Dutton walks out of press conference as Albanese prepares for blitz of six states
Peter Dutton cancelled a scheduled press conference after he was gate-crashed by anti-nuclear protesters and then cut short a second media event, walking out when asked to defend his accusations that reporters covering his campaign were 'biased'.
The opposition leader was again under siege as Anthony Albanese prepares for a blitz of six states in the final days of the campaign, hoping to turn his lead in the opinions polls into an election victory on Saturday night.
Albanese campaigned in three seats in Brisbane on Tuesday before flying to Canberra ahead of a major speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday.
At a press conference at a housing construction site in the Greens-held seat of Griffith, Albanese and his treasurer, Jim Chalmers, were again pushed on warnings from ratings agency S&P that big-spending election commitments could threaten Australia's AAA credit rating.
Asked for a guarantee that the nation's prized rating would be retained, Chalmers said: 'There would be no reason to lose the AAA'.
Meanwhile, Dutton was down on the New South Wales south coast, visiting the marginal Labor-held seat of Gilmore and Whitlam.
He toured a farmers' market in Nowra, speaking to business owners and shoppers about rising grocery and power prices. He inspected produce including a large sweet potato but avoided a display of eggs.
Dutton then went further south to Sanctuary Point, pledging $3.5m for upgrades at Francis Ryan Reserve.
Dutton was due to hold a press conference there, but the photo op with junior football players was interrupted by union supporters wearing hazmat suits and holding a fake Geiger counter, to criticise the Coalition's nuclear plan.
Standing in the area where Dutton was to hold his presser, the men played air raid sirens on a phone and held props including nuclear symbols. Members of the football club tried to shoo the men away, critical that the announcement for junior football players had been overshadowed. One club official called the protesters 'muppets'.
One of the men identified himself as Arthur Rorris, head of the South Coast Labour Council, who said he was joined by Tafe and ports workers.
The press conference got cancelled. Dutton later criticised the interruption as a 'stunt' and said it left the junior football players 'disappointed'.
The opposition leader later appeared in Moss Vale to announce $113m for a new road bypass.
It ended up being one of the shortest media appearances Dutton has given on the campaign, barely getting beyond 15 minutes and only taking a small number of questions. Dutton has usually fielded a large number of questions each day – but on Tuesday he only took around 12 questions, skipping over several reporters.
In a campaign rally on Sunday, Dutton referred to the ABC and Guardian Australia as 'the hate media'. Asked about those comments in a Sky News interview on Monday, Dutton claimed some of the reporters covering his campaign were 'so biased' and 'activists'.
Asked about those claims again on Tuesday, Dutton didn't directly answer. Voters, he said, weren't focused on the 'feelings' of the press pack. When pressed on whether it was just a convenient excuse to blame the media, and if he thought anyone in the press conference was biased, Dutton wrapped the press conference and walked off.
News Corp has reported One Nation has reprinted how-to-vote cards in several key electorates, to put the Liberal Party second. The ABC reported the Coalition had put One Nation above Labor on their how-to-votes in 139 of the 150 seats.
The former Liberal prime minister John Howard, who Dutton repeatedly mentions as his political mentor, famously decreed One Nation be placed last on Liberal how-to-votes in 2001; but Howard has softened in recent years.
Dutton did not directly answer when asked about the One Nation preferences, responding: 'We've taken the decision that we want to make sure that Australians can preference us first. That's the most important way to be able to change this government'. He declined follow-up questions.
Labor members including Chalmers have begun claiming Dutton wants to build a nuclear plant in Dickson. The treasurer repeated the claim on Tuesday. The Coalition has flatly rejected the claim, which appears to be a reference to Sunday night's debate where Dutton said he would be happy to have a reactor in his Brisbane electorate.
Dutton did not say the Coalition would actually build one there.
'Those seven sites were identified around the country. There's not one in my electorate. So the prime minister can play all sorts of games,' Dutton said, when asked about the Labor scare campaign.
Albanese visited a pre-poll station in Liberal-held Bonner – which has recently emerged as a Labor target seat – before taking a walk through Market Square, a popular lunch spot in the Labor-held seat of Moreton.
The prime minister travelled back to Canberra late on Tuesday night ahead of a speech to the National Press Club.
The Labor leader plans to campaign in all six states before Saturday, in a final push to sway undecided voters who could swing the outcome.
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