Labor slams Peter Dutton for creating ‘fake fight’ over Australia Day

Education Minister Jason Clare says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is stoking a “fake fight” over Australia Day after polling revealed that a majority of Australians are now against changing the date.

Meanwhile, Dutton restated his position that people should shun companies who boycott the public holiday as he declared national pride needed to be returned to Australia Day.

An exclusive survey conducted for this masthead revealed support for January 26 to be kept as Australia Day leapt from 47 to 61 per cent over the past two years. It also found that 52 per cent of voters backed the idea of passing a federal law to make January 26 the official day, a key proposal from Dutton before the election.

“I think [the poll findings are] a fantastic result. I just think it says that our national pride can be something that we celebrate again. Be respectful to everybody, but these companies who are boycotting Australia Day, boycott them,” Dutton told Nine’s Today program on Friday.

Dutton’s use of the poll result shows how a contest on national identity could become crucial to the federal election, similar to last year’s US election, as voter frustration with the cost-of-living crisis fuels discontent.

Earlier this month, Dutton said one of his first acts as prime minister if he wins the election would be to enshrine January 26 in law so that local councils would have to hold events on the day.

Clare said this was a distraction from Dutton’s “stinker” policy pledging tax deductions of up to $20,000 for meal and entertainment expenses for companies with an annual turnover of less than $10 million.

“There is a smelly flower in Sydney today, the real stinker here is this idea that taxpayers should pay for their boss’s lunch and still won’t tell us how much it’s going to cost,” Clare told Seven’s Sunrise.