Peter Dutton says he can still win election as he reveals the campaign’s toll on his family

Peter Dutton has defiantly declared he can win the election, calling it a ‘sliding doors moment’ for Australia, while taking aim at the PM’s claims he would not do a deal with the Greens to form government.

Peter Dutton admits he has made mistakes, but believes he can still win the election.

Despite pollsters tipping a Labor win next Saturday, the Liberal leader believes he can rally support from what he has termed the “forgotten Australians” – hardworking voters in outer suburban seats who he says have done “nothing wrong” but can’t get ahead.

In a wide-ranging interview as he prepares for the final stretch where he will visit 28 key seats in seven days, Mr Dutton spoke candidly about the toll the campaign has had on his wife and children, but remained resolute in his vision for a stronger country.

He wants voters to know that he does have a “softer side”: “I am an emotional person,” he said.

Asked about the Coalition campaign – including the backflips and criticisms of policies lacking detail – Mr Dutton admitted there had been “mistakes”, but that Labor had also made them. “There have been mistakes on both sides,” he said.

Liberal Leader Peter Dutton wants voters to know that he does have a ‘softer side’. Picture: Richard Dobson

As for his own mistakes, Mr Dutton said he had been too slow to “call out the lies of the Prime Minister and Labor”, including on “Mediscare” and economic management.

Mr Dutton rejected as “farcical” the claim that the Coalition had entered the campaign unprepared and light on detail.

“We’ve been working on policies for three years,” he said.

“What we haven’t had is the numbers to know whether we could fund the policies and to what extent we could fund them.

“It was economically prudent to make decisions and to announce the policy decisions when we did.

“If we had gone out there making multibillion-dollar promises not knowing the underlying numbers that would have been reckless, and that’s not what a Coalition opposition does.”

Known for shielding his family from the media, eyebrows were raised when Mr Dutton’s 19-year-old son Harry appeared at a press conference to testify to the difficulty of affording a house.

The move was interpreted as a means of softening Mr Dutton’s image, but it ended in controversy, with the wealthy Liberal leader later admitting he would one day help his son buy a home.

Asked how Harry had handled the backlash, Mr Dutton said: “His favourite comment that he read online was that he looked like Brad Pitt and I looked like Mr Potato Head.”

“My children are proud and supportive and want to do everything they can to provide support to me. They make their own decisions whether they want to appear (in public) so there is no pressure one way or another.”

Mr Dutton paid tribute to his family — children Harry, Tom and Rebecca, and wife Kirrily. Picture: AP Photo

But Mr Dutton revealed his children were impacted by negative media about their dad.

“They get upset by some of the stuff they read online and think its unfair,” he said.

“They think, ‘well that’s not dad and that’s not the person we know’, and they are naturally defensive as well.”

On his nuclear energy plan, Mr Dutton denied he had been trying to bury the policy during the campaign; rather, he said it was not front of mind for most voters.

“Frankly, for a lot of Australians, because nuclear comes in 2035-37, it’s not affecting their local community,” he said.

“I think a lot of people look at the policy and they either don’t have a view one way or the other or they are curious and are looking what the options look like, so I don’t think it’s a huge element in people’s decision at this election.”

Asked what he saw as the key issues for voters, he nominated cost of living and “how to get the cost of electricity down, groceries down”, which he said would occur under the Coalition’s energy plan.

“It’s about energy security, it’s about reforming the gas market so we can reduce the cost of wholesale gas by 23 per cent and if we do that we can bring down the cost of electricity,” he said.

Another hiccup in the campaign has been Donald Trump, although Mr Dutton will not utter his name.

Harry Dutton joined his Dad on the campaign trail to talk about the Liberals’ housing policy. Picture: Richard Dobson

Mr Dutton said there had been “a lot” of international factors that had impacted the campaign.

“It’s a factor that people see in the background,” he said.

“It’s not the deciding factor in this election.

“There is a lot of concern about the uncertainty in the world at the moment. We could well face a global recession over the next three years. There could be a war in Europe. There could be a war in the Middle East. There could be conflict in our own region.

“Australians know a weak prime minister out of his depth is not going to be able to deal with those headwinds.”

Mr Dutton also praised his wife Kirrily for standing by him, declaring she had never complained when things had been tough, such as when the family had faced security threats.

“Kirrily is stoic and has been an amazing mother and a success in her own business career,” he said.

“She has never complained about the security threats or the pressures of my job. She has always been incredibly supportive and I will be forever grateful.”

Mr Dutton said international factors had impacted the campaign, but did not name US President Donald Trump. Picture: AP Photo

In the lead-up to the first leaders’ debate, Mr Dutton learned his 79-year-old father had suffered a heart attack.

Mr Dutton said his father was now back home and “doing well”, including looking forward to his 80th birthday.

“I’ve always had a very close relationship with dad,” he said.

Mr Dutton – a self-proclaimed “failed Catholic” – said he got his “emotional gene” from his dad.

“I do have an emotional gene and I blame my father for that,” he said.

“I definitely have a softer side. I’m an emotional person. Particularly where I see, you know, stories of kids being harmed or women being harmed – the horrible, horrible circumstances surrounding the death of that young girl in NSW has been horrific. I actually struggle to read those stories. They are deeply upsetting.

“So yes, there’s a different side (of me) that people get a glimpse of on occasion.”

The Coalition is still counting on swaying the one-in-three voters who have yet to make up their minds, including in seats such as Werriwa in NSW, Ryan in Queensland, Boothby in South Australia, Bass in Tasmania and “right across regional Victoria, NSW and The Central Coast”.

Many were “forgotten people”, ordinary Australians who were aspirational and hardworking but had been left behind by a government focused on “Green voters in inner city Sydney and Melbourne”, Mr Dutton said.

“These are the areas where people are doing nothing wrong at all, in fact, they are doing everything right by working hard, and saving for their families, and they just can’t keep their heads above water,” he said.

“Their budgets are being smashed, they are paying 35 per cent more for their house insurance, their food bills have doubled, they are in some cases taking their kids out of low fee-paying schools.

“They are the real face of the mistakes that Anthony Albanese has made over the last three years.”

Mr Dutton, picture in Darwin on Saturday, has a brutal schedule ahead: 28 key seats in seven days. Picture: Richard Dobson

On the possibility of a Greens-Labor government, Mr Dutton claimed “nobody” believed Mr Albanese when he declared he would not be entering any arrangements with the Greens: “Of course he will.”

“It will be devastating,” he said. “They will spend to please a Greens audience and it will be devastating for the mining and agricultural sectors and it will mean investment will leave our shores, which has already been happening.”

Mr Dutton reaffirmed that his first international visit, should he become prime minister, would be to the United States “to manage and repair that relationship”.

“There are a number of relationships to restore, but the United States, as our most important security ally, is the first port of call,” he said.

He also revealed defence spokesman Andrew Hastie would become Defence Minister.

One of the biggest threats to Mr Dutton’s victory lap will again be the “teal” independents, although he declared their time might be up.

“There is a huge opportunity for us to win the election and really help families, bring inflation down and fix up the energy system,” he said.

“There is a lot of stake at this election.

“It is a sliding doors moment for our country.”

Originally published as Peter Dutton says he can still win election as he reveals the campaign’s toll on his family