Peter Dutton decides not to wallow, starts Liberal Party rebuild

Peter Dutton has described the transition to opposition as a ‘brutal’ process and warned against a prolonged post mortem.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at Parliament House. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tracey Nearmy

Peter Dutton has described the transition to opposition after the May 21 election loss as a “brutal” process and warned against a prolonged post mortem that would see the Liberal Party drift off into the political wilderness.

“I think it is always brutal coming from government into opposition,” Mr Dutton told The Australian. “You can choose a couple of paths and one is to wallow and conduct this never-ending post mortem about why the government lost. The better path is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get on with it, and I think we have done that.

“It’s important for your supporter bases, whether it’s members or general supporters, to have something to fight for and not constantly be on the defensive.”

Two principal issues now confront the new federal opposition leader, who accepts a significant challenge in trying to rebuild the national brand of a party that has been reduced to governing in only two states.

At the same time, he must overcome the prevailing perceptions of his own political pedigree.

It is a formidable task that will require bold thinking and what some might consider an unconventional approach to opposition after almost a decade in government.

The Liberal Party proposition under Dutton is an interwoven experiment. If successful in reasserting the party’s values, Dutton also benefits through the broadening of his own appeal. The goal is to establish the viability of both as credible alternatives to Labor, which is faced with significant economic and social challenges.

Dutton’s induction is made easier by the absence of a challenger and the clashing personalities around past shadow cabinet tables embodied in the enduring dispute that dominated the last period of opposition for the Coalition.

This is a critical dimension to Dutton’s leadership. But the issues for the party are more universally profound. There is an abiding view within the senior ranks of the federal parliamentary party – and the membership – that the party lost its ability to articulate its purpose with the interruption to political norms presented by the pandemic.

Already Dutton has unveiled significant policy – within weeks of an election loss and before the post mortem is concluded, before parliament has even resumed – in a first step to reasserting the values of what he sees as those that embody the modern Liberal Party.

This is an original approach that poses minimal political risk while offering an alternative path to three years in the wilderness and the internal contortions that would flow from a lack of direction. It is not the style some may have expected from Dutton.

The party’s pensioner plan, which calls for doubling the income threshold for pensioners before losing payments, was both economic – in addressing labour market shortages – and cultural in its foundation in a reward-for-effort principle.

It got immediate traction.

And it was a sharp signal to the Liberal Party base that Dutton understands the fundamental problems, has put thought to the solutions and is willing to break with convention by establishing an early policy foundation in opposition.

He also flagged education as a key battleground over values, last week calling for a national debate over the curriculum, which he says is at risk of being hijacked by unions and left-wing activists. They are values not dramatically different to those Scott Morrison established to win government in 2019 before Covid vapourised the ideological contest.

The early announcement of the pension policy may be without precedent. And it is a sign of more to come under Dutton’s strategy to elevate the party’s relevance above blinkered opposition.

“It is certainly early on,” Dutton says. “But it made sense to get that out there now because it’s good policy and therefore it’s good politics, the labour market is very tight.

“It is policy we probably should have done in government, but I made the decision that we should do it now to put pressure on the government to pick it up in their job summit or their first budget in October. It doesn’t matter where you go around the county, employers are screaming out for workers in every industry, every sector, every jurisdiction.

“At the same time you have age pensioners and veterans who are under the pump when it comes to their electricity bills, petrol at $2.30 a litre and every other cost-of-living pressure, and now with mortgages going up as well, it is an opportunity for them to earn a few extra dollars and live with dignity.

“It’s also a cultural issue we need to address in our country in terms of the direction of the welfare system and the tax system, that’s very much unfinished business in my mind. So there is an opportunity to put out an idea, it’s a sound policy but also an opportunity for people to reconsider their view of me as well.

“Yes, I was a defence minister, and home affairs minister and policeman a long time ago, which is probably the view people have, but I was also a small-business owner and assistant treasurer to Peter Costello so I have a deep interest in economics and making sure we have the right policies going into the next election.”

This is Dutton’s second task; establish himself as a viable and enduring leader. To achieve this he must broaden his appeal and deconstruct the more aggressive image voters may have of him.

“If we want to achieve success in three years’ time we need to have a plan to go hard where it is necessary and call out Labor and do that forcefully, but it is also my approach to be sensible and support the government, particularly in this period. It is important for us to be constructive on international affairs,” he says.

“China under President Xi is the biggest issue still in our lifetime and I want to be constructive in that space. I’ve read the intelligence over my period in government and it does cause me deep concern so I want to make sure we support the government in this important policy area.

“It’s also important to spend our time in opposition creating policy that (doesn’t) make us Labor-lite, so there is a significant point of difference between the two parties at the next election.

“I’ve had tough roles and have had to take a tough approach but it’s also important for people to see the complete character of who I am, not just that one element of who they perceive me to be.”

Dutton surprises in the breadth of those whom he seeks political and policy counsel from.

“I’ve had a friendship with John Howard since I came in to parliament in 2001 and that continues, I’ve sought his advice.

“I’ve spoken to Brendan Nelson, I’ve spoken to Scott Morrison, I’ve spoken to Tony Abbott and I have a lot of respect for Kim Beazley, I caught up with Kim when I was defence minister, and I’ll catch up with him again.

“I’ve spoken also to a lot of the staff, including some Labor staff, who were around at various stages in opposition and I’ve tried to distil all that and be my own person and learn from those experiences.”

There is a third and equally elementary task Dutton must navigate. The internal ruptures that inevitably flow from such an election loss need to be resolved before he can firmly establish an alternative electoral proposition.

Dutton is demanding a quick resolution to this, with an internal review due to be completed within the next two months. “The Liberal Party is in opposition in all but two jurisdictions so that always gives rise to internal reflection and reform and debate, and that’s the process we are in at the moment.

“Federally, I think the structure is strong, there are some personalities who are helping and others that aren’t, and I think we are able to recalibrate out of that.

“The Liberal Party has traditionally gone into tough times in opposition, but people are busy and active and productive in the right ways and the party reform can take place and the fundraising and other functions continue.

“But I want all that resolved sooner rather than later so that we can get into a good position, because I’m absolutely determined to win this in three years.”