With the federal election just a month away, Peter Dutton’s push to become prime minister is shadowed by a number of controversies.
One is his handling of immigration and past comments that keep resurfacing. Back in 2016, as Immigration Minister, Dutton said Malcolm Fraser made a “mistake” letting Lebanese Muslims migrate to Australia, claiming many terror suspects were from that background. That stirred a storm – critics called it divisive, and it’s still surely a sore spot for some voters who see it as evidence of a hardline streak. We can add his comment about people being afraid to go out because of African gangs to the same basket. Fast-forward to 2025, and his campaign pledge to slash migration by 25% (announced in his March 26 budget reply) has reignited debate. No hard numbers on total migration cuts yet, just a promise of details “before the election,” which begs the question if he’s dodging scrutiny.
Then there’s the gas reservation policy he’s touting – Australian gas for Australians first. Sounds catchy, but it’s been slammed as half-baked. The Australian Workers Union called it a “cynical hoax”, saying it only covers 1% of east coast gas exports and won’t touch prices much. No modelling has been released, and the lack of meat on the bones has analysts and Labor piling on, accusing him of mimicking Trump-style populism without substance.
Another hiccup was a personal optics blunder. On March 6, with Cyclone Alfred bearing down on Brisbane, Dutton jetted off to a private event at billionaire Justin Hemmes’ Sydney mansion. Not a good look while his Dickson electorate braced for impact.
His referendum flip-flops also raised eyebrows. After trashing the Voice referendum in 2023 as a costly distraction, he floated a new one in March to deport “convicted criminals with dual citizenship.” Coalition mates called it “mad,” and voters reportedly griped about it pulling focus from cost-of-living woes. It’s not dead, but it’s divisive even in his own camp.
Refugees? There’s the detention saga – a biggie. Critics still bring up his time as Home Affairs Minister (2017-2021) when he fought to keep two Sri Lankan girls, Biloela’s Murugappan family, locked up despite public outcry. The Biloela case is a glaring example – keeping that Tamil family, including two Aussie-born kids, in detention for years (2018-2021) despite protests and legal fights. He doubled down, saying it was about border security, not feelings. Court battles eventually saw them freed under Labor in 2022. It’s a lingering “heartless” tag he can’t fully shake.
Then there’s the 2015 quip – joking about rising seas when asked about climate impacts on Pacific Islanders, which refugee advocates tied to his broader “send ‘em back” ethos. His 2025 deportation referendum idea just keeps that hardline flame alive.
His Aboriginal and refugee stances have been lightning rods for years. That 2016 Lebanese Muslim comment wasn’t a one-off vibe – back in 2008, as an opposition MP, he walked out on Kevin Rudd’s Stolen Generations apology. He later called it a mistake, but it’s stuck as a sign he’s out of touch with Indigenous reconciliation. Social media posts still drag him for it, and his Voice referendum “no” campaign in 2023 – pushing a “divisive” line – didn’t help. No hard data says he’s anti-Aboriginal outright, but the pattern’s there for critics to pounce on.
The Paladin affair – it’s one of the bigger controversies tied to Peter Dutton that’s still got legs in 2025. As Home Affairs Minister he oversaw the department when it handed Paladin, a little-known security outfit, a $423 million contract to run services on Manus Island. The deal, starting in 2017, was a closed tender – no open competition – and that’s where the stink kicked in.
Paladin was sketchy from the jump. Registered to a beach shack on Kangaroo Island with just $50,000 in capital, it had no real track record for a gig this size. The Auditor-General’s 2020 report slammed it – Home Affairs didn’t properly assess Paladin’s ability to deliver, ignored corruption risks in Papua New Guinea, and couldn’t show taxpayers got value for money. A 2019 internal audit even found that the wrong company (Paladin Solutions, not Paladin Holdings) had been reviewed for financial checks. Dutton’s response? He “noted” the audit and moved on – no follow-up, no questions.
