COMMENT

PETER Dutton goes where he wants and increasingly that means intruding on territory where colleagues thought they were in charge.

The Home Affairs Minister is in charge of border protection but has shown he won’t hesitate to cross portfolio boundaries when he wants, sometimes uninvited.

Mr Dutton has turned his ministry and its 23,000 staff into a vast power grid which allows him to dip into almost every major issue — from national security to immigration numbers to economic management to the very definition of being Australian.

It is a power which potentially rivals that of Malcolm Turnbull, the man who has the job of prime minister — which Mr Dutton would some day like to have for himself.

Mr Dutton, who once told business leaders to “stick to their knitting”, is stitching together an empire which has rights to cover a range of ministerial responsibilities.

This week he strode into the patch of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop by offending the South African government with his offer to take in “white farmer” refugees he says are facing death at home.

Mr Dutton has made clear he wants stronger citizenship measures, just as Citizenship Minister Alan Tudge is building his own policies on the issue.

The Home Affairs minister also was involved in winning a big military contract for a Queensland company. That was a valid effort by a Queensland minister, but also an indication Mr Dutton considers economic matters part of his responsibilities as well.

He even crossed in a hostile manner into the duties of the Victorian Police Service with claims violence by “African gangs” was being unchecked in Melbourne.

And that knitting gibe was over business leaders supporting a yes vote in the same-sex marriage postal ballot.

Mr Dutton made clear he considered the Home Affairs portfolio covered a lot of territory — and he intended to take advantage of this — in a February speech to the National Press Club.

He would not back down from being decisive: “Too often Governments are forced to act in the midst of crisis or its immediate aftermath ...”

He said his ministry “must help build a more resilient and cohesive nation; and it must help the nation grow ever more prosperous”.

Mr Dutton said: “Australia has had Home Affairs departments in various forms since Federation in 1901, but none has had the focus nor faced the challenges of the portfolio I now have the honour to lead.

“Our organisation consists of 23,500 people who share our desire for a safe and secure Australia and I am extremely proud of their work.

“This reform is the most significant change to Australia’s law enforcement and domestic security arrangements in decades and Australians expect their Government to keep them prosperous, safe and secure.”

It was a declaration of the power he had as a minister, and his intention to use it.

Closer to home, Mr Dutton will be hoping his performance is impressing voters in his Queensland seat of Dickson.

He was re-elected after a scare in July 2016. Mr Dutton ended up with 51.6 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. This was a significant drop from his tally of 56.72 per cent the previous election.

His appeal is to the so-called Liberal base — code for voters who might switch to One Nation or another far-right party.

However, if Mr Dutton’s ambitions are prime ministerial, he should know the base doesn’t win general elections. He also has to impress the electoral centre with his carriage of Home Affairs.