Dutton digs in for election win as polls bury chances
Jacob Shteyman |
Peter Dutton has sown doubt over the accuracy of disastrous opinion polls, as he remains bullish about his election chances.
Fresh figures from YouGov show Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on track to secure a clear majority at Saturday’s election, while the opposition leader could oversee the coalition’s worst result in 80 years.
It’s a startling decline from prior to the campaign in February, when polls put Mr Dutton on track to win government.
Still, he found plenty of supporters at an agricultural festival near Launceston on Thursday.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we can (win),” Mr Dutton said as he toured stalls advertising farming equipment, irrigation set-ups and automatic milkers.
After a challenging few weeks, the man vying to be prime minister appeared more relaxed surrounded by his base and supported by Tasmania’s Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff.
It also gave Mr Dutton an opportunity to show off his softer side, as he played with toy trucks with some up-and-coming young farmers.
Earlier in the day in Brisbane, he urged voters not to concentrate on the events of the past five weeks, but to think about how their lives had gotten worse under the Albanese administration.
“This election really is a referendum, not about the election campaign, but about the last three years of government,” Mr Dutton told reporters.
Despite cost-of-living pressures rising under Labor, voters have increased their support for the government since the 2022 election, according to YouGov.
Its modelling points to an 84-seat win for the government, well above the 76 needed for an outright majority.
Under this scenario, the coalition will drop to 47 seats: a net loss of 11.
“We should have called out Labor’s lies earlier on,” Mr Dutton said when asked whether he would have done anything differently on the campaign.
“When you have a look at what this government has done; the hurt, the personal, family hurt that the Albanese government has delivered on Australia is without precedent.”
If the party does go backwards, even Mr Dutton’s northern Brisbane seat of Dickson might not be safe.
He was back on home turf on Thursday morning to attend a Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal at an RSL club in the suburb of Bray Park.
Speculation about Mr Dutton’s demise in Dickson has accompanied every election since he first won the seat in 2001, but he has always managed to hold onto the marginal electorate.
This time, he faces a challenge from Climate 200-backed independent Ellie Smith, who joins the race with Labor’s Ali France, a candidate who has whittled the Liberals’ margin down to 1.7 per cent over two elections.
But Mr Dutton claims his presence in his electorate 48 hours before polling day isn’t an indication that he’s concerned about losing his seat.
As chair of the Salvos’ district appeal, he attended the charity drive every year, clearing whatever was on his schedule to help raise money for homelessness, family violence and addiction services, he said.
The coalition also released its policy costings on Thursday, touting a $40 billion reduction in gross debt over four years compared to under Labor.
AAP
