Victorian Labor has taken down its Facebook post about Peter Dutton and his wife after Prime Minister’s intervention

Anthony Albanese has demanded the Victorian Labor Party delete a social media post about the Dutton family after it sparked a backlash.

The Victorian Labor Party has been left red-faced after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ordered a social media post about Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and his wife, Kirilly, be deleted.

The post included a personal attack on the Duttons and featured a 2019 newspaper photo of Ms Dutton, who remarked about her husband, “he is not a monster.”

The post was captioned “We all know that one couple,” with a subheading that read, “Justifying dating your new partner to friends who don’t like him.”

The newspaper’s original front page bore the headline “My Pete’s no monster.”

Victorian senator and Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson slammed the post, describing it as a “nasty personal attack against Peter Dutton and his family.”

Victorian Labor shared this post on Facebook that was later deleted.

Mr Dutton issued a statement on Monday night saying his campaign would not target family members, such as the Prime Minister’s fiancee, Jodie Haydon.

“I can assure you: the Liberal Party I lead will not be targeting Jodie Haydon,” he said in a statement.

“I respect and like Jodie but she is not an elected official and will not be the subject of humiliation, attack ads or public smear by the Liberal Party.

“I would ask the PM to equally respect my wife.”

Shortly after Mr Dutton’s statement, the Victorian Labor Party’s post was deleted.

A spokesman for Mr Albanese on Monday night said when the post was drawn to his attention “the Prime Minister demanded it be taken down”.

“Families should be off ­limits.”

Victorian state secretary Steve Staikos earlier defended the post saying “it’s not a personal attack at all”.

“It’s supposed to be a comedic meme.”

When asked if the post used a doctored screenshot Mr Staikos said “I don’t agree”.

Premier Jacinta Allan’s office declined to comment on whether they endorsed the message.

The post comes as multiple polls show Labor’s primary vote has dived in Victoria in recent months.

It’s not the first time that Labor has personally attacked Mr Dutton.

In 2022 Labor minister Tanya Plibersek issued a grovelling apology to Mr Dutton for comparing him to a Harry Potter villain.

In a live radio interview, Ms Plibersek said Mr Dutton looks “a bit like Voldemort” – the much-feared villain in the Harry Potter series.

Ms Plibersek later said it was a “mistake”.

Originally published as Victorian Labor has taken down its Facebook post about Peter Dutton and his wife after Prime Minister’s intervention