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Inhaltswarnung: Going back to Dutton's electorate where I grew up, it's clear the govt waste message is resonating
Yep, as i'd long presumed, too many of the Dickson voters are still fuckheads.
Carn Ali France, Ellie Smith, Vinnie Batten.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8909711/election-2025-peter-duttons-public-service-cuts-reach-dickson
QUOTE BEGINS
It's impossible to miss a towering billboard as you round a bend on Gympie Road, just north of Brisbane. It greets you on the drive past what was once the old Petrie paper mill and is now a university campus, in the federal electorate of Dickson.
On it, a grinning Peter Dutton tells motorists he wants to get Australia "back on track".
It's a message reminiscent of the one that got Trump over the line in the United States and for some residents in the marginal seat of Dickson, it is resonating.
Having grown up in the seat that Mr Dutton has held for more than 20 years, I travelled back there to get a sense of how voters are feeling mere months out from the federal election.
Those who are willing to share their opinions give glowing references to Mr Dutton, describing him as decisive, strong and a clear thinker.
"He's got what it takes," says veteran Max Revell who plans to vote Liberal at the upcoming election.
Mr Revell says there is nothing that would change his vote.
"[Peter Dutton] is great for the electorate, people love him, he is decisive, he knows how to call a spade a spade," he says.
"He can talk the talk and walk the walk, which is what is needed in Canberra at the moment."
A woman at the same shopping centre in Strathpine says she likes Mr Dutton because he's genuine.
"He means what he says and there's no mucking about with him," she says.
Mr Dutton's office did not respond to ACM's inquiries for this story.
The strong, straight-talking persona is one Mr Dutton has built within his electorate over more than two decades.
The Coalition leader has held the seat of Dickson since late 2001, after a 10-year career with the Queensland Police Service.
The seat of Dickson, about 25 kilometres north of Brisbane CBD, is a working-class area and a mix of built-up housing estates, industrial parks and more affluent suburbs with acreage plots. Mr Dutton lives in the latter.
The Opposition Leader approaches the 2025 federal election on a razor-thin margin of 1.7 per cent, after a nearly 3 per cent swing to Labor on a two-party preferred basis at the 2022 election.
Labor candidate Ali France is going up against Mr Dutton for the third time and, despite her confidence, admits claiming victory will be "absolutely difficult".
Many Queensland residents would be aware of Ms France's personal adversities, which have driven her to become an advocate for people with disabilities.
Ms France had her leg amputated in 2011 after she was pinned between two cars during an incident in a suburban shopping centre car park. One year ago, Ms France's son Henry died of leukaemia, just months after Henry's father and Ms France's ex-husband also died from cancer.
The Labor candidate and para-athlete is certain Mr Dutton's time is up in the electorate but admits it will be a hard task coming up against such a public figure.
"Especially when you've got the Opposition Leader who's on television every single day," she says.
"But we just focus on speaking to as many people as possible, right across the electorate."
Ms France has some reason to feel confident heading into the election. While Mr Dutton has his staunch supporters, the results from the last federal election show there is plenty of groundswell for change. Mr Dutton went into the 2022 election with a 4.6 per cent margin on a two-party preferred basis, which fell to 1.7 per cent after a fierce campaign by Labor.
On the ballot paper this year is also the independent candidate for Dickson, Ellie Smith, who's received funding from Simon Holmes a Court's Climate 200, and Greens candidate Vinnie Batten who claimed 13 per cent of the primary vote last election.
Ms France and her team of volunteers are spending their days door-knocking the suburbs, which she says is in contrast to the "huge war chest" Mr Dutton has available for flyers and billboards.
When I join her for an afternoon of door-knocking in Strathpine, those who answer the door are keen to hear about Labor's policies. She reminds them about Labor's revised tax cuts, fee-free Tafe and energy bill rebates. One resident thanks her for increasing wages for early childhood educators.
The Coalition's commitment to cutting public service jobs has gone beyond the national capital, despite Mr Dutton's attempts to make the job cuts appear targeted towards "Canberra-centric" roles.
Cuts to the public service are something Ms France discusses with residents as she door-knocks through the suburbs. She believes the idea of shrinking the public service is important to the people of Dickson, even if the "government waste" the Opposition Leader is targeting has been incorrectly pitched as entirely Canberra jobs.
The sacking of more than 12,000 state public servants under former Liberal-National premier Campbell Newman is still fresh in the minds of Queenslanders, Ms France says.
"The ghost of Campbell Newman, it still haunts us here in Queensland," she says.
"So when [people] hear cuts to public service, they know what that means here. And I think as we get closer to the election, people are going to have to take a closer look at that."
When she speaks to residents, Ms France points out what she believes job cuts could mean for Queensland residents.
"It will be to things like people working for the NDIS, people working for Centrelink, people working in Veterans' Affairs, people working in Medicare," she says.
