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| A ‘diss track’ and Harry Dutton’s campaign cameo: the Coalition wants to show it ‘gets it’ | A ‘diss track’ and Harry Dutton’s campaign cameo: the Coalition wants to show it ‘gets it’ |
| (25 days later) | |
| The Liberal leader’s son opened up to the cameras about his housing aspirations – and highlighted the voters in the Coalition’s sights | The Liberal leader’s son opened up to the cameras about his housing aspirations – and highlighted the voters in the Coalition’s sights |
| Harry Dutton – the 20-year-old apprentice carpenter and son of the opposition leader, Peter Dutton – is struggling to afford his first home. | Harry Dutton – the 20-year-old apprentice carpenter and son of the opposition leader, Peter Dutton – is struggling to afford his first home. |
| We didn’t learn this from a journalist or member of the public trawling through his personal affairs, offending the unwritten rule that a politician’s family should be spared the scrutiny necessarily applied to their father, mother or partner. | We didn’t learn this from a journalist or member of the public trawling through his personal affairs, offending the unwritten rule that a politician’s family should be spared the scrutiny necessarily applied to their father, mother or partner. |
| No, we know this because Harry told us. | No, we know this because Harry told us. |
| A day after he and siblings Bec and Tom featured prominently in the Coalition’s official campaign launch, Harry was in tow as his father started the big sell of a policy designed to make it easier for young people to break into a broken housing market. | A day after he and siblings Bec and Tom featured prominently in the Coalition’s official campaign launch, Harry was in tow as his father started the big sell of a policy designed to make it easier for young people to break into a broken housing market. |
| The Liberal leader wants to allow first home buyers to deduct mortgage repayments from their income tax because, as he told reporters at a housing construction site on Monday, it “kills him” to hear stories of young, hard-working Australians who save and save and yet can’t afford a home. | The Liberal leader wants to allow first home buyers to deduct mortgage repayments from their income tax because, as he told reporters at a housing construction site on Monday, it “kills him” to hear stories of young, hard-working Australians who save and save and yet can’t afford a home. |
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| That cohort – as we now know – includes Harry, and Bec, a childcare worker. | That cohort – as we now know – includes Harry, and Bec, a childcare worker. |
| “I am saving up for a house and so is my sister, Bec, and a lot of my mates, but as you probably heard, it’s almost impossible to get in, in the current state,” Harry said. | “I am saving up for a house and so is my sister, Bec, and a lot of my mates, but as you probably heard, it’s almost impossible to get in, in the current state,” Harry said. |
| “So I mean we’re saving like mad but it doesn’t look like we’ll get there in the near future.” | “So I mean we’re saving like mad but it doesn’t look like we’ll get there in the near future.” |
| Dutton was quickly and predictably confronted with the obvious question: would a father who has reportedly made $30m in property transactions over 35 years give his son a hand? | Dutton was quickly and predictably confronted with the obvious question: would a father who has reportedly made $30m in property transactions over 35 years give his son a hand? |
| Dutton ignored the question, perhaps concluding there was little more to gain from Harry’s campaign cameo. | Dutton ignored the question, perhaps concluding there was little more to gain from Harry’s campaign cameo. |
| There is also the somewhat awkward possibility that Harry’s aspiration might be bettered achieved under Labor’s election offering, which would allow all first home buyers to buy a home with a 5% deposit without paying mortgage insurance. | There is also the somewhat awkward possibility that Harry’s aspiration might be bettered achieved under Labor’s election offering, which would allow all first home buyers to buy a home with a 5% deposit without paying mortgage insurance. |
| So what was the benefit of him showing up? | So what was the benefit of him showing up? |
| Whatever the Dutton family’s financial circumstances might be, Harry’s apparent struggle to afford a first home is one many young Australians can empathise with. | Whatever the Dutton family’s financial circumstances might be, Harry’s apparent struggle to afford a first home is one many young Australians can empathise with. |
| Dutton appears to have made a calculated judgment that the risk of exposing his son to the national media was outweighed by the opportunity to show millennials and gen Z – and their worried parents – that he “gets it” and “gets them”. | Dutton appears to have made a calculated judgment that the risk of exposing his son to the national media was outweighed by the opportunity to show millennials and gen Z – and their worried parents – that he “gets it” and “gets them”. |
| Separately on Monday, the Liberals released a “diss track” titled Leaving Labor – a homage to the viral feud between rap rivals Kendrick Lamar and Drake. | Separately on Monday, the Liberals released a “diss track” titled Leaving Labor – a homage to the viral feud between rap rivals Kendrick Lamar and Drake. |
| The tune and Harry’s guest appearance were unrelated, for all we can tell. | The tune and Harry’s guest appearance were unrelated, for all we can tell. |
| But the two deliberate campaign events speak to the Coalition’s attempt to engage younger voters, a powerful, growing (and largely disengaged) cohort that both major parties believe are up for grabs on 3 May. | But the two deliberate campaign events speak to the Coalition’s attempt to engage younger voters, a powerful, growing (and largely disengaged) cohort that both major parties believe are up for grabs on 3 May. |
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| Asked about the “diss track” on Monday, Dutton said he hadn’t heard it. | Asked about the “diss track” on Monday, Dutton said he hadn’t heard it. |
| “Harry may have,” he said. | “Harry may have,” he said. |
| Harry’s cameo served another purpose. | Harry’s cameo served another purpose. |
| As part of a months-long process to refine Dutton’s image, the very public father-son interaction could help – if only momentarily and only for some – to humanise a man widely viewed as the hard-nosed ex-Queensland cop. | As part of a months-long process to refine Dutton’s image, the very public father-son interaction could help – if only momentarily and only for some – to humanise a man widely viewed as the hard-nosed ex-Queensland cop. |
| Dutton’s critics will view it as the desperate act of a desperate politician tanking in the polls. | Dutton’s critics will view it as the desperate act of a desperate politician tanking in the polls. |
| Others aren’t so cynical. | Others aren’t so cynical. |
| “This is who he [Dutton] is: an intensely focused family man,” says Andrew Carswell, a former senior adviser to former prime minister Scott Morrison, whose wife, Jenny, and children Abbey and Lily featured at times during his election campaigns. | “This is who he [Dutton] is: an intensely focused family man,” says Andrew Carswell, a former senior adviser to former prime minister Scott Morrison, whose wife, Jenny, and children Abbey and Lily featured at times during his election campaigns. |
| “This is not a leader trying to save his political skin.” | “This is not a leader trying to save his political skin.” |
| Albanese’s son, Nathan, joined his father and the prime minister’s partner, Jodie Haydon, on stage at Labor’s campaign launch in Perth. | Albanese’s son, Nathan, joined his father and the prime minister’s partner, Jodie Haydon, on stage at Labor’s campaign launch in Perth. |
| But he has otherwise remained outside public spotlight, where the families of politicians typically are. | But he has otherwise remained outside public spotlight, where the families of politicians typically are. |
| Until, of course, they aren’t. | Until, of course, they aren’t. |