Anthony Albanese visits Frankston six days out from Dunkley by-election
Anthony Albanese has spruiked cost of living policies and attacked Peter Dutton and Liberal candidate for Dunkley Nathan Conroy as the fight for the Victorian seat intensifies.
Anthony Albanese has spruiked cost-of-living policies and launched fresh attacks on Peter Dutton and Liberal candidate for Dunkley Nathan Conroy as the fight for the Victorian seat intensifies six days out from the crucial by-election.
The Prime Minister visited Frankston with Labor candidate Jodie Belyea on Sunday, and pitched his government’s efforts on cheaper child care, energy price relief, fee-free TAFE and tax.
The federal by-election was brought on by the death of former Dunkley MP Peta Murphy.
Labor’s campaign has relied heavily on cost-of-living relief, which the Prime Minister says he has provided while putting downwards pressure on inflation.
“This week we had the announcement that in 2023, real wages grew … so real wages going up, inflation going down,” he said. “And as a result of our cost-of-living tax cuts, every single taxpayer in Dunkley will get a tax cut.
“Under the Coalition, they wanted some people to get a tax cut. And when we announced the cost-of-living tax cuts so that every Australian would benefit, and average workers would get double the tax cut they were promised by Scott Morrison. What we got from the Coalition, from Peter Dutton, firstly, they said they’d oppose it and fight it. Then they said they’d roll it back. Then they said we should go to a full federal election on the basis of our commitment that we’re making, and then they changed their mind again and didn’t vote against it in the parliament.”
The Prime Minister rubbished Mr Dutton for being “all negativity and zero plan”.
“This electorate can’t trust and can’t afford to have Peter Dutton. What we need is a fighter in the local community in Jodie Belyea,” he said.
Ms Belyea is contending against Frankston Mayor Nathan Conroy, who was re-elected as mayor for a third year in a row.
“We know that the average swing against a government in a government held seat is around 7 per cent and that’s greater than the margin here,” the Prime Minister said.
“The Liberal candidate is someone who as mayor voted for rate increase after rate increase after rate increase, and voted for the maximum rate increases every time as well.
“And so he’ll just be another bloke sitting with all the other blokes in the Liberal Party team there behind Peter Dutton, when they’re not fighting each other on Nemesis, on national TV programs, saying how much they hate each other and who fought who and who stabbed who over the years.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said it would be “a really hard fight” to secure the seat.
“The starting point here is Dunkley is on a 6.3 per cent margin and the average swing against governments in by elections is 7 per cent,” he told Sky News.
Opposition spokesman James Paterson, also appearing on Sky News, said the by-election would be tougher for the Liberal Party due to the circumstances.
“I’ve been on the pre-poll booths in Dunkley,” he said. “There’s no anger towards the government for this by-election, which is obviously understandable. That’s not what I experienced in other by-elections where a member has resigned or retired early.”
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