23 April 2025

ALAN HAYES

 

THE collapse of Dutton, which was inevitable after tossing aside decades of Liberal beliefs, has left a once conservative party, who promoted economic liberalism and social conservatism, bereft.

 

Peter Dutton’s leadership of the Liberal Party was an unmitigated attempt to redefine the political landscape in Australia; not by the strength of his policies or vision for the country, but through a calculated strategy of divisiveness and negativity.

 

His approach could almost be ballyhooed as the similar antics to that of the ‘Mad King of America’ – royal despotism. The Dutton renaissance has come at a significant cost to the fabric of Australian politics and society; tactics characterised by relentless attacks, devoid of substantive policy proposals, which have dragged the Liberal Party further to the right but at the same time attempting to bestow a legitimacy to harmful ideologies that thrive on exclusion and fear.

 

Dutton’s leadership has pushed the Liberal Party ever to the far-right of extremism – fascist doctrine that is undeniably an age-old political tactic of culture wars and dog-whistle rhetoric.

 

But Australians have seen Dutton’s idiom for what it is - a tactic not built on a comprehensive policy platform but on exploiting social and cultural divisions for short-term political gain. And just like Trump, a narrative of being “anti-woke” and the promotion of reactionary agendas – such as opposing renewable energy while advocating for nuclear power and fossil fuels – are emblematic of this strategy. Yet the autocratic-type policy approach aligns closely with the Trumpian philosophy of looking after the interests your billionaire mates - mining magnates such as Gina Rinehart and other corporate elites, suggests a leadership more concerned with serving powerful lobbies than addressing the needs of ordinary Australians.

 

So, it goes for Dutton – in the cold light of the pre-election dawn, the man who dreamed of being King of MAGA-Australis, is in heaps of trouble. The lack of accountability of Dutton’s leadership has been exposed - fostering an insular worldview that prioritises personal convenience over collective wellbeing, and undermining the fundamental principles of a fair and equitable society.

 

If the polls are right, the Coalition is headed for defeat and Peter Dutton will fall on his not-so-royal sword.

 

Not only has the Coalition’s momentum ground to a halt – then just as quickly, it has gone into reverse -  Peter Dutton’s own personal numbers are declining, while Anthony Albanese’s are improving.

 

Dutton’s ‘big-gun-cannons’, that he so frequently boasted would ‘Make Australia Great Again’ – a MAGA-leaf out of the Mad King of America’s rule book – are now silent. They’ve simply run out of firing powder.

 

Of course Dutton’s big announcement, in his budget reply speech, was the promise that, under a Coalition government, motorists would save $14 a week on fuel - another furphy. As we previously reported, the Nine Papers fact-checked the Coalition’s claim, using the most recent motoring data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which revealed that the average motorist would actually only save just a meagre $6 a week.

 

But now Dutton’s buddy Donald Trump has destroyed any hope of garnering votes from the bogus one-year petrol bonus at the pump – the Mad King has sent oil prices plummeting with his policy chaos. Lamenting on how much it now costs to fill up the family car is no longer a hot election topic. Instead, the Coalition’s petrol-drenched policy is disappearing down the drain at the bowser.

 

Was Trump-like dynamite a smart move?

 

There’s little doubt that there is some deep reflection in the Coalition as to whether it was a smart move to load the cannons with dynamite straight out of the Trumpian playbook! Before the end of the first week of campaigning, Peter Dutton and his colleagues had their epiphany – it was a witless idea to think that Trump’s cock-and-bull political ideology would gain any sort of sustainable traction with Australians.

 

But still, it would seem that the witless approach has continued unabated – flip flopping into a campaign.

 

The first pointless volley, which left Dutton going extremely silent, before he raised the issue again only last week, was to unveil his nuclear energy plan for Australia. His costings were proven to be unreliable, which instead of providing cheaper electricity bills would have sent families into penury. And his gas reservation policy? Another flop – increasingly looking like a desperate attempt to impress voters, but instead, reeking with all the hallmarks of a cobbled-together, back-of-the-envelope job - dreamt to impress voters, who hadn’t warmed up to his flip flop policies.

 

Peter Dutton needed to become a winner. Instead, he became a dud.

 

So, what is the Coalition left with? An election campaign that has become a political debacle - poorly thought-through policies and Dutton’s indiscipline to stay on message.

 

An environment no, no

 

Welcome to the Trumpian world we now live in: say something often enough and people may end up believing it. And just when you think it could not get any more-weird, Peter Dutton’s climate denial has morphed into a madcap nuclear fantasy, with a gas reservation plan thrown into the mix.

 

The Coalition has made their position very, very clear. They don’t buy into renewables! Why? Because they think it is reckless and will ruin the environment, and the economy. And they are not particularly interested in accelerating, or even meeting, net zero emission targets.

 

But what about the environment? Well it seems that the Coalition’s concern for the environment is nothing more than lip service. Their core belief of burning fossil fuel, and even more fossil fuel, with little regard for the environment, has spilled over to their local candidate for Dobell.

 

While Mr Small, and Federal Liberal candidate for Robertson, Lucy Wicks are keen on extolling the benefits of a Coalition government, on issues regarding the environment and climate change their lips are sealed.

 

So, while the Coalition believes that renewables will destroy the environment, their own actions in Dobell tell a different story.

 

It would appear that under the cover of darkness last Wednesday night, a plethora of ‘Brendan Small election corflutes' were erected in the Dooralong and Yarramalong valleys and along Hue Hue Road. They were not there Wednesday afternoon but were boldly promoting the Dobell Liberal candidate on Thursday morning, all displayed on public land.

 

It is an offence to display any sign on public land or to affix it to any public structure. But what was different about Mr Small's signs? They had been nailed to trees – so much for the Liberal Party’s claim that they care for the environment.

 

Mr Small, no doubt, wanted to promote himself to the rural residents west of the M1 – he is a Jilliby resident.

 

The Grapevine endeavoured to contact Mr Small for comment about why his signs had been nailed to trees, but we were unable to make contact with him.

 

Mr Small can hardly deny knowledge of the illegally displayed signage. There is one in front of his premises on public land, and a number of others affixed to trees,which would not have escaped his attention, on his drive into town.

 

The matter was reported to Central Coast Council, who are responsible for ensuring that illegal signage is removed.

 

As the election clock ticks

 

With just a week-and-a-half away before the election, Peter Dutton has been caught in a dilemma - time is running out for him. His mish-mash of polices, and the polls going against both him and the Coalition, has Dutton thrashing about like a fish out of water. He is struggling to convince voters that MAGA-Australis, with all its Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum indecision, will fulfill the Coalition's slogan - "let's get Australia back on track".

 

There was a whole lot of polling over the Easter long weekend, which revealed that primary vote changes indicated a gain for Labor. The latest YouGov poll declared that if the poll results were replicated at the 3 May election, the Coalition would receive its lowest share of primary votes since the Liberal Party was formed in 1944.

 

And Dutton's nuclear plan? There must be a lot of soul searching in the Coalition as to why they ever perceived such a half-baked scheme was ever rolled out. The Daily Telegraph released polling that showed Labor's attacks on Peter Dutton's nuclear plan have cut through with voters and are driving a collapse in the Coalition's primary vote in marginal seats across Australia.

 

Dutton’s abandonment of Liberal traditions and his jump to the far-right extremism of the lunatic in America – a lunatic who now has millions of Americans screaming for his removal – will be hard to shake.

 

When Anthony Albanese confidently spoke about “kicking with breeze” a few weeks ago, he wasn’t wrong. Dutton’s ill wind is blowing well for Labor.

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