Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's rogue act injures cameraman at election event

Yahoo

05-04-2025

As the general election campaign kicks off around Australia, there's bound to be a few mishaps along the way. One cameraman got more than he bargained for after filming Peter Dutton kick a football — which inadvertently left him nursing a bloodied head.
Channel 10 cameraman Ghaith Nadir copped a ball to the forehead that was kicked by the Opposition Leader while visiting Cazalys Oval, the home of the Palmerston Magpies AFL Club in Darwin, on the eighth day of the election campaign.
Dutton told young players at the club it was 'time' to give the club some investment and 'get some young players drafted', promising to invest $5 million to the grounds if elected.
However, soon after, while kicking a ball to a young Magpies player, the ball landed on the cameraman's viewfinder and hit Nadir in the head, causing a bloody injury. 'That's your exclusive vision,' Dutton joked, before apologising to Nadir.
'I've apologised to him, and I hope that it's all repaired soon, but he's got a war story now from the campaign," Dutton said. Yahoo understands that the cameraman is okay following the injury and was later photographed being patched up.
Peter Dutton tonks a footy and falcons a cameraman, resulting in a gushing cut #auspol pic.twitter.com/eG0l2pPrBr
— Dominic Giannini (@domgiannini_) April 5, 2025
The electorate of Solomon is held by Labor's Luke Gosling on a 9.4 per cent margin but the Coalition's strong anti-crime stance and voter protest due to high cost-of-living pressures had led to Coalition hopes they could swing a few residents.
The scene is reminiscent of the former Prime Minister Scott Morrison bulldozing a child soccer player during the 2022 election.
The 54-year-old fell on top of the child in Devonport, Tasmania - before checking he was not hurt and exchanging a high-five. It comes just a few days after Mr Morrison said he had been a "bit of a bulldozer" as his unpopularity became an election issue.
However, Dutton jokingly denied to Sky News that this was his Scott Morrison Bulldozer moment. 'I was expecting him to mark it. I was sure he could take that shot,' he said. 'He's good. I just saw him then, so hopefully he's able to get it dressed properly but the AFP did a great job.'
The kick comes on the eighth day of a five-week election campaign with Dutton and Anthony Albanese going head to head to be elected as Australia's next Prime Minister on Saturday May 3.
The incident comes after Anthony Albanese also had a little trip while giving a speech in Cessnock, NSW on Thursday. The Prime Minister has denied he fell and instead says he just 'stepped back onto a step'.
— With Newswire
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