The au pair sagas with Peter Dutton is another messy chapter that’s stuck around. Back in 2015, when he was Immigration Minister, he used his ministerial powers to step in and save a couple of European au pairs from deportation – and it’s been a lightning rod ever since. There were two key cases that year that blew up:
- First, an Italian au pair, Michela Marchisio, got nabbed at Brisbane Airport. Her tourist visa got canned because Border Force figured she planned to work for a family – turns out, it was Russell Keag’s, a former Queensland Police mate of Dutton’s from the ‘90s. She made a call, and within hours Dutton overruled the decision, granting her a new visa. He claimed it was “public interest,” but the personal link raised hackles.
- Then a French au pair, Alexandra Deuwel, was detained in Adelaide. She’d been working for Callum MacLachlan, a farmer tied to AFL boss Gillon McLachlan. Gillon lobbied Dutton’s office, and despite the department flagging her as “high risk” for intending to work, Dutton let her stay – again, “public interest.”
A Senate inquiry in 2018 dug into these two au pair controversies and slammed him – said he misled parliament by denying personal connections to the employers. They pushed for censure, but it didn’t stick.
The stink? Critics – notably Labor and the Greens – said it was favouritism, bending rules for connected mates while he’s been iron-fisted with refugees (think Biloela). Dutton’s line is he acted on merit, gets hundreds of pleas yearly, and these were just routine calls. The optics – rushing to help au pairs in hours while others wait years – still haunt him. With the election a month out, it’s ammo for anyone who wants to paint him as all talk on borders but soft for the right crowd.
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Jeez, his newly implanted rubber spine is alrady getting a work out. On Thursday/Friday he was gushing how Ben Britton was going to be a great Liberal and a great benefit to the constituents and voters of Whitlam. New rubber spine goes in on Saturday and Backflip Boy dumps him on Sunday.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/06/coalition-dumps-liberal-candidate-who-said-women-should-not-serve-in-adf-combat-roles-ntwnfb
He’s a walking rabid ranting right wing disaster no matter what the main sleaze media says. If there was competition for Australia’s Worst and Most Reviled Politicians then Scummo and Spud would be sharing first place for the polished turd award.
Excellent survey Michael, thank you.
You might find the linked article interesting.
The author looks at Dutton’s near 20 year political career and makes a valid point that in all that time he’s not really been tested – until now, and he’s not doing all that well; a real indication of character.
“Peter Dutton is being tested for the first time, and he doesn’t seem to be passing.” By Amy Remeikis. The New Daily. Apr 05, 2025,
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2025/04/05/peter-dutton-election-test
The newscorpian are fixed by a company into tweaking the trio of sex, violence and controversy to sell ads.
There constant whinging in disingenuously selected, negative scribblings about the Labor Government is a reliable source of mis-information.
Albo has real information about the lying rodent, the rabbott, the copperman, the minister for everthing and dutton he should be posing snippets to the media.
“His referendum flip-flops also raised eyebrows.”
Dutton doesn’t have any eyebrows — goes with his lack of personality.
Dutton is a cracker.
Yeah, a damp squib,
Dutton is a Dud!
Thank you, Julian. 👍
Dutton is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, as short-sighted as Mr Magoo and with all the compassion of a starving crocodile. NOTHING Dutton says or does is rational, compassionate, intelligent or foresightful. God help us all if Dutton, a Trump-supporting, notorious, thoroughly despised political psychopath is ever elevated into the position of Crime (Prime) Minister over our nation!
Fantastic thorough research. Thank you Michael. This is what good journalists do.
( I’ve always liked Amy Remeikis’ work in The Guardian -Australia but not sure if she works for The G . anymore.)
The G. has history of firing anyone who might upset the applecart. Steve Bell was fired as political cartoonist after 40 years in 2023 by -Australian Editor Katharine Viner – because of a cartoon which depicted Netanyahu as exactly the person he is.
Entitled ” Residents of Gaza – Get out now” it depicted Netanyahu wearing boxing gloves, with a scalpel cutting out the shape of Gaza. It actually referred to another political cartoon of Lyndon Johnson by David Levine in 1966 when Johnson had surgery and was shown with a scar from gall bladder surgery which related to Vietnam. (A connection of times. the G. and Viner didn’t connect)
Katharine Viner – doesn’t live up to C P Scott’s ideal :”Comment is free but facts are sacred.” Neither comment nor facts are given much freedom on Viner’s Guardian though there are good political- cartoons drawn now – Martin Rowson being one.
