Attacks on Peter Dutton spare the easy prey

PM Scott Morrison and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in Question Time in the House of Representatives chamber. Picture: Kym Smith

Like the Turks at Aqaba, attacked unexpectedly from the desert by Lawrence of Arabia, Labor can’t turn its guns around from the perceived danger at sea and train potent fire on Scott Morrison.

What’s worse, all Labor’s guns are continuing to fire at Peter Dutton, the old, battle-hardened target, who is fighting back, defending himself and actually hitting Labor.

The Home Affairs Minister’s strength and aggression is also providing room for the Prime Minister to promote his own values and to avoid Labor’s dangerous trap on bullying and bias against women within the Liberal Party.

There are also some new ministers who will be pleased it’s Dutton getting more Labor questions because they are escaping a searing, detailed cross-examination on portfolios they couldn’t possibly be across.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton, top, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison leave Question Time yesterday.

Put simply, Labor should be doing better in parliament against Morrison and his new ministry than it is and runs the risk of letting Morrison repair his broken parliamentary party and fashion a new message for a new government.

It is true that Morrison can’t truthfully answer the Opposition Leader’s repeated question as to “why” Malcolm Turnbull is no longer prime minister, but he is using the opportunity to set out his own values and convictions and connect with the public.

Morrison’s line that under him the “economy will be even stronger” is weak, but it’s better than saying the previous leader lost his way or failed in the opinion polls and he’s not apologising for “taking charge”.

The latest polls also suggest more Coalition voters are pleased Turnbull has gone and the fact is he was not as popular as Kevin Rudd when Shorten helped remove him.

Morrison is also avoiding “litmus tests”, “ideologies” and “fighting on Bill Shorten’s ground” — when Shorten asked about bullying within the Liberal Party Morrison sidestepped taking “personal responsibility” after having earlier denied there was bullying within his party as “people would ordinarily understand that to be”.

And, given the raft of inexperienced ministers in question time, Labor is missing the opportunity to put them on the rack as Jenny Macklin, of a gentle, grandmotherly appearance, did to the newly minted Welfare Minister Dan Tehan.

With a smile and laser-like accuracy, Macklin gutted Tehan on the floor of the parliament and maintained Labor ascendancy in the area from opposition.