"These are all the services that people in this electorate rely upon."
Voters have their own opinions on public service job cuts. Some say they worry about those who'll be sacked and left without work, while others are concerned about the potential for increased government spending on external contractors.
But others, like Mr Revell, believe cuts are a good thing.
"There's too many people in the public service," he says.
"All public servants, whether it be in Canberra or where it is, you ring up and they say 'I'll pass you onto another person,' and then they put their feet back up on the desk."
If they don't cut jobs, the government should amalgamate departments, Mr Revell says.
Similarly, Peter Aquino says there's room to cut some jobs. Speaking outside a Woolworths in nearby suburb Warner, Mr Aquino says from personal experience, "There's a lot of people that just don't do anything."
"Even if he cuts some I don't think it's going to make much of an impact," he says.
Petrie resident Judy Hughes is indifferent about who the next prime minister should be but praises the Labor government for her cheaper medicines and electricity bills.
"I haven't paid an electricity bill for a year," she says.
But Ms Hughes also talks of Mr Dutton as a nice person, whom she met when he visited her workplace, Meals on Wheels. She says he "treated everyone well" and even offered to buy a new cooker for the kitchen.
Vickie Pentecost is another Dickson resident who has personally met Mr Dutton. She says his strong focus on community engagement is part of his success.
Ms Pentecost believes Mr Dutton would make a good prime minister.
"I just think Albanese stuffed up a bit, I don't think he's ever recovered from losing the Voice," she says.
However, there is plenty of uncertainty in the lead-up to the election, even among those who are certain of their vote.
Mr Aquino says he would put his bottom dollar on Mr Dutton winning the election, but also wants to see more policy detail from the Opposition Leader.
"This nuclear thing, I don't know how it's going to go in Australia," Mr Aquino said.
"It'd be nice if someone could give us a full rundown of how it's going to work, whether it's going to affect people and stuff like that."
But a policy that's light on detail doesn't appear to concern some voters in Dickson, many of whom seem content with the idea of their local member becoming prime minister.
The question is whether his smiling billboards and community-man persona will help him secure his seat for a ninth consecutive term, or if Labor's message of an out-of-touch pollie ready to slash jobs will be enough to change the tide.
QUOTE ENDS
#AusPol #ClimateCrisis #WomensRights #ShitParty1 #ShitParty2 #FsckOffDutton #WhyIsLabor #NoNukes #VoteGreens #ProgIndies #TuckFrump
Carn Ali France, Ellie Smith, Vinnie Batten.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8909711/election-2025-peter-duttons-public-service-cuts-reach-dickson
QUOTE BEGINS
It's impossible to miss a towering billboard as you round a bend on Gympie Road, just north of Brisbane. It greets you on the drive past what was once the old Petrie paper mill and is now a university campus, in the federal electorate of Dickson.
On it, a grinning Peter Dutton tells motorists he wants to get Australia "back on track".
It's a message reminiscent of the one that got Trump over the line in the United States and for some residents in the marginal seat of Dickson, it is resonating.
Having grown up in the seat that Mr Dutton has held for more than 20 years, I travelled back there to get a sense of how voters are feeling mere months out from the federal election.
Those who are willing to share their opinions give glowing references to Mr Dutton, describing him as decisive, strong and a clear thinker.
"He's got what it takes," says veteran Max Revell who plans to vote Liberal at the upcoming election.
Mr Revell says there is nothing that would change his vote.
"[Peter Dutton] is great for the electorate, people love him, he is decisive, he knows how to call a spade a spade," he says.
"He can talk the talk and walk the walk, which is what is needed in Canberra at the moment."
A woman at the same shopping centre in Strathpine says she likes Mr Dutton because he's genuine.
"He means what he says and there's no mucking about with him," she says.
Mr Dutton's office did not respond to ACM's inquiries for this story.
The strong, straight-talking persona is one Mr Dutton has built within his electorate over more than two decades.
The Coalition leader has held the seat of Dickson since late 2001, after a 10-year career with the Queensland Police Service.
The seat of Dickson, about 25 kilometres north of Brisbane CBD, is a working-class area and a mix of built-up housing estates, industrial parks and more affluent suburbs with acreage plots. Mr Dutton lives in the latter.
The Opposition Leader approaches the 2025 federal election on a razor-thin margin of 1.7 per cent, after a nearly 3 per cent swing to Labor on a two-party preferred basis at the 2022 election.
Labor candidate Ali France is going up against Mr Dutton for the third time and, despite her confidence, admits claiming victory will be "absolutely difficult".
Many Queensland residents would be aware of Ms France's personal adversities, which have driven her to become an advocate for people with disabilities.
Ms France had her leg amputated in 2011 after she was pinned between two cars during an incident in a suburban shopping centre car park. One year ago, Ms France's son Henry died of leukaemia, just months after Henry's father and Ms France's ex-husband also died from cancer.
