Labor says an attempt to strip terrorist Neil Prakash of his Australian citizenship has backfired badly, leaving Scott Morrison to smooth over his "incompetent" minister's mistake.
Fijian officials are furious with Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton for stripping Prakash of his Australian citizenship and trying to palm the terrorist off onto their Pacific nation.
Mr Morrison is making an official visit to Fiji this week, where the matter will be discussed.
"This has caused immense embarrassment to Australia at a time right now when Mr Morrison, the prime minister, is about to go on a tour of the Pacific," shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's regrettable that we have an incompetent minister in Mr Dutton who seems more concerned about reviving his shrivelled political career than actually dealing with terrorism threats that Australia is facing."
Prakash, who is in jail in Turkey awaiting trial on terror charges, was born in Melbourne to a Fijian father and Cambodian mother.
Last month, the federal government revoked his rights as an Australian citizen because of his affiliation with the Islamic State terrorist group.
However, Fijian officials have rejected claims the Australian-born terrorist is a citizen of their country and accused Canberra of failing to consult them properly.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten delivered a tongue-in-cheek response when asked how Mr Morrison should broach the subject with the prime minister of Fiji.
"You could just blame Peter Dutton - most people do - but I don't think that would help on an international level," he told reporters in the Northern Territory.
Mr Shorten said Prakash was a "seriously bad" person and he agreed with the government's attempts to hold him to account.
However, he said it was clear the government had rushed and chased a headline.
"It's important that when we take on the bad guys and the wrongdoers that we do it the right way first time," he said.
"Providing legal loopholes which let these people off is the exact opposite of the problem we're trying to solve."
Mr Morrison said on Monday his government had been dealing with the Prakash issue over the past few weeks, including directly from leader-to-leader with his Fijian counterpart.
Mr Morrison will fly to Vanuatu on Wednesday for discussions on infrastructure development, the Pacific labour scheme, and building closer economic and cultural ties.
On Thursday he will visit Fiji for a series of official events, including a meeting with Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.
Mr Bainimarama, who met Mr Morrison in Sydney last October, is looking forward to seeing him again.
"As the first-ever bilateral visit by an Aussie PM, this will mark an historic step up in our diplomatic relationship," he tweeted.
Mr Morrison will also discuss Australian funding to transform the Black Rock Camp in Nadi into a regional training hub for South Pacific militaries, and announce details of a skills training partnership.
The prime minister has been pushing for closer engagement with the Pacific after some island nations turned to China for infrastructure development loans.
Australian Associated Press
