Dutton confident he is eligible for seat in Parliament
Peter Dutton insists he is eligible to sit in parliament, as pressure mounts to refer him to the High Court over his family’s financial interest in two childcare centres.
The Home Affairs Minister has been under intense scrutiny for almost a month over the issue, with the opposition set to spend another week pursuing the matter in parliament.
Section 44 of the constitution disqualifies anyone who has a ‘‘direct or indirect pecuniary interest’’ in any agreement with the Commonwealth.
Dutton is confident legal advice from the solicitor-general and his own lawyer clears him.
‘‘These issues are being raised for political purposes. It was raised by the Labor Party in October of last year and they didn’t raise it again (until recently),’’ Dutton told reporters in Canberra yesterday.
‘‘I’m very confident of my position.’’
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who Dutton tried to overthrow before Scott Morrison narrowly won the Liberal leadership, tweeted from New York on Thursday that the minister should be referred to the court.
Julie Bishop, who was dislodged as deputy Liberal leader in the spill, has also reserved her position on voting with Labor to refer the home affairs minister.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged coalition MPs to ‘‘ventilate their feelings’’ about the situation.
Dutton declined to comment on Turnbull’s intervention and denied Bishop had indicated she would cross the floor.
He urged his colleagues to unify around Morrison, citing Shorten’s poor personal approval rating as evidence Australians
‘‘These issues are being raised for political purposes.’’ Peter Dutton
believe the
‘‘dodgy’’.
At the height of the Liberal leadership crisis, SolicitorGeneral Stephen Donaghue advised he could not categorically determine Dutton’s status and only the High Court could.
However Donaghue found on balance Dutton was ‘‘not incapable’’ of sitting as an MP.
Shorten said there needed to be clarity about Dutton’s position.
‘‘This is not just Labor saying there’s a cloud over the eligibility of a senior minister – it’s now Malcolm Turnbull, it’s now Julie Bishop,’’ Shorten told the ABC.
‘‘Having learnt the hard way myself, you’re better removing all ambiguity and submitting it to the High Court.’’ Labor leader is