Hard No

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has always seemed to me to be a hard man. Perhaps it is his decade as a police officer. Perhaps it is his Lex Luther visage. Perhaps it is his tough Home Affairs Minister persona. Or perhaps it is his unwillingness to budge on the issues I care about: the rights of those at the margins as evidenced through his opposition to equal marriage, the apology to First Nations people,  the rejection of the Voice referendum, and his disdain for those seeking asylum. I always had the impression he sees things as black/white, right/wrong, and is uncomfortable with any shade of grey. 

In the latest Quarterly Essay (QE93), Bad Cop - Peter Dutton's Strongman Politics, journalist Lech Blaine looks for the man behind the tough exterior. He explores how Dutton's time as a cop led him to distrust the legal system and lack any kind of empathy for those who may find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Blaine argues that as Opposition Leader Dutton is determined to play on fear and he is 'a serious strongman for the age of anxiety.' This is certainly true in the way he has weaponises fear for political advantage. I well remember his unfounded claims that African gangs were terrorising people in Victoria, just as his fresh allegations paint Indigenous people as child abusers and refugees as criminals.

Dutton was politically hungry from a young age, joining the Young Liberals at 18 and (unsuccessfully) running for state parliament a year later. He joined the police force and spent a decade on the drug squad, and often draws on stories from his police work when talking about crime. But Blaine sheds the battler myth of Dutton's working class background, highlighting his wealth from investing in child care and property development. He was elected to Parliament in 2021 and rose to Cabinet Minister roles in the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments holding key portfolios of Health, Immigration, Border Protection, Home Affairs, and Defence. 

Dutton is ambitious for the top job, and was elected unopposed as Opposition Leader after the demise of the Morrison government in 2022. Yet he seems to ignore the problems within his party which will impact his electability as much as his own persona does. Not only has he done absolutely nothing to attract women to the party, but he has allowed the Liberals to be held hostage by the Nationals, veering further to the right on social issues. 

I like Lech Blaine as an author. His previous Quarterly Essay (QE83) Top Blokes: The Larrikin Myth, Class and Power (2021) was really interesting. Bad Cop is another demonstration of Blaine's skill, creating an informative and compelling profile of Dutton. I had thought perhaps that in reading this essay I would find someway of liking Dutton a little bit. On the contrary, I have come away disliking him more.