Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened after a controversial social media post by the Victorian ALP targeting Peter Dutton and his wife, Kirilly, was deemed inappropriate.
The post, which featured a manipulated newspaper image from 2019 with a quote from Ms Dutton saying, “He is not a monster,” was criticised as a personal attack.
The post, shared by the Victorian ALP’s social media at around 11am on Monday, December 30, was accompanied by the caption, “We all know that one couple,” making light of Ms Dutton’s comments about her husband.
The post sparked outrage, with Mr Dutton calling on Albanese and the Labor Party to respect his family and avoid personal attacks.
“I can assure you: the Liberal Party I lead will not be targeting Jodie Haydon,” Mr Dutton said in a statement, referring to Albanese’s fiancée. “I respect and like Jodie, but she is not an elected official and will not be the subject of humiliation, attack ads or public smear by the Liberal Party.”
In response to the backlash, Albanese’s office quickly ordered the post to be removed, with a spokesperson stating, “When the tweet was drawn to his attention, the Prime Minister demanded it be taken down. Families should be off-limits.”
Victorian ALP secretary Steve Staikos defended the post, insisting it was “not a personal attack at all,” but rather a “comedic meme.” When questioned about whether the image had been altered, Staikos disagreed, saying he did not believe it had been doctored.
However, the post was widely criticised by opposition members. Senator James Paterson, the opposition’s home affairs spokesman, labelled the post as “grubby gutter politics from a desperate government slipping in the polls.”
The incident comes amid plummeting poll numbers for Labor in Victoria, where recent figures show the Coalition has drawn level with Labor for the first time. Labor’s primary vote in the state has fallen to 30%, reflecting a nearly 5% swing against the government since the 2022 federal election.
With tensions running high ahead of the 2025 federal election, the controversy highlights the increasingly personal nature of the campaign.
Source: The Australian.
