14 hours ago
5
Academics and former journalists say Peter Dutton’s comments labelling the ABC and Guardian Australia “hate media” are “reminiscent of Donald Trump” and could backfire as the election campaign heads into its final week.
The opposition leader addressed the party faithful at a rally in the Labor-held seat of Hawke on Melbourne’s outskirts on Sunday before the 3 May poll.
He told supporters the Coalition could still win the election despite polls suggesting support for the Coalition and its leader had slipped since the start of the campaign.
Dutton has previously criticised media outlets, including the Guardian, but was more subdued in recent weeks as he attempted to highlight his softer side.
On Sunday, in front of some of his frontbench and a few hundred supporters who held Liberal placards spruiking the opposition’s promised fuel excise cuts, Dutton declared he had “no doubt” he could still win.
“Forget about what you have been told by the ABC, in the Guardian and the other hate media,” Dutton said.
“Listen to what you hear on the doors, listen to what people say on the pre-polling, know in your hearts we are a better future for our country. We stand up for the values that are important, more than ever, for families and small businesses, if we stay true to our values and have a strength of leadership.”
Matthew Ricketson, a professor of communication at Deakin University, said the US president, Donald Trump, had essentially “put a patent on” attacking the media.
“The first thing that strikes me about it is that it sounds like Donald Trump,” Ricketson said.
“That is odd to me because most of this campaign, Peter Dutton has been trying to distance himself from President Trump [because of] the perception that the Trump brand is toxic.
“It’s odd that at the start of the final week, when according to the main polls he is behind, he’s chosen to go down that route again. Whether it’s some tactical masterstroke or desperation, I don’t know. My reading of it would be more that it smacks of desperation.”
Andrew Dodd, a former ABC journalist and the director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne, said Dutton should “be very careful” criticising the ABC, which had “done a very good job” of fairly covering the election campaign.
“The irony here is obvious,” Dodd said.
“The only hateful comment is Dutton’s denunciation of the ABC. The ABC is deeply respected across the country, particularly with rural and regional voters, many of whom are also Coalition voters. The ABC continues to be one of the most trusted media organisations in the country for good reason.
“Historically, it’s the case over the last 30 or 40 years, that the ABC has fared much worse under Coalition governments … and so friends of the ABC will no doubt be thinking about that when they cast their vote.”
Quentin Dempster, a prominent former ABC broadcaster, ex-ABC board member and a director of ABC Alumni, said Dutton’s comments were “an egregious smear”.
“It now looks like our concerns that the ABC would be punitively defunded under any Dutton government are fully justified,” Dempster said.
after newsletter promotion
“Rather than de-escalation, it’s in fact an incitement to hatred of ABC and Guardian staff who are striving to report fairly on the policy contests in this election. Poor show.”
Dempster, in comments on X directed at Dutton, said: “Neither the ABC nor Guardian Australia is the hate media.”
“A robust liberal democracy needs a free and questioning media. By misrepresenting ABC/Guardian you expose your illiberalism.”
Labor’s communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said on X: “Around the world, free and independent media is under attack from politicians afraid of scrutiny. The last thing Australia needs is for Peter Dutton to import those dangerous ideas here.”
Guardian Australia’s editor, Lenore Taylor, said in a statement: “I stand by Guardian Australia’s reporting of the election. We have covered the campaign, informed our readers about the policies on offer and held all parties and candidates to account.”
An ABC spokesperson declined to comment.
The Coalition has not ruled out cutting ABC funding if Dutton is elected. In April, the opposition dodged questions about whether the ABC would be included in plans to downsize the public service by 41,000 workers.
Former Liberal leader Tony Abbott vowed not to cut ABC funding before the 2013 federal election but after he was elected prime minister he announced a series of cuts, arguing “circumstances change”.
A 2020 report revealed the ABC lost $783m in funding after 2014.
Anthony Albanese held a supporter rally of his own on Sunday.
The prime minister said voters would have a “choice between building Australia’s future or a darker, meaner, nastier reboot of the past”.
“A choice between going forwards or getting dragged backwards,” he said.
