117 Facts About Peter Dutton

Peter Dutton has been the member of parliament for the Queensland division of Dickson since the 2001 federal election.

Peter Dutton previously held ministerial office in the Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments, including as a cabinet minister from 2013 to 2022.

Peter Dutton worked as a police officer in the Queensland Police for nearly a decade upon leaving school, and later ran a construction business with his father.

Peter Dutton joined the Liberal Party as a teenager and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2001 election, aged 30.

Peter Dutton was moved to the role of Minister for Immigration and Border Protection in December 2014, where he played a key role in overseeing Operation Sovereign Borders.

Peter Dutton was kept in that position after Malcolm Turnbull replaced Tony Abbott as Prime Minister in September 2015.

Peter Dutton then was defeated by Scott Morrison in a second leadership ballot days later after Turnbull chose to resign.

Peter Dutton was retained as Minister for Home Affairs by Morrison, later becoming Minister for Defence and Leader of the House in March 2021.

Peter Dutton went on to succeed Morrison as party leader unopposed after the Coalition's defeat at the 2022 election, becoming leader of the opposition.

Peter Dutton is the first Liberal leader to come from Queensland, and the first leader since Alexander Downer to represent a seat outside of New South Wales.

Peter Dutton was born on 18 November 1970 in the northern Brisbane suburb of Boondall.

Peter Dutton is the great-great-grandson of the pastoralist squatter and politician Charles Boydell Peter Dutton.

Peter Dutton is a descendant of Captain Richard James Coley, who was Queensland's first Sergeant-at-Arms, who built Brisbane's first private dwelling and who gave evidence confirming the mass poisonings of Aboriginal Australians at Kilcoy in 1842.

Peter Dutton is the eldest of five children, with one brother and three sisters.

Peter Dutton's mother Ailsa Leitch worked in childcare and his father Bruce Dutton was a builder.

Peter Dutton finished high school at the Anglican St Paul's School, Bald Hills.

Peter Dutton worked cash in hand at a butcher shop during his school years, and his parents separated shortly after he graduated.

Peter Dutton became the policy vice-chair of the Bayside Young Liberals the following year and chair of the branch in 1990.

At the 1989 Queensland state election, the 19-year-old Peter Dutton ran unsuccessfully as the Liberal candidate against Tom Burns, a former state Labor leader, in the safe Labor seat of Lytton.

Peter Dutton served as a Queensland Police officer for nearly a decade, working in the drug squad in Brisbane in the early 1990s.

In 1999, Peter Dutton left the Queensland Police, having achieved the rank of detective senior constable.

Peter Dutton was driving an unmarked Mazda 626 during a covert surveillance operation, before rolling his car while in pursuit of an escaped prisoner who was driving erratically.

Peter Dutton suffered numerous physical injuries during the accident, and as a result, was hospitalised briefly and bedridden for a week.

Peter Dutton had sought damages of $250,000 from the escaped prisoner's insurance company but dropped the claim in 2005.

Peter Dutton bought, renovated, and converted buildings into childcare centres, and in 2002 it sold three childcare centres to the now defunct ABC Learning.

In early 2001, Peter Dutton won Liberal preselection for the seat of Dickson in Brisbane's northern suburbs, reportedly with the support of Liberal powerbroker Santo Santoro.

Peter Dutton was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2001 federal election, aged 30.

Peter Dutton defeated the high-profile incumbent Australian Labor Party MP Cheryl Kernot, a shadow cabinet minister and former leader of the Australian Democrats, with Dickson regarded as a key target seat for the Coalition.

Peter Dutton was critical of members of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, who he said were "obsessed with the rights of criminals yet do not utter a word of understanding or compassion for the victims of crime".

Peter Dutton had a relatively high profile as a first-term backbencher.

Peter Dutton was appointed to the House Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs in 2002 and served on an inquiry into family law and the Child Support Agency, where he advocated for lawyers to have less of a role in determining parental custody.

Peter Dutton spoke frequently on crime topics, including supporting the death penalty for the perpetrators of the 2002 Bali bombings and supporting legislation that would allow businesses to refuse service to drug addicts.

On 26 October 2004, Peter Dutton was appointed Minister for Workforce Participation in the Howard government, following the Coalition's re-election at the 2004 election.

Peter Dutton was seen as politically close to Prime Minister John Howard.

Peter Dutton was responsible for the government's suite of "welfare-to-work" policies, which were intended to break generational poverty and welfare dependency.

Peter Dutton stated that the changes were necessary to "ensure welfare dependency is not entrenched".

Peter Dutton had previously worked closely with Treasurer Peter Costello on the welfare reforms, and was reportedly a "strident proponent" of WorkChoices, the government's industrial relations reform package.

Peter Dutton successfully retained Dickson at the 2007 election, which saw the government lose office.

Peter Dutton retained that position when Tony Abbott succeeded Turnbull as leader in December 2009.

In June 2010, Peter Dutton released the Coalition's mental health policy.

Peter Dutton retained his seat with a positive swing at the 2010 federal election, despite an unfavourable redistribution.

