Peter Dutton, the new opposition leader, wants Australians to see his ‘soft centre’ not simply his ‘strong exterior,’ as he has done in the past.
He would not, however, rule out playing the ukulele like Scott Morrison to persuade voters that he isn’t as abrasive as he appeared as defence and home affairs minister.
Instead, he detailed his arduous career, which included working part-time as a butcher to pay his way through school, purchasing his first home at the age of 19, and a long police career.
After being elected as the Liberal’s frontman unopposed during a party room meeting on Monday, Mr Dutton immediately started spruiking what he can offer voters when they next hit the ballot booths in 2025.
Mr Dutton said he wanted his new position even though its the ‘worst’ role in politics because ‘Australia is worth defending’.
‘I want to make sure we’ve got the policies to help small businesses, families under enormous pressure, electricity prices going up, fuel prices going up,’ he said on Sunrise on Tuesday.
‘The policies to keep our country secure but also make sure we can help families and help grow Australian jobs, bring manufacturing back to the country as well.’
But host David Koch confronted Mr Dutton on how he plans to win over Australians after carving a controversial figure during his time in parliament.
‘Scott Morrison apologised for being a bulldozer, with respect you have the reputation of being a bulldozer as well,’ he said.
Mr Dutton said his hard-nosed approach to politics was just one of his many facets that make him a good leader and he hopes people will ‘reserve judgement’ until they can see more of who he is.
‘You know I’ve got a soft centre, tough exterior and I’ve got to show people the complete character that I have,’ he said.
I’ve had tough jobs, I was the home affairs minister, deporting 600 criminals people who committed murder and serious drug trafficking charges… I was defence minister and we had tough decisions to make there.
‘It’s pretty hard when you’re talking about those things to crack a joke or break into a smile.’
Asked who the ‘real’ Peter Dutton is and what misgivings may be ‘unfounded’, the former policeman said despite being a conservative, he came from humble beginnings.
‘I grew up in a working class suburb, mom and dad were small business people, they worked hard for every dollar,’ he said.
‘I worked in a butcher shop after school and save like crazy and bought my first house at 19, had a small business which I grew into a big business employing about 40 people.
‘I think these are all values I bought into my public life, I’ve been a broad range of portfolios and patient about in uncertain world would keep our country safe.’
However, Mr Dutton admitted that he didn’t know how to play the ukulele like Mr Morrison – who infamously strummed the instrument during a pre-election interview with 60 Minutes.
‘I don’t play the ukulele,’ he said.
‘I used to get a clip under the ear for not learning the piano as I should have.’
Mr Dutton said the next three years would be ‘tough under Labor’ and he planned to bring Australians back on side after the Coalition’s ‘worst loss in 70 years’ by introducing policies ‘our people can believe in’.
‘We have to have economic policies. I think with the electrical prices going up, energy security, and many other issues, I just don’t think [Labor] are equipped to deal [with them],’ he said.
‘The Liberal Party is always best on national security and the economy.
‘I think with inflation rising, with the concerns people have in their own budgets by the next three-year period, I think we will be in a strong position and we will be united as an opposition as well, and that will put us in a credible position.’
Mr Dutton will lead the Liberal Party alongside Sussan Ley, who was elected as the new deputy leader.
Mr Dutton garnered the reputation as a hardliner after making controversial comments, including statements about African gangs and Muslim Lebanese migration.
In 2016, he suggested that former prime minister Malcolm Fraser should not have let people of ‘Lebanese-Muslim’ heritage into Australia.
Two years later, he claimed Melburnians were too afraid to go to restaurants because of gangs in an attack on the Victorian Government for not having what he believed were adequate crime deterrence measures.
The Coalition was at the time accused of using ‘African street gang’ rhetoric to attack the Daniel Andrews Labor government after a series of high profile crimes involving Sudanese youths.
Despite the claims, statistics showed the overall crime rates across the state at that time were in decline.
Mr Dutton was subsequently mocked online by Victorians who shared photos of their ‘brave’ meals out under the hashtag ‘MelbourneBitesBack’.