‘Had enough’: Peter Dutton predicts anti-woke revolution for Australia

Peter Dutton has predicted that political correctness “isn’t cutting it” anymore when people can’t afford to pay their bills and their mortgage.

Peter Dutton has declared he would be the better PM to deal with US President Donald Trump amid a worldwide political revolution as voters decide they have had enough of the “woke” agenda.

But despite hinting he could ride the wave of the Trump victory all the way to the Lodge, Mr Dutton declined to expressly dump the Coalition’s current commitment to the Paris agreement on climate change.

In an interview with Sky News’ Sharri Markson, the Liberal leader has predicted that political correctness “isn’t cutting it” anymore when people can’t afford to pay their bills and their mortgage.

Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton and his wife Kirilly. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

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“I think this is turning and I think there is going to be a near revolution that comes with the Trump administration,’’ Mr Dutton told Sky News.

“In relation to a lot of the woke issues that might be fashionable in universities and at the ABC that just aren’t cutting it around kitchen tables at the moment where people can’t pay their bills.

“They can’t pay their mortgage, their insurance has gone up, their grocery bill has gone up, they just see a government with the wrong priorities.

“And I think people are sick of being ostracised and sick of being vilified.”

Mr Dutton said the referendum on the Voice was another turning point.

“And I think the Voice in our country, to be honest, allowed people an opportunity to be able to speak again about issues that they felt important to order, including Australia Day, which I think is an important debate for our country to have,’’ he said.

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Mr Dutton has recently declared he will not display two flags at official press conferences if elected.

“We’re not going to have reconciliation when we have people living under three different flags,’’ Mr Dutton said.

“We have one national flag, and that’s incredibly important.”

Asked about the Paris agreement, Mr Dutton said, “I think we’ve been pretty firm in our commitment to net zero by 2050.”

“That’s a commitment that we take seriously and that we honour,’’ he said.

“I think it’ll be interesting to see where the United States goes and what influence that has in Europe and elsewhere around the world over the course of the next couple of years.”

‘Weak’ and ‘offensive’

Accusing the Prime Minister of convening a National Cabinet meeting on antisemitism “just to tick the box”, the former police officer insisted it should have been held sooner.

He made the comments in the wake of the fire-bombing of a Sydney daycare centre and a string of shocking anti-semitic attacks.

“And I think what makes it most egregious is that people are living with that fear, not because the Prime Minister has some greater national security clause in mind, or it’s a piece on a chess board that he’s had to play because of the geopolitical circumstances,’’ Mr Dutton said.

Mr Dutton called the Voice referendum a “turning point”. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

“He’s done it for crass political reasons, which I think makes it even more offensive to people, because he’s decided to support one segment of the society, of our society, and to essentially shun another part of society.

“I just haven’t seen a Prime Minister do that before.”

“These are terrorist acts. If there were a series of rolling terrorist attacks in the community, I think the Prime Minister would call a National Cabinet and a National Security Committee meeting in a heartbeat,” Mr Dutton said.

“Yet it’s taken him... 14 months to get to this point and he does it without any fanfare... he had a press conference with the (NSW) Premier this morning, made no mention of it, and holds it this afternoon, I think just to tick the box.

“The National Cabinet meeting should be an opportunity to bring Premiers and the Police Ministers together, as well as the Police Commissioners and the security agencies, to say this is a national crisis - and what we’re dealing with now is a national crisis.”

Call for mandatory sentences

Mr Dutton also doubled down on the Coalition’s proposal for mandatory sentencing for terrorism and hate speech attacks.

“We’ve made announcements in relation to strengthening of the laws that we think would provide a very significant deterrence around mandatory sentencing and if we can do that then we have a much better chance of stamping out antisemitism that’s now rife in our country,” he said.

The plans included minimum six-year prison terms for terror offences and mandatory 12-month sentences, up to five years, for displays of Nazi or terror symbols.

Asked if Mr Albanese was “partly” to blame for the rise in anti-semitism Mr Dutton said this was the case from his perspective.

“There’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever,’’ Mr Dutton said.

“And I think it was entirely predictable in the last 12 months, because of what we saw on the steps of the Opera House.

“And when you see the depth of hatred...anti semitism is working just beneath the surface.

“And I think you could reasonably predict what has happened over the course of the last 12 months that is continuing to escalate.

“But the Prime Minister has just been out of his depth.”

Earlier, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns was asked if he thought mandatory minimum sentences should be put to the National Cabinet when it convened.

Mr Minns backed tougher punishments as a deterrent, but insisted that mandatory sentences were “restricted to a very small number of offences in NSW”, for example cop killers.

“What about murdering an Australian because of their religious affiliation?” Mr Dutton asked in response.

“Or murdering an Australian because their grandparent had migrated from Israel or in the Holocaust. I don’t understand his point. Every Australian life is sacrosanct.

“We’re talking about terrorist attacks now, this is not a random break and enter into a house to steal money to buy food or drugs, people are being targeted.”

Originally published as ‘Had enough’: Peter Dutton predicts anti-woke revolution for Australia