A left-wing political commentator has accused Peter Dutton of using his controversial announcement about not displaying the Aboriginal flag as a smokescreen to distract from the Liberal Party’s problems.
The opposition leader announced on Monday that if he is elected Prime Minister next year, he will only display the Australian flag at news conferences.
Anthony Albanese has displayed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the Australian flag in the press since becoming prime minister in 2022.
Only the Australian flag was displayed before Albanese took the top spot.
But Dutton told Sky News on Monday that displaying three flags is “unnecessarily dividing our country”.
Now, former Guardian Australia political reporter Amy Remeikis has unleashed on Dutton, claiming that no one in the mainstream media is holding him to account or calling him out for “what he is so obviously doing.”
“Other than being the worst racist culture war bullshit, it doesn’t really do anything to improve people’s lives, but it certainly makes some people’s lives a lot harder than they need to be in this country,” he said. .
Ms Remeikis, who now works as a senior policy analyst at the left-leaning Australian Institute think tank, said it was a proven tactic on Mr Dutton’s part.
Former Guardian Australia political reporter Amy Remeikis (pictured) accused Peter Dutton of using his controversial announcement about not displaying the Aboriginal flag as a smokescreen to distract from the Liberal Party’s problems.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton (pictured) announced on Monday that if elected Prime Minister next year he will only display the Australian flag at press conferences.
“Every time there’s a real story, it throws a little culture war grenade to distract everyone,” he said.
And there are several reasons why you need a distraction. He has reversed his policy of immigration cuts, which was one of the few other policies he has offered in this legislature.
‘He’s going to joke about nuclear cost day because we already know it’s going to be too expensive.
“You have Paul Fletcher, a senior Liberal leader, announcing he will retire at the next election.”
Dutton announced on Sunday that the Liberal Party would not set a net migration target until after the election, despite previously promising to cut intakes by almost half to 160,000 a year.
Remeikis said Fletcher – who, while playing a key role in the party, was not a household name – was stepping down because he was likely to lose to an independent in the next election.
He further claimed that Dutton had used similar distraction tactics in the past, namely announcing that the Liberal Party would vote No in the Voice referendum after losing the Aston by-election last year and announcing his controversial nuclear policy after losing the election. by Dunkley. by-elections in March this year.
“Every time Peter Dutton needs some kind of ‘look over there’ moment, he comes up with some kind of distraction like this,” Ms Remeikis added.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Dutton’s office for comment.
Mr Albanese’s decision to display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the Australian flag at press conferences was made without any fanfare.
“We didn’t make a fuss, we didn’t put out a press release… we just did it,” Albanese said at the time, before his government’s failed Voice of Parliament referendum.
‘We have flags that represent our entire nation. “It’s an opportunity to talk about our entire history.”
However, Dutton denounced the move this week and revealed he would never address the nation with the Australian and Indigenous flags behind him, arguing it sent a confusing message.
“I firmly believe that we are a country united under one flag, and if we ask people to identify with different flags, no other country does that, and we are dividing our country unnecessarily,” he told Sky. News.
“We should respect the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag, but they are not our national flags.”
Dutton also criticized Albanese for sending “a very confusing message” to Australians about the country’s values and the celebration of Australia Day.
Anthony Albanese (pictured) has displayed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the Australian flag at press conferences since becoming prime minister in 2022.
He called Albanese “the weakest prime minister” in Australia’s history and claimed Australians should celebrate the national holiday under “one flag”.
“The Prime Minister is not criticizing Woolworths or calling out pubs who don’t want to celebrate Australia,” Mr Dutton said.
‘He wants to be everything to everyone, which is why people rightly perceive him as the weakest Prime Minister we have had in the history of our country.
“I think the fact is that we must stand up for who we are, our values and what we believe in.
“We are united as a country when we come together under one flag, which is what we should do on Australia Day.”
More than 90 per cent of Daily Mail Australia readers agreed with Dutton that displaying three flags was “unnecessarily dividing our country”.