Peter Dutton lost the McPherson pre-selection to Karen Andrews, reportedly due to misgivings from former Nationals in the area.

Peter Dutton then asked the LNP to "deliver him a seat for which he does not have to fight other preselection candidates".

Peter Dutton was appointed to the new ministry by Prime Minister Tony Abbott as Minister for Health and Minister for Sport.

On 23 December 2014, Peter Dutton was sworn in as the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection after a cabinet reshuffle.

In September 2015, Peter Dutton cancelled the visa of anti-abortion activist Troy Newman, over remarks in his 2000 book Their Blood Cries Out.

On 5 June 2015, Peter Dutton denied claims made by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young that she was spied on during a visit to Nauru.

Peter Dutton gets her facts wrong most of the time.

Peter Dutton loves the camera and she loves to see her own name in the paper.

On 11 September 2015, Peter Dutton was overheard on an open microphone, before a community meeting on Syrian refugees, joking about rising sea levels in the Pacific Islands, saying: "Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door".

Peter Dutton initially refused to apologise, saying it was a private conversation, but later apologised.

The Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands at the time, Tony deBrum, responded by writing: "insensitivity knows no bounds in the big polluting island down [south]" and the "Next time waves are battering my home [and] my grandkids are scared, I'll ask Peter Dutton to come over, and we'll see if he is still laughing".

The Greens senator Nick McKim said Peter Dutton had been caught telling an outrageous lie.

Peter Dutton defended the closure of the processing centre and asserted that the Papuan authorities had given notice of the camp's impending closure in May 2017.

Peter Dutton rejected Australian Greens Senator Nick McKim's report that there was no safe alternative accommodation available as false and claimed McKim was inciting trouble.

In mid-November 2017, Peter Dutton rejected an offer by the newly-elected New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to resettle 150 asylum seekers from the Manus Island detention centre in New Zealand and warned that it would have repercussions for the two countries' bilateral relations.

Peter Dutton claimed that New Zealand's offer would encourage people smugglers.

On 20 December 2017, Peter Dutton was appointed the Minister for Home Affairs with responsibilities of overseeing the Department of Home Affairs which was established on 20 December 2017 by Administrative Arrangement Order.

In March 2018, Peter Dutton made calls to treat white South African farmers as refugees, stating that "they need help from a civilised country".

Peter Dutton's proposal got support from some of his party's backbenchers and Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm with Leyonhjelm later clarifying that he thought that South African farmers should be admitted under existing visa programmes, and could not be regarded as refugees.

In February 2018, Peter Dutton used his discretionary powers as Minister of Home Affairs to deport New Zealander Caleb Maraku on the grounds that he breached the "character test" provision of the Migration Act 1958.

In early July 2018, Peter Dutton ordered the deportation of controversial New Zealand Baptist Pastor Logan Robertson, who had disrupted services at two mosques in Kuraby and Darra in Brisbane.

Peter Dutton approved Robertson's visa cancellation on the grounds that he had violated the conditions of his visa, stating that "we have a wonderful tradition in our country of freedom of speech, but we're not going to tolerate people going to a place of worship and harassing others".

In mid-July 2019, Peter Dutton defended Australia's right to deport criminal non-citizens in response to concerns raised by the visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, stating:.

In October and November 2019, Peter Dutton expressed his views on protesters and police response.

In November 2019, Peter Dutton said that the States should make protesters pay for the cost of police response to demonstrations.

In December 2019, Peter Dutton announced that airport security measures were to be increased to detect, deter and respond to potential threats to aviation safety.

Peter Dutton appeared in a video alongside police personnel to announce the policy, sparking criticism of the potential use of police for political purposes.

On 21 August 2018, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called a snap ballot of the leadership of the Liberal Party following several days of feverish leadership speculation, of which Peter Dutton was at the centre.

Peter Dutton responded to Turnbull's ballot call by formally challenging for the leadership of the party and won 35 of 83 votes available, 7 short of a majority.

Peter Dutton then resigned from the Ministry despite being offered by Turnbull to retain his position of Minister for Home Affairs, and the media speculated that Peter Dutton and his conservative backers in the party were likely to challenge for the leadership again in the near future.

On 22 August 2018, Peter Dutton described what his policies would be if he were to be elected leader of the Coalition.

Peter Dutton floated the idea of having a royal commission into electricity companies.

Three days later, Peter Dutton called for another leadership spill, and Malcolm Turnbull tendered his resignation to the Governor-General.

Peter Dutton was defeated by Treasurer and Acting Home Affairs Minister Scott Morrison by 45 votes to 40.

Peter Dutton was reappointed to his former Home Affairs portfolio by Scott Morrison in the Morrison Ministry; however, responsibility for Immigration was stripped from the role and was assigned to David Coleman.

On 21 May 2021, Peter Dutton directed the department and serving military personnel to stop pursuing a "woke agenda", and cease holding events to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia where staff wore rainbow clothing.

On 11 July 2021, Peter Dutton announced the end of Australia's military presence in Afghanistan.

