Dutton goes off script, labels Albanese a ‘child in a man’s body’

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has launched a strikingly personal attack on Anthony Albanese, deriding the prime minister as a fraud, an appeaser and a “child in a man’s body” as he vowed to override premiers opposed to the construction of nuclear-power plants in their states.

Dutton’s comments – delivered to an audience of Liberal Party politicians, administrators and party activists in Sydney on Saturday – represent a significant escalation in the opposition’s rhetoric and a potential preview of election campaign attack lines the Coalition will deploy in attempting to paint Albanese as a weak leader.

Dutton unveiled long-awaited details on Wednesday of his pledge to build nuclear reactors in Australia, stating that two nuclear plants would produce electricity by the middle of next decade and be built with public funding under a government-owned business model.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton with colleagues Simon Birmingham (left) and Sussan Ley at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney on Saturday.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Departing from written notes distributed to media outlets ahead of his speech, Dutton said that cartoon memes about the safety risks of nuclear posted on social media by senior Labor politicians in recent days – including three-eyed fish and koalas – showed “the juvenile nature of our prime minister”.

“He’s a man with a mind still captured in his university years. He’s a child in a man’s body,” Dutton told the Liberal Party’s federal council, declaring that “we need a mature conversation in this country” on nuclear power.

Labelling Albanese “a political appeaser, not a leader of conviction”, Dutton said: “Whatever audience Mr Albanese is addressing, he tells them what they want to hear, not what needs to be said.”

He continued: “I think Mr Albanese is a decent man who cares deeply about his country, but I believe he is completely out of his depth as prime minister.”

Dutton said Albanese had told West Australians he was committed to the gas industry while assuring Canberrans that no taxpayer funds would be spent on gas projects under his Future Made in Australia plan.

“The people of the great state of Western Australia can pick a fraud from the east coast, there’s no doubt about that. And they picked a fraud in this prime minister,” Dutton said in another line that was not included in his speech notes distributed to the media.

Assistant Climate Change Minister Jenny McAllister criticised Dutton for launching personal attacks instead of mature debate.

“Peter Dutton could’ve answered the many questions Australians have about his risky nuclear plan but all they got was more of the same negativity and politics,” she said.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones responded on social media to Dutton’s speech by saying the Opposition Leader was “revealing his angry nasty side once again”.

Dutton addressed reaction from state premiers that they would oppose the construction of nuclear power plants in their jurisdictions by saying: “I will work respectfully and collaboratively with state premiers, but I don’t answer to them.”

“Commonwealth laws override state laws … so support or opposition at a state level won’t stop us rolling out our new energy system,” he said.

Responding to Dutton’s remarks, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said: “There is no plan that sits behind Peter Dutton and his Liberal National colleague’s announcement to bring a nuclear power plant to Victoria ... We’ll continue to stand with the Gippsland community and stand against this toxic, risky, uncertain pathway that Peter Dutton wants to go down.“

Premier Chris Minns told NSW parliament last week that Labor would not repeal the legislated ban on nuclear-produced energy in the state and that there was no future for nuclear energy in NSW.

After coming under attack for declining to release the cost of his nuclear power plan, Dutton said on Saturday that Australians will “soon see” details of how much the policy costs.

The Smart Energy Council, which represents renewable energy firms, released an analysis showing the opposition proposal would cost at least $116 billion and as much as $600 billion.

The Smart Energy Council said that, based on figures from the CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator, the capital cost of replacing the nation’s existing coal capacity with five large nuclear reactors and two small nuclear reactors from 2035 would be at least $116 billion.

That price could be far higher when the costs of compulsory acquisition of sites and storage of nuclear waste are taken into account, the council said.

Dutton has previously dismissed a CSIRO report that found renewable energy sources such as wind and solar were the most affordable sources of new energy production in Australia, with nuclear power the most expensive, calling the finding “discredited”.

Citing polls showing increasing support for nuclear power in Australia, Dutton said: “Australians are increasingly doing what the government doesn’t want them to do – thinking pragmatically and for themselves.”

Dutton’s speech also touched on housing, saying Australians “want a sensible discussion on how we can alleviate the national housing crisis without being labelled anti-migrant or racist”.

“We are not a racist country and we are proud of our migrant story,” Dutton said, alluding to controversial recent remarks by senior ABC journalist Laura Tingle in which she described Australia as a racist nation.

Saying that he believed it was likely Albanese would call an early election, Dutton told the crowd of party loyalists: “Fellow Liberals, friends – do I think the Coalition can win the next election? We can, and we must.”

Aware that the cost of living is set to be the dominant election issue, even amid a heated debate on nuclear power, the government will on Sunday release new analysis on the impact of its overhaul of the stage three tax cuts, which come into effect from July.

For example, the tax cuts will save couples with children on average $3845 a year, or $74 a week, compared to the previous plan.

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