With the Fadden by-election set for Saturday night, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has taken aim at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, saying that anything less than a 4% swing “would be embarrassing for him.”
Even though he acknowledged it was improbable that Labour would win in a district that was seen as “safe” for the Liberal-Nationals Party, the Treasurer supported Letitia Del Fabbro in order to put pressure on the Coalition Leader and urge the people of Fadden not to “reward” him.
At a press conference on Saturday morning in Fadden, on the Gold Coast, Mr. Chalmers stated, “I say this to the people of the northern Gold Coast with respect, don’t reward the pathological negativity that we witness on a daily basis from Peter Dutton.
“We saw that with the ridiculous commentary during the week when it comes to the Reserve Bank Governor,” says Peter Dutton. “Peter Dutton is pathologically negative, he is almost permanently angry, and he’s frequently unhinged.”
Considering the Robodebt report, the Treasurer stated that electing the Liberals to the Fadden seat once more should be reevaluated; nevertheless, it “remains to be seen whether that will be a factor” in the polls.
Additionally, he urged the community to “show its support” for Ms. Del Fabbro rather than elect a “similar” LNP representative in lieu of Stuart Robert.
“The LNP are the guilty party in Robodebt and we’ve seen really quite shocking revelations out of the Royal Commission and that’s why we heard Peter Dutton talking about the public service, talking about the economy,” he claimed.
“We don’t listen to lectures about the economy or the public sector from the Liberal party that created Robodebt.
“They clung to people like Stuart Robert for too long, which is undoubtedly one of the reasons why this by-election is taking place, and this is an opportunity not just to replace Stuart Robert with another similar LNP figure, but to replace Stuart Robert with someone of the character and calibre of Letitia Del Fabbro.”
When a reporter questioned Mr. Chalmers about whether the by-election was a significant test for the Coalition leadership, he continued to attack Mr. Dutton.
Every day that Peter Dutton employs this pathologically pessimistic, unrelentingly angry approach, in my opinion, he fails the test. We witnessed that during the week, in my opinion, as he consistently shows himself to be unsuited for the post he aspires to.
“Only a few days after the LNP was exposed as the perpetrator of Robodebt, there was this kind of insane attack on two of the best public workers this country has to offer.
“I believe that Peter Dutton is well-known. This is, in my opinion, a fairly secure Liberal seat. Our hopes are moderated since it has been held by the Liberals for a very long time and because by-elections normally go against governments, but we couldn’t have put out a better candidate and are concentrated on the topics that are important to the locals.
The cost of living crisis is anticipated to have a significant impact on polling, with Mr. Chalmers reminding voters that the federal government has provided “substantial cost of living assistance in a way that doesn’t make the inflation challenge even worse” in his first two budgets because they know “people are under the pump.”
Surprisingly, there are 13 candidates competing in the by-election for the safe seat, including members of the Green Party, One Nation, the Australian Democrats, and Independents.
On Saturday, voting began at 8 am and ended at 6 pm in 29 designated booths. By 10 p.m., results are anticipated to be made public.
