DUTTON IN CLOUD

HOME Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has failed to declare a million-dollar property his family owns in Townsville.

The breach of the rules is regarded as a potential “serious contempt” of Parliament.

In his official declaration to parliament, the Queensland MP listed a number of properties that form part of his family’s $5 million portfolio. But he did not declare the Townsville property.

HOME Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has failed to declare a million-dollar property his family owns in Townsville, in a blunder his office is blaming on human error.

The breach of the rules is regarded as a potential “serious contempt” of Parliament.

In his official declaration to Parliament, the Queensland MP has listed a number of properties that form part of his family’s $5 million investment portfolio.

They include properties coowned with his wife Kirilly, a Queensland businesswoman, including a luxury Palm Beach, Queensland weekender.

But missing in the new declaration is a Townsville property his family has owned for years.

Mr Dutton has previously declared that RHT Investments (QLD) Pty Ltd owned property in Townsville. The retail investment property includes three shops and was purchased in September 2016 for $760,000.

The only director, secretary and shareholder of this company is his wife.

A search of the Queensland land titles office yesterday confirmed RHT Investments (QLD) Pty Ltd still owned the property.

But in the latest declaration Mr Dutton does not declare this property under the spouse section or subsequent updates on his register of interests.

A spokeswoman told News Corp Australia it was an error.

In 2016, Labor frontbencher David Feeney was accused of a “serious contempt” of the Parliament for failing to declare a $2.3 billion investment property in Melbourne.

The political car crash that followed prompted former Labor leader Bill Shorten to send Mr Feeney to the backbench after the election. He later resigned from Parliament over the citizenship fiasco.

Under parliamentary rules, Mr Dutton is required to declare all registrable interests.

The rules clearly state MPS “shall include the registrable interests of which the Member is aware (1) of the Member’s spouse/partner and (2) of any children who are wholly or mainly dependent on the Member for support, and shall cover the following matters: (c) real estate, including the location (suburb or area only) and the purpose for which it is owned; (d) registered directorships of companies.”

MPS must also declare any rental income.

Failure to do so means an MP “shall be guilty of a serious contempt of the House of Representatives and shall be dealt with by the House accordingly”.