Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s $375m bid to put law and order at top of election agenda

Opposition Leader and former police officer Peter Dutton will unveil his plan to “crack down on crime from the border to the backyard”.

Peter Dutton is moving to put law and order at the front of the federal election with a $375 million pledge to tackle organised crime, illegal drugs and child sex offenders.

The Opposition Leader, who was a police officer before entering politics where he then held senior national security roles, will on Monday announce plans to launch Operation Safer Communities, a “crack down on crime from the border to the backyard”.

The new measures include the creation of a National Drug Enforcement and Organised Crime Strike Team backed by $355m in additional funding to combat the “scourge” of illicit drugs at a national level, which brings the Coalition’s total crime safety package to $750m.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at an informal Easter Sunday barbecue in Ipswich in the electorate of Blair, Queensland. Picture: Richard Dobson / NewsWire

Mr Dutton will also commit $21.3m for a 12-month pilot of a National Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme to allow members of the public to request information from police about whether an individual who interacts with their children is a convicted sex offender.

Modelled on existing programs operating in Western Australia and the UK, the scheme would allow police to disclose relevant information to parents or guardians who request it on a case-by-case basis.

It would be limited to situations were individuals subjected to the check have a genuine relationship to the child.

Police may determine it is appropriate to share the information in examples such as a single parent who is moving in with a new partner, or a someone looking to leave their child in the care of a neighbour or friend.

Peter Dutton as a young police officer. Picture: 60 Minutes.

Meanwhile, the Coalition’s organised crime crackdown would include placing dedicated Australian Federal Police teams in each state and territory led by a national leadership group and supported by specialist financial investigative and legal teams focused on issues like illegal drug, tobacco and vape trades.

The opposition is expecting this will result in a significant increase in the seizure of criminal assets and proceeds of crime, which would then be reinvested into communities.

It follows previous commitments to upgrade Australia’s screening and detection capabilities to intercept drugs at the border, crack down on the importation and distribution of “date-rape drugs” used in drink spiking incidents, and provide $7.4m over three years in additional funding to Crime Stoppers.

Mr Dutton has also pledged $169m to double funding for the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, and invest $6m in e-safety education through the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton with the family dog Ralphie as he attended an informal Easter Sunday BBQ in Ipswich in the electorate of Blair in Queensland. Picture: Richard Dobson / NewsWire

Mr Dutton said he had the “experience and determination” to stand up to the outlaw motorcycle gangs and organised crime syndicates.

“These crime gangs are selling drugs to the people who are breaking into homes and stealing valuables to pay for their drug habit,” he said.

“They are the people who are purchasing your car when it’s stolen from your home.”

Mr Dutton said the child sex offender scheme was an “idea whose time has come”.

“As a former police officer, and as a father, I have always fought for the protection of children from harm,” he said.

“The scheme will serve as a powerful deterrent to offenders and importantly will enable parents to be fully informed about their child’s safety.”

Originally published as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s $375m bid to put law and order at top of election agenda