There was a half-hearted Coalition attempt in question time on Tuesday to defend the policy, a series of questions to the government about in-house catering budgets for big business, but Labor already has its new favourite line of attack: that Dutton has prioritised a policy about “free lunch for bosses” before releasing major plans to address cost of living, energy bills, inflation or housing.
Labor types concede Dutton is driving much of the national debate at the moment, but the light on the horizon they point to is a hope that, once the campaign properly begins, Dutton would wither under the glare of a ravenous media who he has largely avoided to this point (more on that later).
But there’s a reason Dutton had to be asked that question this week – having ducked the National Press Club his whole leadership, and barely held a Canberra press conference in the last year, whispers had crept around parliament that Dutton might run a truncated campaign of some sort.
From caviar to the caravan, Dutton is doing everything he can to distract Albanese and voters from his detail-free plans | Josh Butler With at most 12 weeks until election day, Dutton and the Coalition have announced few proactive ideas.
And with the leader facing a five-week official campaign period where he will be tailed by journalists and expected to front press conferences most days, discussion in Canberra has turned to what kind of campaign Dutton will run – because in the glare of the cameras, he will have to either announce some policy or explain why he hasn’t.
