“I do want to say thank you to the people of Dickson who have placed faith in me over a long period of time.”

Good cop, bad cop?

He later studied at the Australian Federal Police College and held positions in the National Crime Authority and Drug and Sex Offenders’ squads.

Dutton said he had a “fairly sheltered” life before policing and can still remember the trauma of working on crime scenes. Credit: Office of Peter Dutton

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.

Before his time in Canberra, Dutton also worked with his father in the building business, which he says grew to employ 40 Australians.

Climbing the political ladder

“In my experience, he is a genuine, hardworking local member.”

In 2001, Dutton was elected as the Liberal candidate for Dickson, Queensland. Credit: Nathan Richter

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.

“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.”

In 2016, refugee activists protested outside Dutton’s electoral office about a baby girl, known as Asha who sustained injuries while in detention on Nauru. Source: AAP / Dan Peled

Dutton has been a staunch critic of China, calling it Australia’s biggest security threat in the final .

He also cited his experience as home affairs and defence minister as providing him the “respect” to deal with US President Donald Trump.

Dutton and diversity

He has since apologised stating he “failed to grasp” the “symbolic significance” of the moment at the time.

“I don’t think he took his inspiration from Trump and [Elon] Musk … I think it was a Dutton thought bubble”.

Making the political personal

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.

Dutton has been photographed alongside his wife and three children, branding himself the family man. Credit: (1) The Australian / Lyndon Mechielsen, (2) Peter Dutton, (3) AAP / Mick Tsikas, (4) AAP / Lukas Coch, (5) Nigel Hallett

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”.