The worst thing about Dutton’s distraction tactics? They’re paying off

How lucky was Peter Dutton that only a few hours before the NSW Liberal Party publicly imploded, he had reignited debate on immigration and refugees by proposing a ban on all Palestinians desperate to escape the hellhole of Gaza.

While Liberals worked frantically – and unsuccessfully – behind the scenes to lodge nominations for council elections, Dutton was in an aircraft hangar, welcoming home Olympians who had covered themselves in glory. From there, he did an interview on Sky which finished on visas for Palestinians.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during Question Time.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Talk about perfect timing. For weeks after, Dutton did what he does best. He kept the focus on the government’s competence – or lack of it, smothered discussion of any other issue, and raised questions about national security which splattered ASIO, all without being quizzed over the dysfunction of a branch of the party he leads in a state vital to his election prospects.

In that first interview on Sky, he claimed people would be shocked to think “ASIO’s not conducting checks and searches on these people.” He later amended that to say whatever checks occurred were not rigorous enough and, in any case, ASIO could only act “according to the policy of the government of the day”.

Not once in the many interviews he did to ramp up the pressure on the government, and where the focus stayed on ASIO and whether it had conducted appropriate security checks, was Dutton asked about the NSW party and the debacle which disenfranchised potential Liberal voters. Hello, Deirdre.

Only days before, both when the terror threat level was raised, then again on ABC’s Insiders on August 11, ASIO director general Mike Burgess had urged politicians and media to tread carefully on the Middle East war lest they inflame community tension.

Illustration by Dionne Gain

Burgess was clearly hugely unimpressed that ASIO was then dragged into the centre of a political brawl and angry with “those who keep distorting my words”.

Last Monday, Burgess responded to my request for comment both for this column and for a passage from the Speakers Lecture, which I will deliver at Parliament House next Monday.

Burgess underlined his independence, pointedly refuting Dutton’s claim ASIO was acting under government direction. He sought to set the record straight about the triggers for security checks on Gaza, particularly in the wake of attacks from right-wing columnists (one of whom Liberals say “sits in Dutton’s office”) which members of the intelligence community say misrepresented Burgess’ remarks.

“ASIO takes a comprehensive and in-depth approach to its security checks, as defined by the ASIO Act,” Burgess said in his statement emailed to me.

“Each case is taken on its merits. We look at everything to determine if a person is a direct or indirect threat to security, not just one thing.

“Believing Palestine should be an independent state would not automatically disqualify someone, but providing material support to Hamas or harbouring extremists beliefs would be a dealbreaker.

“To be clear to those who keep distorting my words: if you support terrorism, if you support what happened on October 7, then you are a threat to security.”

Burgess, frustrated his repeated warnings to take care have been ignored, remains wary of revealing too much detail on how ASIO goes about its business, so that potential terrorists do not become familiar enough with the techniques to circumvent them.

As a former defence and home affairs minister, Dutton would know that. Just as he would know that there is not a single vote in having the focus on the internal workings of his party and on how seriously compromised it is now in NSW.

It was not until Tuesday, before the federal executive meeting which determined to take over the NSW branch, that Dutton uttered his first public words on the chaos, saying the Liberals still polled well in NSW.

Senior Liberals say it is inconceivable that Dutton was unaware the branch was dysfunctional and that it was poised to miss the noon deadline for nominations. They are equally sure he knew how dissatisfied senior figures were with the now sacked state director, Richard Shields, who has been known to describe himself as “a Dutton man”.

According to three sources, a plan was hatched to replace Shields, appointed in late September 2023, during his probationary period. They say Dutton – and his faction – scuttled it to save Shields.

NSW Liberal moderates generally accepted the only way they could possibly fight a federal election was through federal intervention; however, they fear this will now be used by the right to seize ongoing control. They predict Tony Abbott will run for the party presidency and most likely win. Appointing Richard Alston and Alan Stockdale to take charge of the clean-up, given the shape of the Victorian branch, has also riled the moderates.

They believe while the electorates of Gilmore, Bennelong and Patterson are still gettable, there is now no chance of reclaiming any of the Teal seats, and a greater likelihood that Bradfield will be lost.

Ultimately, the NSW debacle might not matter if Labor’s own cluster of clusters continues unabated. It is not a bad government, however too often things are badly handled. Allowing debacles to expand over days or weeks has become a trademark.

If Dutton continues to run the agenda, regardless of how divisive it is, if Anthony Albanese continues to compound his mistakes, as he did with the census by not fixing it properly, promptly, if the economy crashes and if he doesn’t start talking soon about his agenda for a second term – beyond getting elected – his government could make history for all the wrong reasons.

Niki Savva is a regular columnist and author of The Road to Ruin, Plots and Prayers and Bulldozed, the trilogy chronicling nine years of Coalition rule.

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