Dutton floats a referendum on deporting dual citizens

Peter Dutton has floated the idea of a referendum to give future governments the power to deport dual citizens found to be criminals.

But the Opposition Leader’s proposal was immediately shot down by his own shadow attorney-general, Michaelia Cash, saying it was only being considered as a “last resort”.

It has allowed Labor to describe the plan as just “another thought bubble” from Mr Dutton.

In 2022, the High Court ruled it unconstitutional for any government minister to remove citizenship from dual nationals who had committed serious crimes.

During a morning television interview on Tuesday (18 March), however, Mr Dutton said he’d like to have a national vote with a view to changing that part of the Constitution.

“I want to keep our country safe,” the Opposition Leader said.

“That’s the first priority, and it’s the first responsibility of any Prime Minister, and at the moment, we’ve got people in our country who hate our country, who want to cause terrorist attacks.

“My argument is, if you betray your allegiance to our country in that way, you should expect to lose your citizenship … What we’re proposing here is a discussion about whether we’ve got adequate laws, about whether the Constitution is restrictive and, ultimately, what I want to do is keep our country safe and keep communities safe.”

Australians don’t take changing the Constitution lightly, and only a few have been successful.

They are also expensive to hold.

The failed 2023 Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum cost taxpayers $450 million, which Mr Dutton repeatedly criticised as a waste of time and money.

“The Constitution is the rule book, and people don’t change it lightly, and they need good reason to,” he said.

“With the Voice, it was the wrong issue for the government to put to the people. It could have been dealt with by legislation … If we believe that we want to keep people safe if you want to keep your kids safe, and we want to keep kids safe in our community, then I don’t think you can put a price on that.

“But you can deal with community safety at the same time that you can make good economic decisions to help people deal with Labor’s 30 per cent increase in grocery prices.

“So that’s how we would approach it.”

Senator Cash had a few things to say herself on the issue, with her office issuing a statement in response to media enquiries about her leader’s remarks.

“The Coalition is prepared to keep all options on the table when it comes to protecting our country and keeping Australians safe,” it said.

“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.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers described Mr Dutton’s proposal as a “bizarre” plan to deal with an important issue.

“He quite bizarrely wants another referendum,” Dr Chalmers said.

“I don’t think this idea will last long, just like a lot of the other things that he said, in an effort to try and avoid talking about the economy, and his cuts.”

Anthony Albanese went even further at a media conference when asked about Mr Dutton’s proposal.

The Prime Minister dismissed it as another example of what he says is the Opposition Leader making policy on the run.

“This is another thought bubble from Peter Dutton that has not made it to lunchtime,” the PM said.

“This has not been thought through. It is not clear where this has come from.

“Peter Dutton wants to talk about anything but cost of living.”