Image from YouTube (Video uploaded by Sky News Australia)
If leadership debates were Olympic sports, Peter Dutton would medal in mental gymnastics. The ABC Leaders’ Debate, moderated by David Speers – Australia’s answer to a human fact-checking algorithm – exposed Dutton’s campaign as a greatest-hits album of deflection, fearmongering, and policies reheated from the Tony Abbott Memorial Bin. Let’s dissect the carnage.
Dutton’s solution to housing unaffordability? Let first-home buyers pillage their super for a $50K down payment. Genius! Because nothing says “affordable housing” like unleashing a bidding war tsunami at auctions. Speers, armed with New Zealand’s catastrophic experiment with the same policy, surgically noted this would inflate prices. Dutton’s rebuttal? “But… migrants! Unions! Look, a squirrel!”
Fact-check fail: Dutton blamed Labor’s “million migrants” for the crisis, ignoring that net overseas migration simply rebounded post-COVID to pre-pandemic norms. Meanwhile, his own party spent a decade in power without appointing a housing minister for half their term. When Speers pressed him on negative gearing – a sacred cow for landlords – Dutton shrieked about rent spikes, ignoring that rents have soared under existing tax breaks. His solution? Subsidise high-earners’ mortgages via a regressive tax deduction. Because nothing says “fair go” like gifting wealthy investors a $12K annual handout.
Albanese’s counter: A 5% deposit scheme and supply-side tinkering. Not revolutionary, but at least coherent. Dutton’s plan? A pyramid scheme for property prices.
Dutton’s vision for easing financial pain? A $1,200 cash splash and slashing petrol prices by 25 cents. How? Magic, presumably. When Speers questioned the fiscal logic, Dutton pivoted to “Labor’s deficits!!” – conveniently ignoring his own $7B public service cuts wouldn’t cover his spending spree.
Fact-check fail: Dutton claimed 30,000 small businesses collapsed “under Labor,” omitting that global inflation and interest hikes (started under the Coalition) fueled this. His mortgage interest deduction? A tax break for the rich, as Speers noted – high earners would pocket $12K/year, while renters get zilch. Albanese’s energy rebates, though untargeted, at least acknowledged middle-income squeeze.
When Speers asked if Dutton would cling to his nuclear pipedream, the Opposition Leader dodged like a TikTok influencer avoiding accountability. No costings. No timeline. Just vibes. Speers, ever the adult, reminded viewers nuclear plants take 15 years and $387B – funded by… checks notes … pixie dust?
Fact-check fail: Dutton’s energy chaos narrative collapsed when Albanese cited renewables’ grid share (40%) and falling bills in states with actual climate policies. Dutton’s reply? Crickets.
Dutton’s go-to scapegoat? Migrants. “A million new people!” he thundered, ignoring that migrants build homes, staff hospitals, and pay taxes. His “plan”? Slash migration 25% and ban foreign buyers – a dog whistle so loud it drowned out his non-answers on education and health.
Fact-check fail: Net migration under Labor merely corrected COVID dips. Dutton’s “foreign buyer ban” would impact 0.5% of sales. But why let facts ruin a good xenophobic soundbite?
When asked about safeguarding democracy and Trump’s tariffs, Dutton served word salad with extra dressing: “Aussie values! Strong borders!” Albanese mumbled about alliances, but both treated foreign policy like a Zoom background – decorative, not functional.
Dutton’s campaign isn’t a bid for PM – it’s a retirement plan for Tony Abbott’s Playbook. Albanese, while no visionary, at least brought a roadmap (albeit scribbled in crayon). Australia deserves better than a leader whose brightest idea is to set fire to the housing market and blame the smoke on immigrants.
Also by Lachlan McKenzie: The Great Debate Debacle: A Masterclass in Political Kabuki (As Reviewed by People Who Definitely Know What ‘Winning’ Looks Like)
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View Comments
When even David Speers is pulling up your LNP bullshit, it's time to quit.
AIMN has certainly acquired another very talented citizen journalist in Lachlan McKenzie (a credible McKenzie). Now I am challenged to make a suitable contribution (Often happens with very mixed results).
So, starting with the obvious axiom, ''Boofhead Duddo is unsuitable material for Australian Prime Minister''.
McKenzie (the credible one) eloquently makes a very clear and concise case, starting with the delicious ''Dutton’s campaign as a greatest-hits album of deflection, fearmongering, and policies reheated from the Tony Abbott Memorial Bin'' and ending with the Duddo Playbook for Failure.
The Duddo Housing Policy will ignite residential price rises over the three storey ridgeline of a Vaucluse residential mansion, driving home ownership further away from young Australians.
The 2019 LABOR policy put forward by Bill Shorten attacks the real causes of escalating residential prices, but neither political party is prepared to be bold and make the necessary policy decisions for grandfathering current holdings while reducing negative gearing to new builds and returning CGT to pre-Howard generosity.
COST OF LIVING MANIPULATION BY SUPERMARKETS BANKS & SELLING OFF STATE ASSETS are all causes beyond the power of any government. Duddo conveniently ignores the facts that even Blind Freddie can see; the owner of the asset controls the price of the service ..... and state COALiiton misgovernments sold off the assets to the corporate mates as a payback for regular ''political donations''.
Again, Blind Freddie sees that costings for Duddo's nuclear future will never eventuate because they do not exist and the voters are far too well educated in the dangers of nuclear radiation and half lives of millenia.
Migration xenophobia is well established and rampant in Canberra among the Immigration set. Make it as impossible as possible and putative migrants and refugees will go elsewhere. If only we could export the LIARBRAL$ so easily.
Duddo is playing the old school debating strategy; wave a blank piece of paper containing all your plans when you have to fillibuster to the waiting media.
Crikey have summarized the media assessment of the debate result :
"Five out of the six Nine commentators reckon Albanese won;
The AFR reckons Albanese won;
Only one of the six commentators for The Australian declared it a victory for Dutton, with two giving it to Albanese and three hedging their bets and calling it a draw;
Guardian Australia reckons Dutton looked shaky as he fought Albanese to a draw “at best”;
And Sky’s Paul Murray reckons “Dutton won by a country mile” and Chris Kenny claims Dutton “smashed it out of the park”.