Defence Minister Peter Dutton wants a khaki election to help the Coalition boost its chances at the polls, and he’s wasted no time reframing everything in war metaphors.
It’s hardly a unique tactic — or an unexpected move by Dutton, who has long pushed for extra cash for his portfolio. But with an election looming, war rhetoric has ramped up, most recently from the Coalition partyroom.
Here are the five steps the government is taking to frame a khaki election:
1. Pick an enemy
Australia and China’s relationship has been in freefall, exacerbated by the pandemic and Australia’s push for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.
But the government isn’t stopping there. Dutton says Australia would go to war with China over Taiwan, and accuses Labor’s Senate Leader Penny Wong of not taking a stand against China. In response, Wong has accused Dutton of “amping up the threat of war” in a “dangerous” pre-election tactic.
2. Frame the opposition as weak
In the Coalition’s partyroom briefing yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison launched a low-blow attack on Labor leader Anthony Albanese.
“Do you remember him crying after [former prime minister Kevin Rudd] lost his job?” Morrison said, referring to Albanese daring to show emotion a decade ago.
He’s used the strategy of toxic masculinity before, attacking Labor MP Jim Chalmers for “being sensitive” for crying at the same event (though this rhetoric is now being used as examples of Morrison’s sexism).
In question time yesterday, Dutton continued arguing Labor was a pushover when it came to defence.
“I can assure this weak leader of the opposition that you don’t deter an adversary and you don’t maintain peace in our region from a position of weakness,” he said to Albanese.
Previously he’s accused Labor of “crab-walking” away from the AUKUS defence agreement and warning the Greens’ “peace and demilitarisation” policy would threaten Australia’s national security.
3. Start petty fights
When Australia pushed for China to be grilled in the United Nation’s COVID inquiry, it made international headlines. But taking a step back, what it pushed for wasn’t as strong as the public was made to believe.
In May, Australia supported a European Union draft motion calling for an “evaluation” of the outbreak by some of the WHO’s independent review committees. That was it. We paid a high price for it too, with China following with sanctions on Australian trade worth more than $20 billion a year.
In late 2020, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, posted a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child in response to a damning report about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.
Lijian is neither a politician nor a diplomat, but the image immediately caused Morrison to call on national TV for an apology from Beijing. While the image was offensive, the fight was a glorified Twitter spat.
4. Align yourself with the military
The 2021-22 budget included a 4.1% increase in Defence spending, totalling $44.6 billion. But it’s not enough. Dutton is pushing for $50 billion, a whopping 2.5% of Australia’s GDP, following the AUKUS agreement and investment in our bungled submarines.
In comparison, the US spends about 3.5% of its GDP on defence, though China spends just 1.7% — although this equates to about $350 billion a year.
Morrison has also been notably present at Defence bases, including a red-carpet reception in May at the RAAF base Williamtown (which was later revealed didn’t follow standard Defence protocol).
5. Evoke war metaphors at every chance
War metaphors in politics are nothing new, although Morrison’s call yesterday for his government to “unite” as rebel MPs withheld votes brought the rhetoric into new territory.
“[Labor] are doing tactics that are appalling. They’re raising money. They’re getting ready to get rid of you,” he said in yesterday’s partyroom briefing.
“The person to the left of you and the person to the right of you … these are the people you need to get to go into battle for you. You must look after your mate and get them across the line.”
Yepp! We are well epuipped to mix it with China, we can attack and surround them.
After all, Chia has been fighting wars ever since dynasties and we have Dutton the first guy over the trenches into battle with sky pilot Sco Mo right behind.
Dutton himself would scare the Chinese into surrendering.
Have Dutton or Morrison ever served in the military? Yet another coalition windup for war using other people’s relatives/children. Let’s see Mr Potato Head put his money where his mouth is…
I’d rather not see his head, his mouth or his money.
It is one thing for us to send mercenaries to Yemen or SAS hit squads to butcher Afghans under the reassuring umbrella of the US Imperial Death Star. It is quite another to seriously imagine a war with China (and Russia too don’t forget). Should such a ghastly stupidity happen, we would quickly suffer major losses of people and equipment, and should such a war escalate, as is horribly likely, then US bases (and Australian military establishments) would be targets, nuclear targets.
For Du**on to beat the war drum as he has been doing is hideously irresponsible. I would love just one stenographer from the monopoly media to ask him, Minister, how many Australians do you think will die in your war with China?
It would be easier to ask how many would survive ie: none.
Can we please revoke this clown’s citizenship? He is a threat to national security and should at least be arrested and detained (indefinitely) under several of our new anti terrorism laws. Likewise Morrison. In any case, they’re all criminally insane and should be put away, if you think about it. And that’s without considering their crimes against the environment for which our descendants will be paying a thousand years from now.
Not a rant. True.
The toxic masculinity trick didn’t present too well on 7.30 last night in exposing a young member of the ADF being physically abused by colleagues in a lengthy video. The stunts beggared belief.
Dutton should take his beady eyes off China for a while until he’s ensured we have a smoothly functioning & exemplary defence force. It’s called getting one’s own house in order.