Peter Dutton on balancing interests in Home Affairs

The recently-created Home Affairs department, headed by Peter Dutton, is a behemoth that its critics fear will compromise civil liberties. But Dutton argues there should be no basis for such concerns. “There are no greater laws or arrest powers that have been introduced or a lessening of protections that have been provided for under this new arrangement,” he tells The Conversation. On the growing area of cybersecurity, Dutton says there is a need to “get the balance right” between protection and privacy. In an interview that canvasses the immigration debate sparked by Tony Abbott and the changing face of a department once focused on nation-building to one prioritising national security, Dutton also defends the time taken by the investigation into Border Force Commissioner, Roman Quaedvlieg, on paid leave since July. “I’m certain of the fact that this has been dealt with in the most expeditious way possible,” he says. Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.