Peter Dutton has made history, but not in the way he hoped

SBS Australia

03-05-2025

Peter Dutton became Liberal leader in 2022. Source: SBS News Opposition leader Peter Dutton has lost his Brisbane seat of Dickson.
He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the Australian House of Representatives since 2001.
Dutton has held several significant positions in successive Coalition governments, including stints as the minister for home affairs, health and defence. Opposition leader Peter Dutton was hoping to make history as the first Opposition leader to unseat a first-term government in 100 years. Instead, he has made history as the first Opposition leader to lose his seat at a federal election. has snatched the electorate by at least a 9 per cent margin — a remarkable result after two previous runs for Dutton's long-held seat. "Dickson had a one-term curse, it was only ever held for one term at a time and we have held it for 24 years," Dutton said in his concession speech. "I do want to say thank you to the people of Dickson who have placed faith in me over a long period of time."
It's the same electorate where his great-grandparents worked as dairy farmers in the 1860s. As Dutton's 24-year career as Dickson's federal member comes to an end, here's a rundown of his life and career so far.
Dutton joined the Queensland Police at the age of 18, where he worked as an officer for several years before becoming a detective. There, he investigated the high-profile murder of 17-month-old-baby, Deirdre Kennedy. The case became a catalyst to change Queensland's , with Dutton travelling around Queensland to petition for the cause. He later studied at the Australian Federal Police College and held positions in the National Crime Authority and Drug and Sex Offenders' squads.
Paul Williams is a political commentator and professor at Griffith University. He credits Dutton's background in policing as playing a critical role in shaping his views on issues including security and immigration. "If you ask people to list his [Dutton's] qualities, they would say: 'We like his position on immigration. We like his position on law and order.'" Dutton has he likely suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and said his time in law enforcement has left him with "scars". Before his time in Canberra, Dutton also worked with his father in the building business, which he says grew to employ 40 Australians.
In 2001, Dutton defeated Labor frontbencher Cheryl Kernot for the seat of Dickson and caught the attention of then Liberal prime minister John Howard. In a letter to Dickson voters during the 2019 election, Howard wrote: "Some politicians fly to Canberra and forget where they come from — Peter is not one of them. "In my experience, he is a genuine, hardworking local member."
Dutton quickly climbed the political ladder; in less than four years he had secured his first ministerial position, heading up the Department of Workforce Participation. By the time the Coalition returned to power under Tony Abbott in 2013, Dutton had already held an array of portfolios including finance, health and ageing. But it was during Dutton's tenure as the minister for immigration and border protection that he really started to make headlines. In 2016, Dutton announced the closure of several offshore detention facilities, including the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre in Papua New Guinea. It was a move that sparked protests. Dutton later admitted, "I'm sure mistakes were made and decisions were rushed." But he also defended the decision stating: "When I speak to the Border Force staff and the sailors at sea, they were pulling a 1,000 people a week off boats, they were pulling bodies out of the water of children that'd been eaten by sharks and the rest."
Dutton has been a staunch critic of China, calling it Australia's biggest security threat in the final . He has endorsed international partnerships such as the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, which his office said, "will play a vital role in sustaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region". In a speech to the Lowly Institute last month, Dutton acknowledged that, while Labor also supported the AUKUS deal, "their heart isn't in the game when it comes to defence". He also cited his experience as home affairs and defence minister as providing him the "respect" to deal with US President Donald Trump.
Senior Labor figures have criticised Dutton from multiple angles. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has Dutton of reading "from the DOGE [ US Department of Government Efficiency ] playbook", while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC he believes the Opposition leader has "darkened his own image". In 2008, Dutton was the only Liberal frontbencher not to appear during the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. He has since apologised stating he "failed to grasp" the "symbolic significance" of the moment at the time.
The Coalition leader also opposed the 2023 Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. Days after the referendum failed, Dutton his prior commitment to recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution and said people are "probably over the referendum process for some time". He also vowed to cut public 41,000 public servants from Canberra, a move which has also been criticised as Trumpian. But Williams from Griffith University believes the comment was simply "unfortunate" timing. "I don't think he took his inspiration from Trump and [Elon] Musk ... I think it was a Dutton thought bubble".
Dutton has been married twice and has three children. There are not many public details about his first wife, other than that he married at the age of 22 and the relationship only lasted a few months.
He also has a daughter, who was born from another short-lived relationship. In an interview with ABC's Kitchen Cabinet, he called her "the best mistake I ever made". Dutton also has two adult sons with his second wife, Kirilly Dutton. In a joint appearance on television earlier this year, she described her husband as a "great mate, a good son and an excellent dad". Visit the to access articles, podcasts and videos from SBS News, NITV and our teams covering more than 60 languages.