FOI documents show Peter Dutton’s ‘captain’s call’ to make senior Liberal head of defence thinktank

Documents obtained by Guardian Australia show the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's preferred candidate was overruled by then defence minister Dutton

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New documents show how the former defence minister Peter Dutton's captain's call" delivered a senior Coalition adviser the top job at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Aspi).

Just before the May election was called, Dutton announced that Justin Bassi - then chief of staff to then foreign affairs minister Marise Payne - would be the institute's new executive director.

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