In October 2021, Peter Dutton said Australia will back up any US effort to defend Taiwan if China attacks.

The Coalition was defeated at the 2022 federal election, with Peter Dutton retaining his seat despite a swing against him.

On 3 September 2023, Peter Dutton committed to hold a second referendum on Indigenous recognition if the Voice referendum failed, while expressing support for his party's election proposal for a series of legislated local bodies.

However, following the defeat of the Voice proposal, Peter Dutton stated that his party's prior commitment to symbolic constitutional recognition would be reviewed and that "it's clear the Australian public is probably over the referendum process for some time".

On 10 January 2024, Peter Dutton called for a boycott of Woolworths after it confirmed that it will no longer stock Australia Day-themed merchandise due to reduced sales over recent years.

In July 2024, Peter Dutton's remarks relating to Fatima Payman were characterised by Laura Tingle as "an example of how to surgically hit every hot-button issue in one short grab for the cameras".

Peter Dutton blamed the Albanese government, and misleadingly claimed that Labor had cut $600M from Operation Sovereign Borders.

Peter Dutton is aligned with the 'National Right' faction of the Liberal Party, which he leads.

In December 2018, Peter Dutton told Sky News that for the prior seventeen years he had regarded "parliament as a disadvantage for sitting governments".

In 2024, Peter Dutton supported moves for age verification in social media.

On 26 September 2019, one day after the partial decriminalisation of personal cannabis use by the Australian Capital Territory government, Peter Dutton called the decision "unconscionable" and "dangerous" in a 2GB interview.

In September 2023, Peter Dutton characterised ACT legislation on the limited decriminalisation of illicit substances as "crazy", saying that Canberra would become a "boom market" for drug gangs.

In December 2024, Peter Dutton stated his opposition to flying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the national flag, viewing them as "a symbol of division" and saying that he would remove them from the official Australian government press conferences.

In 2018, Peter Dutton expressed support for school-aged children to be required to make a pledge similar to an Oath of Allegiance.

In 2024 and 2025, Peter Dutton expressed his rejection of ALP's climate policy, the Paris Agreement, and COP 31.

In February and March 2024, Peter Dutton expressed opposition to Labor's proposal to introduce new vehicle fuel efficiency standards.

Peter Dutton called it "Mr Albanese's new ute tax and new family car tax".

Peter Dutton said that the proposal would increase the price of new vehicles.

Tony Burke criticised Peter Dutton, saying that Australian security agencies "would be devastated and shocked that a minister would do that".

Lech Blaine, author of a 2024 Quarterly Essay piece about Peter Dutton, said that she was unaware of an apology.

One day after the SMH article was published, Peter Dutton said at a press conference that he had apologised to an unnamed "senior person".

In January 2018, Peter Dutton said that people in Melbourne were scared of going out because of "gang violence" involving African Australians.

Peter Dutton's comments formed part of a wider media discourse linking African immigrants to crime in Melbourne dating back to 2016, when individuals associated with the predominantly African Apex gang rioted at the Moomba Festival.

In 2018, Peter Dutton supported the intake of White South African victims of farm attacks.

Peter Dutton referred to the farmers as being "persecuted" and needing help from a "civilised" country.

In July 2024, Peter Dutton remarked about Fatima Payman's departure from the Labor Party.

On 14 August 2024, Peter Dutton criticised the Labor government in a Sky News Australia interview over what he saw as inadequate vetting of people fleeing from Gaza, saying that he did not think "people should be coming in from that war zone at all at the moment" and that he thought "it puts our national security at risk".

Peter Dutton contended that Australians "would be shocked to think that the government's bringing in people from a war zone" and asserted that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation was "not conducting checks and searches on these people".

Later that day, Anthony Albanese reacted in an ABC News Breakfast interview, saying that Peter Dutton "always seeks to divide".

Peter Dutton said that the government took advice from intelligence agencies and not "from someone always looking for a fight, always looking for division".

Peter Dutton opposes any changes to negative gearing which offers tax breaks to property investors, saying in May 2017 that changing it would harm the economy.

Peter Dutton owns six properties with his wife, including a shopping centre in Townsville.

In March 2017, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Peter Dutton had privately expressed the view that the legal recognition of same-sex marriage was inevitable, and that he contended that the Coalition taking the initiative was better than allowing Labor to oversee the process.

On 28 September 2017, following the news that US rapper Macklemore would sing a pro-marriage equality song at the NRL Grand Final, Peter Dutton said in the name of free speech that "two songs should be played, one for gay marriage and one against gay marriage".

Independent MP Monique Ryan remarked that Peter Dutton "will do anything, even undermine faith in our democratic processes, to score cheap political points".

Peter Dutton married his first wife when he was 22 years of age; the marriage ended after a few months.

Peter Dutton's eldest child, a daughter, was born in 2002 to another partner, and split time between her parents in a shared parenting arrangement.

In 2003, Peter Dutton married his second wife, Kirilly, with whom he has two sons.

On 13 March 2020, Peter Dutton announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first federal cabinet member to do so.