page_title: Peter Dutton
section_title: Leadership challenges
hierarchical_section_title: Peter Dutton / Cabinet minister (2013–present) / Minister for Home Affairs (2017–present) / Leadership challenges
caption_attribution_description: Peter Dutton at the 2018 Sub-Regional Meeting on Counter Terrorism in Indonesia Peter Dutton at the 2018 Sub-Regional Meeting on Counter Terrorism in Indonesia
context_page_description: Peter Craig Dutton is an Australian Liberal Party politician serving as Minister for Home Affairs since 2017, and has served as Member of Parliament for Dickson since November 2001. Dutton served as Minister for Health and Sport from 2013 to 2014, and Minister for Immigration from 2014 to 2017 in the Abbott and Turnbull Government.
  On 18 July 2017, he was named Minister for Home Affairs and officially appointed on 20 December 2017 to lead the Department of Home Affairs, a newly created portfolio giving him oversight of ASIO, the AFP and Border Force. He previously served as Minister for Workforce Participation and Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer in the Howard Government.
  In the first August 2018 spill he challenged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for the leadership of the Liberal Party, but was defeated by 48 votes to 35. In the aftermath of the spill Dutton announced his resignation from the Second Turnbull Ministry and rejected an invitation from Turnbull to remain in the Cabinet. In the second leadership contest, Dutton was defeated by Treasurer and acting Home Affairs Minister Scott Morrison by 45 votes to 40.
context_section_description: On 21 August 2018, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called a snap ballot of the leadership of the Liberal Party following several days of feverish leadership speculation, of which Dutton was at the centre. Dutton responded to Turnbull's ballot call by formally challenging for the leadership of the party and won 35 of 83 votes available, 7 short of a majority. Dutton then resigned from the Ministry despite being offered by Turnbull to retain his position of Minister for Home Affairs, and the media speculated that Dutton and his conservative backers in the party were likely to challenge for the leadership again in the near future. Three days later, Dutton called for another leadership spill, and Malcolm Turnbull tendered his resignation to the Governor-General. Dutton was defeated by Treasurer and Acting Home Affairs Minister Scott Morrison by 45 votes to 40.
  Doubts surrounding Dutton's eligibility to be elected to parliament emerged on the grounds of section 44(v) of the Australian Constitution, as the family trust owned by Dutton operated a child care centre that received over $5.6 million in funding from the Commonwealth Government, in a situation similar to Bob Day's case.  Although Dutton had received legal advice stating that he was not in breach of section 44(v), Labor had received contrary advice; at Turnbull's request, the Attorney-General referred the matter to the Solicitor-General. On 23 August, Labor attempted to move a motion to refer Dutton's eligibility as an MP to the High Court, in a similar manner to referrals made during the recent parliamentary citizenship crisis. The motion failed by 69 votes to 68. On 24 August, the Solicitor-General advised that in terms of section 44(v) Dutton was "not incapable" of sitting as an MP, although he added that he had been provided with limited factual information and that, owing to differences of judicial opinion in earlier decisions of the High Court on section 44(v), Dutton's legal position could not be entirely clear without a referral to the High Court. 
  Dutton was reappointed to his former Home Affairs portfolio by Scott Morrison in the Morrison Ministry, however the duty of Immigration was stripped from the role and was assigned to David Coleman.
caption: Dutton representing Australia at the 2018 Sub-Regional Meeting on Counter Terrorism in Indonesia
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