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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has deflected questions about a comment from Coalition frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price vowing to “make Australia great again”.
Senator Price, the Coalition’s government efficiency spokesperson, was standing alongside Dutton at a campaign rally in Perth when she made the remark, echoing the rhetoric used by United States President Donald Trump.
“We have incredible candidates right around the country that I’m so proud to be able to stand beside, to ensure that we can make Australia great again, that we can bring Australia back to its former glory, that we can get Australia back on track,” Price said on Saturday, to applause from the crowd.
Questioned by reporters at a later press conference, Price said: “If I said that, I didn’t even realise that I said that. But no, I’m an Australian. I want to ensure that we get Australia back on track.”
When asked whether such remarks were helpful for the Coalition, Dutton directed his response to cost of living.
“You’ve got families out there at the moment, and we’ve spoken to them here in WA, who can’t afford to pay their power bill, who can’t afford to pay their insurance bill,” Dutton said.
“I mean, they’re making decisions at the moment about whether they insure their house or not, right? So let’s just deal with the reality for people. I really think that if we want to make their lives better, and we want to get our country back on track, we have to change the government.”
When asked about the implications of such commentary being linked to Trump, Dutton said: “I think I’ve explained what our position is, and that is, we want to help families.”
Dutton confirmed Price will be in his cabinet, if the Coalition is elected at the 3 May poll.
As the press conference concluded, Price was pressed about what exactly her role would entail.
Price said the role was “not an ode to Donald Trump”.
“Let’s be very, very clear. The media, you’re all obsessed with Donald Trump,” she said.
“We’re not obsessed with Donald Trump, we’re actually obsessed with ensuring that we can improve circumstances for Australia.”
Price said that in her role, she would “cut red and green tape” and “ensure that we’re not providing funds for ridiculous grants like colonising breastfeeding”, although she did not elaborate.
The senator flagged education as a key concern, claiming students are “learning indoctrination as opposed to education, that they’re being forced to have to provide a Welcome to Country with within their essays”.
“I mean, this is absolute nonsense, we’re looking at,” she said.
Price claimed Australia was “under attack” by a “weaponised” view of history taught in schools. Dutton then encouraged reporters to continue asking questions.
“Who hasn’t asked a question of Jacinta?,” he asked the campaign media pack.
Asked about whether she would eliminate diversity, equality and inclusion roles — commonly known as DEI roles — in the public service, Price said: “Whether it’s race, gender, sexuality, none of that is going to matter. What’s going to matter is the right person for the job”.
Dutton brought the press conference to a close, saying Price’s comments are “exactly why Jacinta Price will be in a cabinet that I lead,” and congratulated her on the way out of the venue.
Asked about the press conference, Labor frontbencher Jason Clare said the said the relationship between the United States and Australia is “strong” but that Australia “[doesn’t] need to copy from the United States”.
Price was named the Coalition’s government efficiency spokesperson days after Trump’s 20 January inauguration on which he also established the through an executive order.
The Trump administration has also taken aim at , and proponents of his crackdown say equal opportunities programs reflects a shifting US electorate that has lost patience with ineffective and performative political correctness. But critics say its is an assault on civil rights that will chill efforts to create a fairer country, dismantling decades of affirmative action that they argue led to a more skilled, representative workforce.
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