Dutton’s home affairs

Who took the minister’s self-isolation “selfie”?

How is COVID-19 positive Peter Dutton doing? “I’ve been discharged from hospital and am at home self-isolating with my dog Ralph,” Dutton tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, with a snap of his elusive smile. But who took the photo? With one arm around his pooch and the other by his side, it’s hardly a selfie. His office said he’s iPhone savvy and used the self timer. “I’m feeling much better,” the Home Affairs Minister wrote from Brisbane. Dutton was released on Monday, he said, because the hospital needed his bed for another patient. Hours later he phoned into Peta Credlin’s Sky News show and claimed to have shaken off his symptoms. But he doesn’t know when he can return to work. His wife and kids have temporarily moved out; they were at home with him before he went to hospital. “They haven’t yet shown any symptoms, thank god.” Nor have his close friends or staff, he told Nine’s Today on Tuesday morn. “I only had a mild case,” the minister added. “But I was pretty, you know, pretty militant about the hand sanitiser,” he insisted. That hasn’t stopped the Sunshine Coast Uni deep-cleaning its brand new Moreton Bay campus, which Dutton officially opened on March 9.

How is COVID-19 positive Peter Dutton doing? “I’ve been discharged from hospital and am at home self-isolating with my dog Ralph,” Dutton tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, with a snap of his elusive smile. But who took the photo? With one arm around his pooch and the other by his side, it’s hardly a selfie. His office said he’s iPhone savvy and used the self timer. “I’m feeling much better,” the Home Affairs Minister wrote from Brisbane. Dutton was released on Monday, he said, because the hospital needed his bed for another patient. Hours later he phoned into Peta Credlin’s Sky News show and claimed to have shaken off his symptoms. But he doesn’t know when he can return to work. His wife and kids have temporarily moved out; they were at home with him before he went to hospital. “They haven’t yet shown any symptoms, thank god.” Nor have his close friends or staff, he told Nine’s Today on Tuesday morn. “I only had a mild case,” the minister added. “But I was pretty, you know, pretty militant about the hand sanitiser,” he insisted. That hasn’t stopped the Sunshine Coast Uni deep-cleaning its brand new Moreton Bay campus, which Dutton officially opened on March 9.

Dutton’s desk set-up (behind a tap and a fruit bowl) shows where he is dialling into the war room cabinet and other government meetings on a secure phone and video link. One of the most curious parts of this tale concerns handyman Brad Johns, who was booked through Airtasker to do a job at the Dutton family fortress on Thursday evening — a day before the minister announced his diagnosis. For a man who normally has a minimum three Australian Federal Police bodyguards with him at all times, we’re surprised Dutton would use an unvetted mobile marketplace to outsource everyday tasks.

Was it because he felt unwell? Johns is angry he wasn’t informed about Dutton’s diagnosis and had to find out on the news. The tradie is now in isolation, with his baby, in a two-bedroom apartment.

Nothing to Bragg about

NSW Liberal senator Andrew Bragg is the third politician (notably, all from the Coalition) to be diagnosed with COVID-19 so far, out of a total of 227 federal MPs. All seemingly independent of each other. A disturbing stat given politicians are still flying around the country for photo ops with the public. On Tuesday alone, Melbourne’s own Bill Shorten held an NDIS roundtable in Darwin and Adelaide-based Trade Minister Simon Birmingham hosted a jobs forum on the Gold Coast. So, how did the three contract coronavirus? Dutton suspects a trip to the US (have we ruled out Ivanka Trump?); 50-year-old north Queensland Nationals senator Susan McDonald is unsure but insists she has “not had contact” with 49-year-old Dutton, and 35-year-old Braggclaims a friend’s wedding at Stanwell Tops on March 6. Potential super-spreader Bragg has confessed he may have exposed other pollies. According to his social media, on March 8 he was with Foreign Minister Marise Payne in western Sydney; on March 9 he chaired a Senate committee (with Labor’s Tony Sheldon and Jenny McAllister and Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick in attendance) and on March 10 he visited a wind farm in Bondangora near Dubbo, NSW.

Remote control

With at least 82 politicians not heading to Canberra next week, Strewth was curious — how many people (politicians, staff or public servants) can log remotely onto the Parliament House network at any given time?
Just 40, we’re told.

Don’t Worry Be Happy

From a Gold Coast hospital to house arrest, Rita Wilson (wife to Tom Hanks) has created a “Quarantunes” playlist. Songs are added daily and so far it includes — Don’t Stand So Close To Me, The Police; U Can’t Touch This, MC Hammer; Night Fever, The Bee Gees; I Want To Break Free, Queen; Dancing With Myself, Billy Idol; Survivor, Destiny’s Child; I Wanna Be Sedated, Ramones;and You Can’t Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones. Do you think Hanks is one of the 31,000 listening while he waits for filming on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic to resume?

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