Discover the challengers taking on Peter Dutton in Queensland, where his seat is most vulnerable

Share and Follow

Just 3,363 votes secured Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s re-election in 2022.

Australia’s holds onto his seat of Dickson by a slim 1.7 per cent, making it the most marginal federal seat in Queensland.

The former police officer has kept his policy agenda largely under wraps ahead of the upcoming election.

So far, he has announced his vision for , pledged $3 billion towards more F-35 fighter jets, campaigned on reduced crime and pitched .

With every vote critical, SBS News spoke to voters in Dickson and the women challenging Dutton in his seat.

The women challenging Peter Dutton in Dickson

Last election, single mother-of-two Ali France tightened the race in Dickson, gaining a 2.94 per cent swing that saw Labor achieve 48.3 per cent of the vote after preferences.

France was impassioned to run for politics after she was hit by a car as a pedestrian. Years of surgery and rehabilitation meant she had to navigate many out-of-pocket costs and fuelled her passion for improving healthcare.

After seven years of working in the community, and in her third campaign, she feels Dutton has not delivered on promises to his electorate, like addressing traffic gridlock, let alone wider issues.

“Peter Dutton is out of touch. He hasn’t supported any cost of living relief and that’s probably the biggest issue in this community,” she told SBS News.

“We’ve (Labor) delivered lots of cost of living relief, including tax cuts for all workers, free TAFE, cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, invested a heap into Medicare.

“That’s all at risk if Peter Dutton becomes elected.”

A brown haired woman with pink lipstick talking, with a poster of Peter Dutton in the background.

Labor candidate Ali France is feeling positive about her third campaign against Opposition leader Peter Dutton. Source: AAP / Glenn Hunt

It’s a concern shared by independent candidate Ellie Smith, who says she’s hearing “a lot about neglect” in Dutton’s seat.

“I think our local member is really focused on what’s happening in Canberra and the factions and fighting Labor rather than representing our local community,” she told SBS News.

The mother and environmental consultant hopes to be elected and address what she says are frustrations over infrastructure delays, public transport and cost-of-living pressures.

A woman in a polka dot dress, standings smiling in a cafe.

Mother Ellie Smith says the number one issue in her electorate is cost-of-living. Source: SBS News / Ewa Staszewska

Dutton dividing voters in Dickson

Polling suggests Dutton is neck-and-neck with Labor leader for preferred prime minister.

YouGov polling has Albanese leading 42 per cent to 40 per cent, the two leaders are tied in the Essential poll with approval ratings of 41 per cent, while the Resolve Political Monitor has Dutton leading 39 per cent to 35 per cent against Albanese.

It’s a sentiment echoed in Dutton’s backyard, with voters in Dickson, which he has held since 2001, also divided over the prime ministerial hopeful.

Nathel, in her 30s, feels like she doesn’t “know much about him”.

For LNP voter Simon, Dutton and the party represent a culture of working hard and being rewarded for it.

“It looks after my pocket and it promotes work ethic … For me, if he can be tomorrow the prime minister,” he told SBS News.

“Can you just get the template from Donald Trump? Just get that template and we’ll go for it.”

Two men in suits and ties, looking serious, with the water from a memorial site in the background.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton (left) and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) are neck-and-neck in all voter polls as the preferred leader of the country ahead of the upcoming election. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

For others, it was a clear: “no thank you”.

“I don’t like his policies. I don’t like what he stands for … he’s going really far to the right and getting into othering of people,” Lucas told SBS News.

Essential poll estimates roughly one in two voters might change their vote or have not yet decided how they will mark their ballot paper.

It is also unclear what impact young voters, with Gen Z and millennial voters outnumbering baby boomers in every state and territory for the first time, will have on the upcoming election.

Could Peter Dutton lose his seat in 2025?

It would not be the first time a Liberal Party leader lost his seat after voters hit the polls.

In 2007, John Howard notably lost both his seat of Bennelong and the election, only the second sitting prime minister to do so.

However, Griffith University political scientist Paul Williams thinks a loss is unlikely.

“If Peter Dutton didn’t lose the seat at the height of Anthony Albanese’s popularity in 2022, he’s certainly not going to lose it now,” he told SBS News.

“With an increased profile, there’s a bit of prestige that goes with having an opposition leader or prime minister as your local member.”Williams predicts Dutton will see a substantial swing, turning Dickson into a safe seat, in what he describes as an “easy win”.