Peter Dutton: Shadowed by Controversies

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:

1. 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.
2. 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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