Editing Peter Dutton (section)

===Minister, 2004–2007===
On 26 October 2004, Dutton was appointed [[Minister for Employment Participation (Australia)|Minister for Workforce Participation]] in the [[Howard government]], following the Coalition's re-election at the [[2004 Australian federal election|2004 election]].<ref name="APH"/> He was seen as politically close to Prime Minister [[John Howard]]. In July 2005, he was one of the few government ministers to support Howard's suggestion that a national identity card be introduced as an anti-terrorism measure, with a number of cabinet ministers publicly opposing the idea.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-07-19/dutton-carries-flag-for-id-card/2061664|title=Dutton carries flag for ID card|date=19 July 2005|access-date=8 January 2025|publisher=ABC News}}</ref>

Dutton was responsible for the government's suite of "welfare-to-work" policies, which were intended to break [[generational poverty]] and [[welfare dependency]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-12-05/welfare-to-work-plan-will-ease-poverty-govt/755134|title=Welfare-to-work plan will ease poverty: Govt|date=5 December 2005|access-date=8 January 2025|publisher=ABC News}}</ref> In November 2004, he flagged that the government would be looking at measures to encourage disability support pensioners to enter the workforce.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-11-24/govt-determined-to-move-disability-pensioners-into/591216?pfm=ms|title=Govt 'determined' to move disability pensioners into work|date=24 November 2004|access-date=8 January 2025|publisher=ABC News}}</ref> The following year he announced that disability support pensioners deemed capable of working more than 15 hours per week would be moved to the [[Newstart Allowance]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-09-13/disability-pensioners-worse-off-under-welfare/2102862|title=Disability pensioners 'worse off' under welfare reforms|date=13 September 2005|access-date=8 January 2025|publisher=ABC News}}</ref> Changes were also made to rules for single parents, with recipients required to prove that they were not in a ''de facto'' relationship or face a reduced payment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-06-30/govt-defends-new-centrelink-rules-for-single/2048374|title=Govt defends new Centrelink rules for single parents|date=30 June 2005|access-date=8 January 2025|publisher=ABC News}}</ref> In April 2005, Dutton announced that single parents would be required to seek employment once their youngest children entered school or receive a decrease in welfare payments. He stated that the changes were necessary to "ensure welfare dependency is not entrenched".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/sole-parent-work-plan-attacked-20050402-gdzwgm.html|title=Sole parent work plan attacked|newspaper=The Age|date=2 April 2005|access-date=8 January 2025}}</ref>

Following a ministerial reshuffle, Dutton was appointed [[Assistant Treasurer of Australia|Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Revenue]] on 27 January 2006.<ref name="APH"/> He had previously worked closely with Treasurer [[Peter Costello]] on the welfare reforms,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/welfare-changes-will-ease-poverty-says-dutton-20051206-jg668|title=Welfare changes will ease poverty, says Dutton|date=6 December 2005|access-date=8 January 2025|first=Sophie|last=Morris|newspaper=Australian Financial Review}}</ref> and was reportedly a "strident proponent" of [[WorkChoices]], the government's industrial relations reform package.{{sfn|Blaine|2024|p=35}} He successfully retained Dickson at the [[2007 Australian federal election|2007 election]], which saw the government lose office; however, his margin was reduced to 217 votes more than Labor's Fiona McNamara.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/qld/dickson.htm |title=Profile of the electoral division of Dickson |website=Australian Electoral Commission |access-date=3 June 2017 |archive-date=4 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504110752/http://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/qld/dickson.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>