Viner has got to toe the line though and much of Guardian content is superficial crap now. A sad demise.
Keep your eye on the ball folks or perhaps more appropriately watch for the pea & thimble trick.
Dutton will explain today that it was never coalition policy to sack forty-one thousand (left leaning) public servants or to require all public servants to return to the office five days a week. He will explain that he has always been entirely clear on this and it is just Labor misinformation and a compliant media distorting coalition policies.
He is, of course, lying, in both cases it is a significant backdown on stated coalition policy that he is now walking away from (for the time being).
Thank you kindly, Judith.
Terry, sacking public servants is a sign that you’ve got nothing for them to do. I retired from the public service a week before Abbott won the 2013 election. Walking around Civic (downtown Canberra) a few weeks later I was wondering why so many staff members from my former department were lounging around in cafes. Upon asking one “What’s the go?” to which she replied, “We’ve got nothing to do. This Abbott mob have no plans or policies.”
It was the exact opposite to when Rudd won office. We were rush off our feet.
P Duddy has announced that the LNP will also fund home battery kits for Australians. The supplier, Evergreedy Batteries (a subsidiary of Gina’s Cash Grab Corp.), has said they can start supplying the 450 million 9 volt batteries needed within 2 years.
Like a fly to a rotted corpse, Dutton is helplessly attracted towards those from the big end of town, the ultrawealthy. The French au pair who got a free pass was working for, as Michael correctly noted, Callum MacLachlan, who is benignly described as a ‘farmer.’ He’s not, actually. The MacLachlan clan spans four generations. Callum & brother Jock (named after his father Hugh’s Border Collie sheepdog) were in charge at the time of the au pair incident, but have now split off from the main business, Jumbuck Pastoral, which is this country’s wealthiest pastoralist empire, with sheep and cattle stations spanning three states.
Legend has it that the second generation of MacLachlan’s, three brothers, one of whom was Hugh’s father, were nicknamed Hungry, Thirsty, & Nasty. All good qualities perhaps, if the aim is to be ruthlessly successful in business pursuits.
Unsurprising that Dutton would see it of potential benefit to himself to support the au pair’s wish to continue working in the gilded environment of this extremely rich pastoral family with its giddy accoutrements; private aircraft, access to the exclusive clique of the ultra-wealthy, macho days on the polo fields, summer hols in European swank and so on.
From my sense of my experience with this family many years ago, I would suggest that they would see people like Dutton as useful idiots who can be played & swayed for their own benefit.
Oh Dear !
Spudley is getting deeper and deeper into the tangled web he has created.
He had announced savings of $24 billion from public service sackings mainly in Canberra to pay for his other promises.
He now has to account for this deficit in his projected income.
Oh, and by the way we are still awaiting costings and other data on his nuclear roll out.
You’re just not up to the job, Spud !
Summary of Boofhead’s first week :Started, Farted,Slipped and Fell.
Start of second week:Double back flip,and outbreak of weaselese.
Prognosis:Terminally fucked.
Naughty Harry, so pointed, accurate, but a mere hint. Rubber Dutton is deficient dogshit. Unemployable…
And now for his latest he has today pledged to roll back his policy of sacking 41k public servants and the other one to make all public servants return to the office. With the latter he initally rolled it back to just Canberra public servants but has now rolled that part back too.
Of course we all know good ole dogfood and his penchant for LIES…….should the unthinkable happen and he gets elected the first thing he will do is re-instate both of those things.
Pete
I feel safe in saying that Spud will not win the election – he has shown himself to be completely unprepared for office and has just two policies. The first being a cut in petrol tax for twelve months and the other an elusive nuclear plan which he hasn’t costed and continues to say, as he has for months, all will be revealed prior to the election which is now barely four weeks away.
It’s over for Pete and I can see the Liberal Party sending him off ….to work from home !