- by C Bartholomew
- The Guardian
- Issue #2134
Photo: UK Government – flickr.com (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Murdoch Press and other conservative media outlets have been trying their best to convince Australians that Peter Dutton is all the rage. Anytime a poll shows Dutton in the lead the papers are there to sing his praises.
A lot of media attention has also been focused on the demographic of young men who Dutton seems to be luring in with the same reactionary, ‘anti-woke’ rhetoric that spiked in popularity during the first Trump election. In contrast, with the exception of outlets such as Crikey, there seems to be a media blackout on key demographics such as young women. The reason is simple: these demographics don’t fit the narrative of Dutton’s popularity.
The same Australian Financial Review poll which showed Dutton’s rising popularity with young men also indicated that young women did not approve of either major party leader and were as likely to vote Greens as Labor. As Labor and the Coalition teamed up to push through electoral reforms designed to stamp out the rise of the Greens and teal independents, it would seem that their failure to attract young women ought to be a larger story.
The media silence, however, is a deliberate strategy. Young women – alongside young queer people and similar demographics – are becoming more politically organised. Aside from the memes and internet trolling which has swamped Dutton’s attempt at TikTok fame, young women have also responded to the Trump election and Dutton’s ‘Temu Trump’ rhetoric with more direct actions. From on the street organising to the creation of websites such as ‘Build a Ballot,’ young women have been making their voices heard. The media silence is designed to hush up those voices.
It is worth noting that the AFR poll being paraded by the media to show Dutton’s popularity among young men actually found that Albanese was more popular among all young voters, regardless of gender. While young women disapproved of both leaders, with Dutton losing spectacularly, young men also disapproved of Dutton and actually had favourable approval ratings for Albanese. However, admitting that the young voters who will likely make up around half of the electorate hate your guts is not a good electoral strategy.
Dutton and his media mates are focusing so much attention on the minority of young men who support him because they want to convince more young men that Dutton is the candidate for them. They want a Trump-style swing of young male voters to secure Dutton’s victory. On the other hand, keeping silent about young women is meant to help avoid any uncomfortable questions about exactly why young women hate Dutton so much.
It is also meant to stymie the growing political activism of this demographic. If young women are unable to see themselves in political discussions, or if they can be convinced that Dutton is so popular among other demographics that his victory is inevitable, then they will be less likely to be politically organised, less likely to develop class consciousness, and less likely to be an issue for Dutton and his donors.
Dutton’s entire career in politics and public offices is marked by rampant corruption, abuses of power, and sheer ineptitude. Dutton handing half a billion dollars to a company run out of a shack as part of his immigrant detention scheme, or being voted by doctors as the worst health minister in decades, or planning to squander $600 billion on a nuclear plan designed to expand fossil fuels and worsen energy costs are not good headlines.
The conservative press must be silent on these points if it wants to continue to pretend that Dutton will be better on government efficiency, health, and energy than Albanese. To secure Dutton’s image as a popular leader, they must ignore all the doctors, scientists, unions, and young women who hate him.
Also passed over is Dutton’s extensive use of racism; from the baseless ‘African gangs’ smear campaign, to walking out on the Apology, and campaigning for white South African farmer migrants, Dutton has form.
Here too, Dutton’s popularity is sustained by silence.
