In this special edition of Latika Takes: The Podcast, recorded in collaboration with The Nightly, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton discusses the Australian election due for May 3.
Speaking ahead of a full day of campaigning in Melbourne and Sydney, Mr Dutton, who polls say will fall short of ousting the centre-left Labor government, says he can still win it.
He discusses how the Coalition is banking on the Smart and Forgotten Australians to both see through the governing Labor party’s scare campaign tactics, which have worked to help end his lead in the polls.
And he says that he believes the results on Saturday night will show the same sort of realignment that’s occurred in the United States and United Kingdom, whereby traditional working-class voters are abandoning the centre-left and opting for conservative parties.
But he says Donald Trump and the Make America Great Again movement is not conservative. However he backs the Australia - US alliance to see through the turbulence stemming from the White House.
This episode is sponsored by Political Tours.
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Living in a constituency next door to where you grew up, Macquarie, I sense it is closer than many in the media are saying. The Libs have lots of young, vocal supporters (but who cannot answer any detailed policy questions like where are 42,000 public servants going from in terms of which agencies and programs) but most corflutes are for the ALP - home owning, graduate, baby boomers - Gen Z, who hate Trump and populism - like me.
Turnbull was very effective in calling into doubt, for people like me, AUKUS - from the perspective of the US controlling the builds and distribution of nuclear submarines. I sympathise with Turnbull, who argues like Carney, we should stand up to Trump.
Good tough interview - you called him out as you have done the ALP. Dutton might make a good State Premier but PM?