Dutton goes in hard over Prakash

Mark Dreyfus has been accused of defending terrorist Neil Prakash after questioning the government’s handling of his case.

Neil Prakash is awaiting trial on multiple terror charges.

The Coalition has launched another attack on Labor over national security with Peter Dutton accusing Mark Dreyfus of defending terrorist Neil Prakash after the Labor frontbencher questioned the government’s handling of his case.

Under questioning from Mr Dreyfus yesterday, the Department of Home Affairs admitted it did not consult experts on ­Fijian citizenship when drawing up advice on stripping Prakash of Australian citizenship.

The incident caused a diplomatic dispute with Fiji earlier this year.

After Mr Dreyfus accused the government of “making a hash” of the case, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he was ­“behaving like a defence lawyer” and showing he could be a “handbrake” on national ­security.

“He can defend Prakash all he likes. My job is to keep Australians safe and my priority is to keep Prakash, who is a known terrorist, from wandering the streets in our country,” Mr Dutton said.

Mr Dutton moved to strip the Australian-born Islamic State recruiter of his Australian citizenship last year, citing advice from his department that ­Prakash was entitled to Fijian citizenship.

Prakash was born in Melbourne to a Cambodian mother and Fijian father. He is in Turkey awaiting trial on multiple terror charges.

Australian citizenship can be stripped only if the person is also a dual citizen, but Fiji’s immigration director, Nemani Vuniwaqa, said there was no evidence of Prakash ever being a Fijian citizen.

Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton. Picture: AAP

Fijian immigration officials have said they were not informed of Canberra’s decision to strip Prakash of his citizenship.

Officials told a hearing of parliament’s intelligence committee yesterday that the Fijian government was informed of the move in September, with the message conveyed by Australian diplomats in the country.

After being prompted by ­Coalition members of the committee, Home Affairs officials rejected Labor suggestions the dispute had affected diplomatic relations.

The committee was meeting to examine a proposed Coalition bill seeking to strengthen the government’s ability to strip ­citizenship, particularly targeting terrorists who are up for release from Australian prisons in the next couple of years.

Opposition members of the committee said a central argument against the bill was that legal academics said it might not be constitutional.