It wouldn’t be the lead-up to Christmas in Australia without conservative outrage that January 26 celebrations might be cancelled.
Before he went on leave Wednesday morning, Peter Dutton made one last press conference appearance, and he didn’t disappoint: high up on his list of grievances was a professed sense of horror at the idea that Australia Day celebrations are being undermined.
Facing reporters in Melbourne, Dutton suggested that the high commissioner in London should quit over his failure to guarantee the national day would be celebrated in the usual fashion.
“I think the high commissioner in London — if he’s not prepared to celebrate Australia Day, if he’s ashamed of Australia Day — then, frankly, I think he should be looking for a new job,” Dutton said.
In the minds of Dutton’s team, the lead-up to Christmas has offered a rich buffet of topics over which to attack the government. There is a cost-of-living crisis and high rates, and Wednesday’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook report gave the opposition no reason to think those attack lines would become blunted.
There was also the High Court’s immigration detention decision, which came as an early Christmas present to the opposition and which continues to be an effective issue to hammer the government over.
Dutton has reasons to feel good about the political year he’s had, an insider told Crikey, given his No side in the Voice to Parliament debate prevailed. Riding high off that win, Dutton was able to use the High Court decision to effectively set the policy agenda in the final few sitting weeks of the year.
At the press conference, Dutton even made a derisive reference to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese being on holiday, even though his own preparations to take leave were well underway. He’s nothing if not cheeky.
When Albanese returns to work on Thursday, Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley will be steering the opposition. She’s understood to be planning to continue exploring the same themes Dutton did in his final weeks of work, particularly the cost of living.
Are you still celebrating Australia Day? Or have you joined the boycott? Let us know by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
Why give him oxygen? His every silly, malicious, misleading or untrue utterance is given prominent exposure, including by GA and ABC. I don’t recall Labor LOTOs being given the same publicity.
Say, I’m loving this website upgrade, where absolutely nothing has visibly changed. Still not so much as an edit button.
Say, I’m loving this website upgrade, where absolutely nothing has visibly changed. Still not so much as an edit button.
Just because you don’t see the change immediately, doesn’t mean that nothing has changed. With comments gone so long I reckon the changes have to do with streamlining the moderation process.
Let us test this proposition. Rupert Murdoch. News Corp. Gaza. Bruce Lehrman.
Oh, look, the unmentionables got in. Wonder how long it took?
For the record, I sent a list of four unmentionable names as a reply at 13.15. Seven minutes later, the modbot is still examining them.
Agree. I would also like to see the Comment box made expandable by dragging down on the lower left corner, as one can do with Nine Mastheads’ Comments section.
Oops – lower RIGHT hand corner.
Nine no longer do LEFT.
I’ve noticed one change: previously you could find your old comments from what looked like a settings icon above the comments. Maybe it’s moved but I can’t find this feature now.
If Ugly Australia had a face ….
…it would look like a potato
Whenever Dutton dog-whistles, the media dogs come running.
I have no idea why the ABC gives the opposition’s inane contributions as much time as they do. Ita’s “balance’? Surely the value of a contribution should be weighted in. Why the constant chorus of ‘No No No’ gets as much airtime as cabinet ministers’ productive policies (for the good of all Australians rather than just the LNP donors).
Having Dutton given airtime on news bulletins is a waste of time and space. When has he ever contributed anything or not made a complete hash of it (when the LNP had the reins)?
Part of the RW ‘media assembly line’ (Jane Mayer/Dark Money), that not only filters or influences what audiences think on a limited range of ‘wedge’ issues, but changes how they ‘think’, or not.
This is all Labor’s fault. All they care about is maintaining power, which to them means putting a velvet glove on the Coalition’s iron fist.
We could have had the Labor government setting the political narrative with radical reform. We’d have an increasingly aggressive and hysterical opposition standing in the way of real social, economic and environmental change.
Instead we have a government so obsessed with maintaining their seats on the government benches that they’re willing to support a right wing agenda, a small target. It hasn’t worked. All we’ve got is the Opposition setting the agenda. As far as I’m concerned nothing has changed since May 2022.
^Found the progressive that Bernard Keene referred to in his article today
Albanese, like Rudd before him, vastly prefers snuggling up to the Coalition rather than talking reasonably to progressives.
Move there bloody date.. Commonsense needs to prevail