Joe Hildebrand: ‘Ordinary’ Harry’s extraordinary role exposes Dutton’s house of cards campaign

Rolling out Peter Dutton’s son as an example of a young Aussie’s struggle with the housing market, then conceding he’ll get a leg up is the latest weird development, says Joe Hildebrand.

The problem with ordinary people is that they are extraordinarily hard to find.

They’re out there — they’re everywhere — but just reaching them is hard enough, let alone trying to rope them into a public event or political campaign or media appearance.

Normal, sane people want nothing to do with that sort of kerfuffle.

And so the “ordinary people” rolled out as case studies in election campaigns often turn out to be paid actors in ads or undecided voters who are actually party members or battling mum and dad investors who turn out to have a property portfolio the size of Harry Triguboff’s.

Harry Dutton joins his father, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on the campaign trail for a second day today. Picture: Richard Dobson / Newswire

But never before have I seen a politician roll out his own son.

And this is the latest weird development in an election campaign that is getting weirder by the day.

Peter Dutton today brought his son Harry on the campaign trail for the second day in a row, which is hardly unusual.

Politicians often have their families with them for the cameras.

Harry Dutton shared his struggle to save on Monday when he joined his father in the seat of Ryan in north west Brisbane. Picture: Richard Dobson / Newswire

What is downright odd, however, is the fact that Harry was yesterday showcased as an example of a young Australian who couldn’t get into the housing market, telling reporters he had been saving like mad but “it doesn’t look like we’ll get there”.

This seemed to many a passing strange comment when his dad — who has reportedly made $30 million worth of property transactions involving 26 pieces of real estate — was standing right next to him.

The Opposition Leader also receives a taxpayer-funded salary of $432,000 and so seems almost divinely ordained to act as what Malcolm Turnbull infamously called “the bank of mum and dad”.

THE CONCESSION

But Dutton Snr was evasive when asked yesterday if he would ease his son’s financial woes, only to then concede today, as his son joined him once more on the campaign trail, that he would.

“The prime minister and I might be able to help our kids, but it’s not about us,” he said.

Quite right. So, um, what on earth was that all about then?

I’m certainly not having a crack at the Duttons — being a politician’s family is hard enough as it is — but this is yet another bizarre example of a Coalition campaign tactic that self-combusts upon the slightest contact with sunlight.

This brings us to whoever’s genius idea it was to produce a Kendrick Lamar-style rap song critiquing Anthony Albanese’s fiscal responsibility. Just imagine putting that in an email and then still hitting send.

You really have to wonder what is going on under the bonnet of this campaign.

Perhaps when Peter Dutton visits his 1657th service station this afternoon he can pop into the mechanic’s next door and ask them to put the wheels back on.

Originally published as Joe Hildebrand: ‘Ordinary’ Harry’s extraordinary role exposes Dutton’s house of cards campaign