The Labor candidate and para-athlete is certain Mr Dutton's time is up in the electorate but admits it will be a hard task coming up against such a public figure.
"Especially when you've got the Opposition Leader who's on television every single day," she says.
"But we just focus on speaking to as many people as possible, right across the electorate."
Ms France has some reason to feel confident heading into the election. While Mr Dutton has his staunch supporters, the results from the last federal election show there is plenty of groundswell for change. Mr Dutton went into the 2022 election with a 4.6 per cent margin on a two-party preferred basis, which fell to 1.7 per cent after a fierce campaign by Labor.
On the ballot paper this year is also the independent candidate for Dickson, Ellie Smith, who's received funding from Simon Holmes a Court's Climate 200, and Greens candidate Vinnie Batten who claimed 13 per cent of the primary vote last election.
Ms France and her team of volunteers are spending their days door-knocking the suburbs, which she says is in contrast to the "huge war chest" Mr Dutton has available for flyers and billboards.
When I join her for an afternoon of door-knocking in Strathpine, those who answer the door are keen to hear about Labor's policies. She reminds them about Labor's revised tax cuts, fee-free Tafe and energy bill rebates. One resident thanks her for increasing wages for early childhood educators.
The Coalition's commitment to cutting public service jobs has gone beyond the national capital, despite Mr Dutton's attempts to make the job cuts appear targeted towards "Canberra-centric" roles.
Cuts to the public service are something Ms France discusses with residents as she door-knocks through the suburbs. She believes the idea of shrinking the public service is important to the people of Dickson, even if the "government waste" the Opposition Leader is targeting has been incorrectly pitched as entirely Canberra jobs.
The sacking of more than 12,000 state public servants under former Liberal-National premier Campbell Newman is still fresh in the minds of Queenslanders, Ms France says.
"The ghost of Campbell Newman, it still haunts us here in Queensland," she says.
"So when [people] hear cuts to public service, they know what that means here. And I think as we get closer to the election, people are going to have to take a closer look at that."
When she speaks to residents, Ms France points out what she believes job cuts could mean for Queensland residents.
"It will be to things like people working for the NDIS, people working for Centrelink, people working in Veterans' Affairs, people working in Medicare," she says.
"These are all the services that people in this electorate rely upon."
Voters have their own opinions on public service job cuts. Some say they worry about those who'll be sacked and left without work, while others are concerned about the potential for increased government spending on external contractors.
But others, like Mr Revell, believe cuts are a good thing.
"There's too many people in the public service," he says.
"All public servants, whether it be in Canberra or where it is, you ring up and they say 'I'll pass you onto another person,' and then they put their feet back up on the desk."
If they don't cut jobs, the government should amalgamate departments, Mr Revell says.
Similarly, Peter Aquino says there's room to cut some jobs. Speaking outside a Woolworths in nearby suburb Warner, Mr Aquino says from personal experience, "There's a lot of people that just don't do anything."
"Even if he cuts some I don't think it's going to make much of an impact," he says.
Petrie resident Judy Hughes is indifferent about who the next prime minister should be but praises the Labor government for her cheaper medicines and electricity bills.
"I haven't paid an electricity bill for a year," she says.
But Ms Hughes also talks of Mr Dutton as a nice person, whom she met when he visited her workplace, Meals on Wheels. She says he "treated everyone well" and even offered to buy a new cooker for the kitchen.
Vickie Pentecost is another Dickson resident who has personally met Mr Dutton. She says his strong focus on community engagement is part of his success.
Ms Pentecost believes Mr Dutton would make a good prime minister.
"I just think Albanese stuffed up a bit, I don't think he's ever recovered from losing the Voice," she says.
However, there is plenty of uncertainty in the lead-up to the election, even among those who are certain of their vote.
Mr Aquino says he would put his bottom dollar on Mr Dutton winning the election, but also wants to see more policy detail from the Opposition Leader.
"This nuclear thing, I don't know how it's going to go in Australia," Mr Aquino said.
"It'd be nice if someone could give us a full rundown of how it's going to work, whether it's going to affect people and stuff like that."
But a policy that's light on detail doesn't appear to concern some voters in Dickson, many of whom seem content with the idea of their local member becoming prime minister.
The question is whether his smiling billboards and community-man persona will help him secure his seat for a ninth consecutive term, or if Labor's message of an out-of-touch pollie ready to slash jobs will be enough to change the tide.
QUOTE ENDS
#AusPol #ClimateCrisis #WomensRights #ShitParty1 #ShitParty2 #FsckOffDutton #WhyIsLabor #NoNukes #VoteGreens #ProgIndies #TuckFrump
Election 2025: Peter Dutton's public service cuts reach Dickson
Peter Dutton hopes to secure marginal seat of Dickson at the election, but Labor candidate Ali France says voters are wary of Dutton's public service job cuts.Brittney Levinson (The Canberra Times)