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| Coalition at odds over Peter Dutton’s idea to hold a referendum on deporting criminals | Coalition at odds over Peter Dutton’s idea to hold a referendum on deporting criminals |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Opposition leader says ‘we want to keep ourselves safe’ but Michaelia Cash plays down prospect of referendum, stating ‘we have no plans … at this stage’ | |
| Peter Dutton has floated the idea of a referendum on giving the federal government more powers to deport criminals with dual citizenship, despite declaring 18 months ago that the Indigenous voice vote was a waste of money and Australians were “over the referendum process”. | Peter Dutton has floated the idea of a referendum on giving the federal government more powers to deport criminals with dual citizenship, despite declaring 18 months ago that the Indigenous voice vote was a waste of money and Australians were “over the referendum process”. |
| Hours after the deportation proposal surfaced, the shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, played down the prospect of a referendum on the issue, stating the Coalition had “no plans” for such a vote but was keeping “all options on the table”. | Hours after the deportation proposal surfaced, the shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, played down the prospect of a referendum on the issue, stating the Coalition had “no plans” for such a vote but was keeping “all options on the table”. |
| The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on Tuesday called Dutton’s latest policy offering “bizarre”, alleging the opposition leader was seeking a distraction from his plan to slash spending and the public service. | The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on Tuesday called Dutton’s latest policy offering “bizarre”, alleging the opposition leader was seeking a distraction from his plan to slash spending and the public service. |
| The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the proposal was another “thought bubble from Peter Dutton that hasn’t made it to lunchtime”. | The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the proposal was another “thought bubble from Peter Dutton that hasn’t made it to lunchtime”. |
| Dutton previously proposed – and then abandoned – another referendum push: to symbolically recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution. | Dutton previously proposed – and then abandoned – another referendum push: to symbolically recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution. |
| Nine newspapers reported on Tuesday that Dutton was considering an election pledge for a referendum on whether the government should be able to cancel the citizenship of people convicted of serious crimes like terrorism. | Nine newspapers reported on Tuesday that Dutton was considering an election pledge for a referendum on whether the government should be able to cancel the citizenship of people convicted of serious crimes like terrorism. |
| Later on the Seven Network’s Sunrise program, Dutton said any new powers could also be used to deport people convicted of paedophilia and antisemitism offences. | Later on the Seven Network’s Sunrise program, Dutton said any new powers could also be used to deport people convicted of paedophilia and antisemitism offences. |
| Nine reported the Coalition believed a referendum was needed because of a 2022 high court ruling that found it was unconstitutional for a government minister to strip citizenship – as opposed to a judge. | Nine reported the Coalition believed a referendum was needed because of a 2022 high court ruling that found it was unconstitutional for a government minister to strip citizenship – as opposed to a judge. |
| That ruling followed a 2021 decision by the former Coalition government – of which Dutton was a senior member – to strip the citizenship of a suspected Islamic State member. | That ruling followed a 2021 decision by the former Coalition government – of which Dutton was a senior member – to strip the citizenship of a suspected Islamic State member. |
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| On Sunrise, Dutton didn’t explicitly confirm a Coalition government would consider holding a referendum but he did not deny Nine’s report. He said such a move would target people “who hate our country – who want to cause terrorist attacks”. | |
| “My argument is that if you betray your allegiance to our country in that way, you should expect to lose your citizenship,” Dutton said. | “My argument is that if you betray your allegiance to our country in that way, you should expect to lose your citizenship,” Dutton said. |
| “We would never grant somebody citizenship if we knew that they were going to undertake a terrorist act and somebody who signs the pledge of allegiance to our country, and then breaks it in such an overt way, or is involved in child paedophilia, for argument’s sake, I believe that the community standard demands that people who don’t abide by our laws and don’t respect fellow Australians and want to harm women and children, I just don’t think that they deserve priority. | |
| “If we want to keep ourselves safe, we need to make sure that the laws reflect the community values.” | “If we want to keep ourselves safe, we need to make sure that the laws reflect the community values.” |
| Asked why such a referendum was needed, Dutton said: “We can do as much as we can by legislation but, as they say, you can’t out-legislate the constitution.” | |
| “What we’re proposing here is a discussion about whether we’ve got adequate laws, whether the constitution is restrictive and, ultimately, what I want to do is keep our country safe and keep communities safe.” | |
| Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie on Tuesday not only backed a referendum but suggested Australia could have a constitutional convention. | Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie on Tuesday not only backed a referendum but suggested Australia could have a constitutional convention. |
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| “I think that would be an absolutely appropriate thing to amend our constitution [for] so we can keep Australians safe,” she told Seven. “And I think our country is mature enough to have that debate.” | “I think that would be an absolutely appropriate thing to amend our constitution [for] so we can keep Australians safe,” she told Seven. “And I think our country is mature enough to have that debate.” |
| Fellow opposition frontbencher Cash later suggested a referendum was not an immediate priority. | Fellow opposition frontbencher Cash later suggested a referendum was not an immediate priority. |
| “The Coalition is prepared to keep all options on the table when it comes to protecting our country and keeping Australians safe,” she said in a statement. | “The Coalition is prepared to keep all options on the table when it comes to protecting our country and keeping Australians safe,” she said in a statement. |
| “[But] we have no plans to hold a referendum at this stage and would only look to that option as a last resort. However, if it gets to the point where it is necessary to amend our constitution to keep Australians safe, then we believe that’s a debate our country is mature enough to have.” | “[But] we have no plans to hold a referendum at this stage and would only look to that option as a last resort. However, if it gets to the point where it is necessary to amend our constitution to keep Australians safe, then we believe that’s a debate our country is mature enough to have.” |
| Dutton’s previous referendum suggestion – part of his opposition to constitutionally enshrining the Indigenous voice in the constitution – would have symbolically recognised Australia’s First Nations people in the document’s preamble. | Dutton’s previous referendum suggestion – part of his opposition to constitutionally enshrining the Indigenous voice in the constitution – would have symbolically recognised Australia’s First Nations people in the document’s preamble. |
| He pledged to hold that referendum in the first term of a Dutton government, saying in September 2023: “I believe very strongly it is the right thing to do.” | |
| But a month later, after the failure of the voice referendum, Dutton reneged on the pledge, stating: “I think it’s clear that the Australian public is probably over the referendum process for some time.” | |
| Chalmers told ABC radio on Tuesday that Dutton was seeking to “fix his mistakes” made as part of the former government. The treasurer claimed the idea was a distraction from the Coalition’s lack of genuine policy. | Chalmers told ABC radio on Tuesday that Dutton was seeking to “fix his mistakes” made as part of the former government. The treasurer claimed the idea was a distraction from the Coalition’s lack of genuine policy. |
| “He quite bizarrely wants another referendum. I don’t think this idea will last long, just like a lot of the other things that he’s said in an effort to try and avoid talking about the economy and his cuts,” Chalmers said. | “He quite bizarrely wants another referendum. I don’t think this idea will last long, just like a lot of the other things that he’s said in an effort to try and avoid talking about the economy and his cuts,” Chalmers said. |
| “We’ve taken a different approach. We rewrote his broken laws to create a more robust system to keep our community safe.” | “We’ve taken a different approach. We rewrote his broken laws to create a more robust system to keep our community safe.” |