Peter Dutton and His Politics

There is something deeply disturbing about Peter Dutton.  It’s not his looks, though they don’t help.  There is something that comes across to me as being deeply inhuman.  He sounds as if he doesn’t care about mankind – or at least certain parts of mankind – and that is reflected clearly in his politics.

A Complex Background

In the piece Bad Cop in the Quarterly Essay Lech Blaine tries to determine not just what kind of man Peter Dutton is, but where he came from and what motivates him.  He is only partly successful.

One of the most common references to Dutton is as an ex-Queensland policeman.  He was that and it affected him deeply.  Blaine shows how he was scared by his experience and how, even in Dutton’s own words, he suffered from a ‘sort of’ PTSD.  Experiences of dealing with murder and child abuse would have that effect on anyone.

The Property Developer and Politician

But Dutton is more than that.  He is a property developer and has made millions from property development.  Some of this has been questionable and there have been questions asked about the decisions he has made as a minister and the benefit he has made as a developer.

I doubt Dutton would object to is being described as an ex-policeman or a property developer.  Both of these roles fit with the image he is trying to create.  In an almost Trumpian way he would like to be seen as outside of politics representing people who need someone strong like him to stand up to the ineffectual, latte sipping, university educated liberals in the inner city.  Peter is from the suburbs and, although he tried hard to get a university education, he failed more times than it’s polite to say.

Peter Dutton’s Political Persona

What Peter Dutton doesn’t want people to think is that he is a politician.  And yet from the age of 19 he tried hard to get himself elected to any role the Liberal/National Party would give him.  Throughout his adult life he has worked has hard as he can to be as high as he can be in the Liberal Party and in politics.

So Peter Dutton doesn’t like lefties, or the educated, or trades unionists or immigrants or welfare recipients or feminists… the list is a long one.  He wants to be seen as the person who represents Australians.  But these are Australians who live in the suburbs and are probably white.

Foreign Policy and Fear Politics

His attitude towards foreign policy is instructive.  He insists that Australia is tough on China.  This, of course, is a bit of a problem because so many of the people who live in the suburbs earn their money from trade with China and many of them are of Chinese heritage.  So this is a foreign policy about protecting Australians by ‘standing up to the Chinese and ‘being strong.  Except that his defence is the AUKUS Pact and four submarines which might be delivered sometime in the next twenty years.  He has a loud voice, but a small stick!

No matter.  Peter Dutton wants to protect real Australians.

Peter Dutton wants to scare Australians.  He wants to scare people about the Chinese and about immigrants – especially if they arrive by boat (he’s a little less vociferous if they arrive by plane).  He wants to scare people about the latte sipping bleeding hearts in the inner cities.  Every time you hear Peter Dutton talk about any issue it is with the intention of scaring you.  This is quite deliberate because Peter Dutton wants you to believe that if you are scared, only he can protect you.  If you read about his past, it seems likely that he does believe that he can protect you – if you’re white, employed and from the suburbs.

A Limited Appeal

He might pull of his exercise in making enough people feel that their interests lie with him as PM.  He feels he succeeded with the referendum on the Voice and so why can’t it work again.  But people might just realise that Peter is most interested in serving a very limited group of people and if you are not successful and well-heeled you might not fall into that category – even if you’re white!