Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has a “huge task” ahead of him convincing voters to face to up the reality of what a government comprised of Labor, the Greens and the Teal independents will mean for Australia, Sky News Australia host Chris Kenny has said.
With just over two weeks until polling day, Kenny on Wednesday said Mr Dutton needed to be “quick smart” in relaying the message to Australians.
Kenny made the comments as he addressed the “lack of intellectual integrity in our public debate”.
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“Imagine how strong and prosperous our future will be with Labor, Greens and Teal windmills and solar panels?” he said on the Kenny Report.
“Peter Dutton faces a huge task over the next 17 days. He’s got to get this country to face up to a reality check. And he’s got to do it quick smart.”
Kenny also pointed out how the Coalition is “being picked to death by minor parties”.
“They’ve got the political con artists of the Teals luring away the so-called moderates, the sort of soft left liberals who think they can have it all,” he said.
“And at the conservative end of the spectrum they lose votes to One Nation and now to the Trumpet of Patriots types who want to import Trumpian politics to Australia, which is a grave misreading of Australian people and Australian politics and of course only damages the Coalition.
“Yet with all this going on, we come back to one fundamental truth, and that is that we have a weak government doing the wrong thing by our country. And history and raw politics tells us it can only get worse in a second term, so this is dangerous for our country.”
Kenny said that “whatever the difficulties for right of centre politics, voters need to focus on the main game”.
“If you agree with the proposition that Albanese is out of his depth, that government spending is growing like topsy, that immigration is out of control, that we have squandered our cheap energy advantage, that wokeness is undermining our culture and that we are displaying weakness on national security, antisemitism, and foreign policy, then you need to vote for the Coalition parties, the Liberals or the Nationals,” he said.
“Voting Teal is a vote for Labor and the Greens. And protesting with a vote for One Nation or the Trumpets or Libertarians is only safe if you make sure that you preference the Coalition candidates second. That’s just the reality.”
Voters will be able to start casting their votes from next Tuesday, April 22, when early voting opens ahead of the May 3 election.
“We look like getting a messy hung parliament, which would most likely turn into a Labor, Greens and Teals alliance, accelerating the disastrous economic, and climate and energy policies of recent times,” Kenny said.
“There’s a second leaders debate on the ABC tonight, and it’s another chance for Peter Dutton to create momentum, to try to turn the tide.
“The margins are so tight that the election can still swing either way over the next 17 days. But remember people will start voting from Tuesday, and perhaps as many as half the votes will be cast before polling day, so the urgency is here, the arguments need to be won now.”
Kenny on Wednesday night was joined by Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie and Liberal Party Senator Dave Sharma, who lost his seat of Wentworth at the 2022 Federal Election to Teal independent Allegra Spender.
Other guests included Peter Jennings, Danica De Giorgio, Joe Hildebrand and Julia Bradley.
