Why Peter Dutton must go in for the kill in tonight’s debate
Peter Dutton is running out of time to turn the polls around, which makes tonight’s debate all the more crucial, writes James Morrow.
Analysis
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Peter Dutton is running out of time to turn the polls around, which makes tonight’s debate with Anthony Albanese all the more crucial.
Having turned in a strong performance at the Sky News Peoples’ Forum, the opposition leader now has to best his own effort a week ago.
He can do this if, quite simply, he gets out of his own way.
While hardly the massive reform agenda the country inarguably needs, Peter Dutton comes armed with more than decent policies, particularly around housing and immigration.
The key for him will be threefold.
One, he must explain his policies in clear terms that people can understand in a sentence.
Two, in doing so, he must humanise his policies with clear real life examples: Not an anonymous young couple, but actual people with names he’s dealt with.
And finally, he must go in for the kill on Labor’s policies which are fraught with dangers, from adding tens of billions more to the deficit to setting the country up for a local version of the subprime mortgage crisis by telling first home buyers they only need a five per cent deposit.
But Anthony Albanese, ahead in the polls, isn’t out of the woods yet.
The format – a one-on-one debate, not a town hall – plays to Dutton’s strengths, and denies the prime minister the chance to make human connections as he did at the Sky News forum.
At that event, asking about an audience member’s grandkids was an instant win with the crowd, but he won’t have the chance here.
As well, Albanese needs to show the same message discipline that has characterised this campaign, and set it apart from his performance in the weeks leading up to the 2022 election which was often shambolic.
And, if he stumbles, he can be guaranteed that any more than minor blunder will be put on endless repeat through the Easter campaign lull.
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Originally published as Why Peter Dutton must go in for the kill in tonight’s debate
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