House.
Officers said their lives had been put at risk after they were forced to wear cheap disposable painting suits when testing potentially deadly white powder that was mailed to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Instead of following the Parliament House security manual’s “response to white powder detection” procedure and calling the ACT Fire & Rescue Hazardous Material team, officers from the building's loading dock were sent to test the powder themselves.
Security staff told BuzzFeed News they haven't been formally trained in how to operate the mobile testing device used to determine whether powder was hazardous, and despite a $126 million security upgrade currently underway in Parliament House, they are not equipped to do their jobs properly.
In his May email Anderson dismissed officers' concerns that their lives were being put at risk, and took a swipe at the whistleblowers leaking from his department.
"For those of you who have frequented my office and managed to look past my beloved Melbourne Football Club paraphernalia you may have noticed a picture above my door that I got when I was in Amsterdam that I hang there to remind me to keep all things in perspective," he wrote.
"The picture was taken of a reflective Otto Frank in 1961 looking out the window of his attic onto the canal of Prinsengracht. Otto Frank was Anne Frank’s father and the only surviving member of his family from the Holocaust."
The photo in question was actually taken on May 3, 1960 by photographer Arnold Newman at the official opening of the Anne Frank House museum.
Staff described Anderson’s email as bizarre.
“The guys were all talking – what the fuck! – and wondering what he was thinking,” one officer told BuzzFeed News. "I think it speaks for itself to be honest … it’s really just offensive.”
Anderson’s email also detailed two quotes the assistant secretary has pinned to his Parliament House office desk to “remind [him] of [his] purpose as a leader and a manager”.
The first quote is from Edward “Weary” Dunlop – a surgeon who served in World War Two and was held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese – who Anderson says presented a leadership lecture to his army class in 1989. The quote reads: “Lead, follow or get out of the way”.
“His quote that I reflect on often when faced with difficulties reminds me of his strength of character,” Anderson wrote to staff.
Dunlop’s philosophy reflects what staff describe as Anderson’s “regimented” approach to management within the security division of the DPS. They say Anderson runs the DPS security branch like the Australian Federal Police, where he used to work.
“We’re public service and he would like it more if we were the police force, or the army, or a military force that he could bark orders at and make us do what he wants, but that’s not the case, and he gets very frustrated when he has to deal with low level security officers in consultation and discussion, because it’s just not what he wants to be doing,” one security officer told BuzzFeed News.
During Senate Estimates in May, Anderson did not deny staff’s accounts of the time he threatened to “burn the security division to the ground and start again”, saying it sounded like something he might have said.
Anderson told staff in his email: “There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’ in DPS anymore there is only ‘we’ and we will do everything in our power to get to where we need to be.”
Officers told BuzzFeed News they believe Anderson wants to rebuild the DPS from the ground up "because he doesn’t want anyone to challenge him".
The second quote Anderson has pinned to his desk is from Albert Einstein: "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
In the email Anderson attacked the security officers who spoke to the media about their safety concerns, describing what they did as “definitely not whistleblowing”. He said the “deliberate leaking of information undermines the legitimacy of our place in the protective security model at APH” [Australian Parliament House] and calls into question the professionalism of the DPS.
Anderson accused staff of not raising their concerns with management, a claim officers vehemently reject.
“Obviously the person/s responsible are doing so only for their own gratification rather than with any due care and consideration for their workmates or the reputation of DPS whom they represent,” Anderson wrote.
A spokesperson from DPS told BuzzFeed News that Anderson's email was intended to provide a "positive and motivating message".
"He made some deeply personal reflections about objects in his office that he keeps to inspire him and respectfully reflected on a picture of Otto Frank he has owned for many years. There was no intention to make any comparisons with the experience of a Holocaust survivor but rather inspiration for us to keep things in perspective.
"Any other interpretation is a deliberate and malicious mischaracterisation aimed at further disrupting the operation of the branch, undermining individuals within the Department of Parliamentary Services and confidence in security at Australian Parliament House."
In the months since BuzzFeed News broke this story, whistleblowers say there has been no improvement to safety or training provided. Officers maintain their concerns are being ignored by management. They feel they have been given no option but to refuse to conduct white powder testing until they receive adequate training and equipment.
In a separate email to all staff following the leaks, DPS secretary Rob Stefanovic said he had “consulted” with the commissioner of the Australian Federal Police “with a view to these security breaches being investigated”.
DPS refused to answer BuzzFeed News’ questions about whether any investigation had taken place, saying it is a matter for the AFP. Staff believe threats of an investigation are a tactic to encourage them to remain quiet.