How Labor plans to attack Peter Dutton in final stretch of the federal election campaign
Labor’s plan to attack Peter Dutton in the final week of the campaign has been revealed as they focus on his perceived weaknesses that voters don’t like, writes James Campbell.
Analysis
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Labor will ramp up the attacks on Peter Dutton’s character in the last stretch of the campaign, seeking to capitalise on growing voter fears of global uncertainty sparked by the actions of Donald Trump.
The plan, which is to convince electors the opposition leader lacks the steadiness required to be Prime Minister, has been hatched after ALP research found voters’ doubts about his temperament have risen since February when President Trump first announced he planned to impose tariffs on America’s allies including Australia.
“Since tariffs mark one, voters’ perception of parts of his (Mr Dutton’s) make-up have really begun to work against him,” a senior Labor source said.
“He has a set of traits: decisiveness, refusal to back down, knows his own mind, not afraid to say what he thinks - just the general strongman thing, which six months ago made him seem strong.”
The source said that in the immediate aftermath of President Trump’s election it was Labor’s view these attributes were working in Mr Dutton’s favour.
This in part explains why rather than attacking Mr Dutton’s character, the government instead concentrated on what he would do if he was elected.
“We needed to show Dutton represented a material threat to government spending,” the source said.
Now however voters are “more likely to see him as reckless, stubborn or to say he can’t listen.”
In the home stretch of the campaign the source said Labor plans to lean into this wariness.
The party will also expand the number of seats it is spending money on, particularly in Victoria, where it plans to start advertising in the Liberal marginal of Deakin, Chisholm and Casey.
“The message will be ‘in a time of global of uncertainty we’ve never needed stability more and that’s the last thing Peter Dutton has to offer.’”
Privately, Liberal sources concede Labor’s attacks on the Opposition leader are biting with voters, with the latest RedBridge-Accent tracking poll showing his net favourability in 20 marginal seats has deteriorated from -11 in February to -22 in April.
“We can see they’re working because his numbers are going downhill in the places they’re targeting while they’re not really moving where Labor isn’t spending any money,” a Liberal source said.
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Originally published as How Labor plans to attack Peter Dutton in final stretch of the federal election campaign
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