Dutton fuels up again as campaign runs low on juice
Jacob Shteyman |
Peter Dutton is crisscrossing the country in a last-ditch attempt to secure votes as the federal election nears its conclusion.
After visiting a fresh food market in Adelaide’s northern suburbs at the crack of dawn, the opposition leader weaved his way through the suburbs of Perth, where he is targeting a swag of seats.
The coalition lost five seats there at the last election, including Pearce, Hasluck, Swan and Tangney to Labor and Julie Bishop’s old electorate of Curtin to independent Kate Chaney.
But Labor still might not have reached its high water mark in the west, with the Liberals’ grasp on Moore – the state’s most marginal seat – in doubt.
Mr Dutton made a quick pit stop at a petrol station in the northern Perth electorate – his 16th of the campaign.
Filling up Liberal candidate Vince Connelly’s “Vinny Van”, Mr Dutton once again spruiked his plan to cut the fuel excise by 25 cents.
“It doesn’t have a huge fuel tank so he doesn’t save as much as somebody driving a LandCruiser or a HiLux might, but 25 cents a litre on fuel is going to help a lot of Australians,” he said.
Mr Connelly, a former army officer, won pre-selection by defeating incumbent MP Ian Goodenough, who will contest the seat as an independent.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese enjoyed a huge 10.5 per cent swing in WA in 2022, partly attributed to the popularity of then Labor premier Mark McGowan.
Labor is still making heavy use of Mr McGowan in its advertising in WA and a better-than-expected result by his successor, Roger Cook, in the state election in March shows the party’s stocks are still high.
The coalition’s best shot of stealing a seat from Labor is in Tangney, in Perth’s south, held by former dolphin trainer Sam Lim on a tight 2.8 per cent margin.
There, Mr Dutton toured a four-wheel drive accessories store with Liberal candidate Howard Ong and gave a guarantee that life would be cheaper under his government.
“This was the prime minister’s main pitch going into the last election,” he said, as he held up a newspaper print-out with Mr Albanese claiming life would be cheaper under him on the front page.
Mr Dutton also met community members at a beachside cafe in Pearce, his fourth electorate of the day, albeit one he has little chance of winning.
Labor’s Tracey Roberts holds it on an 8.8 per cent margin.
Despite opinion polls predicting a Labor victory, Mr Dutton said he had no doubt he could still win the election.
“This election is a referendum of the performance of the Albanese government over the last three years, and it’s been a bad one,” he told reporters at the South Australian Produce Market earlier on Friday.
Mr Dutton sampled mango and apple juice from Ceravolo Orchards and, in a well-worn routine, chatted to business owner Ralph Ceravolo about the rising cost of electricity.
“I always love coming to the markets because it’s where the bush and … our rural, hard-working families meet the market,” Mr Dutton said.
Mr Dutton has another long-haul flight ahead of him, expected to return to the east coast so he can finish off his election tilt in his home state Queensland.
AAP
