Well, the new kind of politics didn’t last long. Second opposition question of the Labor government yesterday was from Peter Dutton. Having made his first question about the influence of the CFMMEU over Labor, he then asked the prime minister if he had “met with any of the many union bosses from the CFMMEU accused of criminal behaviour, including sexual assault, harassment and rape”.
Were we, perhaps, to finally see a fulfilment of those dark warnings repeated during the regular scandals over sexual assault and workplace conduct of the Morrison government, that Labor had plenty to hide as well?
Alas, no — when invited by Albanese to name whom he was referring to, Dutton said nothing. The next question, by his deputy Sussan Ley, shifted to specific Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) cases. And when we returned to the issue later in question time, we got a question from 2025 teal roadkill Paul Fletcher on whether Brendan O’Connor had discussed the abolition of the ABCC with the CFMMEU.
Then we got one from Melissa Price, showing all the political deftness that saw her spend her entire ministerial career in witness protection, asking Albanese about federal court comments about the CFMMEU, which the prime minister helped over the fence for six — the best Dixer he had all day — and then one from Michelle Landry repeating what appeared to be the Coalition’s new catchphrase about the government “making a bad situation worse”. Would’ve loved to have been in the focus group when they tested that one.
There is of course a debate to be had about abolishing the ABCC — albeit one that can only go badly for the Coalition, given the slump in productivity that has happened under it, along with the series of failed showtrials of unionists. And there is certainly a debate about the role of union donations in the ALP — just as there is about business donations to both the Coalition and Labor.
If Dutton wants to make an issue of the influence of political donors, more power to him. It would be a welcome development from the side of politics that has turned state capture into a business model and career ladder. Dutton should ask more questions about the influence of donors, including to his own state branch executives.
But suggesting the prime minister has associated with rapists and sexual harassers, without bothering to provide any detail, even under parliamentary privilege?
And associating with people accused of sexual assault and harassment is a strange hill to die on for the Coalition given the events of the previous Parliament — and for that matter the continuing presence on the Coalition frontbench of a man accused of allegedly assaulting a female staffer with whom he was having a relationship.
Dutton at least did us a favour in spelling out that the Coalition is going to pick up in opposition right where it left off nine years ago: happy to engage in smear, untroubled by norms and standards such as backing up allegations with evidence, and indifferent to inconsistency and hypocrisy — content to get into the sewer. Stand by for the “special investigation” by The Australian into “troubling allegations of the prime minister’s links with accused rapists”.
None of this fussed Anthony Albanese, the most experienced parliamentarian to become prime minister since John Howard, who immediately looked at ease in the PM’s chair opposite Dutton. But everything comes easy this early in the life of a government. At least he already knows the depths his opponents will plumb.
“What if they gave a culture war, and nobody came?”
Talk about not being able to read the room.
People want to see action on climate, energy and the economy…they don’t want to waste time arguing over trans-athletes, “insidious lefty agendas” in the school curriculum and all the other culture wars stuff anymore. Ditto for the union bashing. It’s all so desperately tired, Dutton’s had a couple of months to come up with something – and this is it? This is Dutton’s inspirational leadership for the future?
His team must be thrilled.
He ain’t long for the job, is my prediction. The only thing keeping him there will be that there’s no urgency in the LNP right now….when you’re already at the bottom, there’s nowhere further to fall (or is there?!? – I will stay tuned).
There’s never been a better time for the ALP to highlight the impotence and irrelevance of the opposition than now, just by staying on track and getting the important things done.
Yes, as far as I know, I don’t think any of the usual suspects have published any polls, on the public’s opinion of Dutton’s performance. Which makes me wonder if the numbers are truly dire.
Fair go, Parliament has only just started – not much material to base opinions on yet.
The material on show (dregs of the lnp) is more than enough. You don’t think the opposition are gonna get better, do you?
Well I think it’s already apparent that Dutton’s idea of ‘civilised and respectful debate’ only applies to when he is on the receiving end. Never to when he wants to keep dishing out the thuggish, Tony-Abbott-inspired, take-the-country-nowhere, nihilistic nonsense.
Only the previous times the LNP has been in opposition (or in govt for that matter). They will always be swine wallowing in the slop. They make great ambassadors for a private school education, don’t they?
Whatever may be said of the ALP, they are political philosophers of the highest order in comparison to the collection of random grifters, the intellectually and emotively challenged and the out and out nincompoops that comprise the Opposition. Is it any surprise that they cannot frame even one question around their alternative view of a futute Australia when they showed not a scintilla of interest in this topic in their 9 sorry years of trying to be low-rent Torquemadas?
As Albanese remarked, there were numerous other matters which the Opposition could have raised yesterday but they chose not to.
The CFMMEU will be the tired old chestnut of Dutton & Co’s choice whenever they have nothing to say. So expect to hear it mentioned regularly. If any union bosses have been accused of those serious transgressions at least they weren’t in federal Cabinet at the time.
Of course, no one associated with the Liberal Party has ever been accused of rape… have they?
Is that large lump of the already openly skeptical Labor-blaming media going to blame Albanese for not being able to deliver on his hope of trying to generate a better type of civil politics – ‘because Albanese has no control over Dutton’s natural first choice proclivity for diving into the cesspit of tawdry’?
“Is that a Ley around your neck?”
“No, its an albatross”
And re that Coalition “(Credlin/Limited News?) focus group”? …. From their roll-out – shouldn’t that read “f**k us group”?
What flavour is it?
It’s bleedin’ seabird flavour.
Is that a Turkey neck around your ley. No it’s a colourful scarf. Wonder when the Karen is going to go full burkha?
Bit of a glasshouse moment there for Dutto. He shouldnt throw those particular stones.