Government refers fate of Peter Dutton’s eligibility to Solicitor-General

PETER Dutton’s hope to overthrow Malcolm Turnbull is hanging in the balance, as the Attorney-General refers his eligibility to sit in parliament to the nation’s top lawyer.

IS PETER Dutton entitled to continue to sit in the 45th Parliament?

Triggered by the impending leadership spill between the former home affairs minister and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the eligibility of Peter Dutton to sit in Parliament has been referred to the federal government’s top legal officer for advice by Attorney-General Christian Porter, Fairfax Media reports.

In the request for assistance, Sydney lawyer Bret Walker, SC, stated that Mr Dutton was “incapable of being chosen for the 45th Parliament and is not entitled to continue to sit in the 45th Parliament”.

Is Peter Dutton eligible to continue to sit in parliament? Picture: AFP

The announcement came after a report stated that Camelia Avenue Childcare Centre in Brisbane — operated by the Mr Dutton’s family trust and owned by Mr Dutton’s wife Kirilly — has received $2.03 million in Commonwealth funding since 2014.

This comes following a change of law was enforced in July this year whereby childcare centres would receive direct subsidies from the Commonwealth as opposed to providing the money to parents to then spend it on childcare services, meaning Mr Dutton might have a direct or indirect pecuniary interest with the Commonwealth public service.

This could be a case of an office of profit under the Crown, and a disqualification from Parliament of Mr Dutton.

Malcolm Turnbull has held on to his leadership — for now. Picture: AFP

What will be the fate of Mr Dutton? Picture: AP

There is no evidence he has breached the Constitution on these grounds, and Mr Dutton has legal advice his business affairs were above board.

But Labor has also obtained advice, and it says there’s a problem.

Requested by Labor national secretary Noah Carroll in April, the advice reads: “The resolution of these issues, for the reasons that follow, leads us to the conclusion that it is clearly arguable that Mr Dutton is not eligible to so sit in the 45th Parliament and potentially not eligible to have been chosen for the 45th Parliament. We are of the view that this is the preferable argument.”

The Prime Minister kept his cool in Question Time. Picture: AFP

Labor pelted the Prime Minister with questions about the arrangements in Question Time, but the Prime Minister dealt with the questions in a businesslike manner.

Mr Dutton is part of the Liberal Party’s far-right faction, with socially conservative views and a hard-line stance on immigration.

The former Queensland Police officer was elected in the Brisbane seat of Dickson in 2001 and has held a number of big portfolios, including health, immigration and border protection.