17 January 2024

Is Dutton really more triggered by plastic flags than price gouging? Or is this The Voice 2.0?

| Chris Roe
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Peter Dutton and Jacinta Price head back to the barricades in time for Australia Day. Image: Chris Roe.

In a week when high supermarket prices and low returns for farmers have dominated the political headlines, federal opposition leader Peter Dutton has called on Australians to “boycott” retail giant Woolies.

Surprisingly, his latest attack on big business has little to do with Woolies declaring $1.72 billion in profits in the face of a cost of living crisis and a federal enquiry into supermarket pricing.

Nor is it about allegations of underpaid workers, foreign sweatshops or undeclared political donations.

What’s really got up Mr Dutton’s nose is the availability of Chinese-made plastic flags and inflatable thongs and what they represent to our national identity.

“I think it’s up to customers whether they want to go in and buy the product or not,” Dutton told Sydney’s radio 2GB in response to Woolworth’s decision not to stock Australia Day merch.

“If they don’t want to celebrate Australia Day, well, that’s a decision for them, but I think people should boycott Woolworths.”

In fact, the Woolworths Group, which includes the supermarket chain and Big W, was joined by Kmart and Aldi in declaring that this year, they wouldn’t be stocking up on Aussie flag-themed hats, capes, stubby coolers, bunting, party glasses, bikinis, umbrellas, bow ties and inflatable Kangaroos.

Never mind that discount stores are already overflowing with ocker accessories by the kilogram and there will no doubt be plenty of flag-themed landfill to go around!

READ ALSO Treasurer is turning his attention to supermarket price gouging

Woolies argued that it is about the dollars and a “decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise” but added weakly that their decision was also linked to a “broader discussion about January 26”.

Sensing a familiar fight, the opposition leader doubled down, invoking the W-word and adding a cost-of-living postscript as an afterthought on social media.

“Woolworths should focus on getting grocery prices down, not on peddling woke agendas,” he posted.

Despite Woolies and Aldi deciding not to stock up for January 26, bargain stores will make sure there are enough flagcapes to go around. Photo: Chris Roe.

Labor’s Agriculture Minister Murray Watt was trotted out on Today to accuse Dutton of stoking a “culture war” at the expense of real issues like “the prices we’re paying at checkouts”.

But once you invoke woke, it’s hard to get the toothpaste back in the tube and questions of free markets and philosophical perspectives on the role of government in business were drowned out.

Politics in the 2020s is a war of ideas, and Peter Dutton knows that stoking the 24-hour media cycle with polarising soundbites is the key to success.

It’s a tactic that saw him turn the tables on the newly minted PM who thought he had an election mandate to introduce the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in 2023.

READ ALSO Good policy, transparency and integrity should trump tribal politics any time

With rising star Jacinta Nampijinpa Price shining at his shoulder and deflecting accusations of racism, Dutton strode into the fraught arena of Indigenous politics brandishing a mix of obstinate uncertainty and jingoistic pride and appealed to Australia’s conservative core and idea of a fair go.

He cast corporations that backed the Voice as moralising and meddling elites and emerged from the bruising campaign as a genuine political contender.

“First Woolworths tried to tell Australians how to vote on the Voice, now it is trying to cancel Australia Day by not stocking products with our national flag,” Dutton posted on Thursday (11 January), clearly intent on maintaining the rage.

Australia Day has long been an ideological battleground for Aboriginal rights advocates, but momentum has surged and the wider population has weighed in with the push to “change the date”.

Jacinta Price is a veteran of Australia Day stoushes and the seasoned contrarian is once again gearing up to fight at Dutton’s side.

By pouncing on the villainous Woolies in the same week supermarkets came under fire over price gouging, Dutton has caught a wave of popular rage that he hopes will propel him through the next fortnight to January 26 and beyond.

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HiddenDragon7:47 pm 14 Jan 24

This storm in a tinny holder will have been forgotten by 26 January – certainly by most of the people whose votes will determine the outcome of the next election.

The only moderately interesting thing about Dutton’s less than deft (particularly now that Aldi have joined the atonement-seekers) intervention is the extent to which it’s a(nother?) sign that he has written off the Teal seats.

@Hidden Dragon
“This storm in a tinny holder will have been forgotten by 26 January …”
I suspect even quicker than that, HD … probably next weekend when punters do their usual weekly shop at Woolies.

Let’s finish this futile debate and celebrate a real National Day. July 4th. The USA determines our defence and trade policies and relationships. We already celebrate their other big days…Halloween and Valentines Day. We’ve adopted their deification of the military and have all their video streams. Let’s just cut to the chase and salute our plastic flags.

I believe that anyone who’s sufficiently joined the dots has worked out that the Commonwealth of Australia is under attack from foreign billionaires – if not trillionaires – who’d prefer to have the country for themselves, hence all the destabilising identity politics of recent times, as well as the targeted assault on patriotism.

As such, all signs of anything or anyone working on the side of the moneyed elites needs to be met with resistance. As Woolies’ decision about Australia Day merchandise had globalist anti-Australia tones written all over it, regardless of the benign sounding explanation given, I believe Dutton’s decision to react the way he did was in keeping with how all good Australians should behave.

However, given the treachery shown by the Liberals during COVID, and their readiness to trash proper liberties as well as boundaries, I have doubts about the sincerity of their conservatism / patriotism, leading me to fear that the Duttons won’t be around when they’re most needed.

If the dots are that bad, don’t let him near a Rorschach test.
Or a mirror.

@Vasily M
If you say so, Vasily …

Every January, you people… every January. Why, it’s almost like it is a tradition!

Every Australian should have a right to acknowledge January 26th how they choose. For some it may be a day of celebration, for others a day of sadness and for more than one might suspect, just a day off and nothing more.

The plurality of polarising views and the constant argument about national identity in a country made up of descendants of settlers and colonisers and indigenous people and immigrants is probably the most Australian thing we could do.

@Alext T
January = slow news month, Alex

Dutton should have just kept quiet. The big end of town was doing a fine job kicking own goals

I say leave it where it is until we become a republic, and then make it that new date. When ever that happens. If ever that happens.

In the meantime, every Australian should have a right to acknowledge January 26th how they choose. For some it may be a day of celebration, for others a day of sadness and for more than one might suspect, just a day off and nothing more.

The plurality of polarising views and the constant argument about it is probably the most Australian thing about Australia Day.

I’ve never given a rats about 26 January. The National Day should celebrate the Federation when the 6 colonies decided to join together.

@franky22
Great idea, franky22 – unfortunately, that day is 1-Jan-1901 … if the National Day was moved to 1 January, no doubt Dutton and his accolytes would call it un-Australian to take away the new year’s day holiday,

There are plenty of other approprite dates to choose from such as the peoples conventions or the Federation Conventions that were held in the 1890’s.

@franky22
A substantial number of Australians don’t even know what 26 Jan commemorates – they think it has something to do with Captain Cook rather than the arrival of the first fleet, so picking an esoteric date relating to federation conventions would also be totally misunderstood.

Perhaps we should just pick a suitable date for a public holiday and call it “Aussie BBQ Day”.

Or we could add back true history to the education system. Rather than the watered down ministry of truth version.

@gooterz
I know several people from my (ancient) generation who studied the same history I did at school, all those many years ago, and yet have no idea of (i.e. can’t recall) the reason we celebrate Australia Day on 26-Jan.

Elle Cehcker9:42 am 14 Jan 24

He has a point…outside the small public service Canberra bubble, and riot act authors…people really actually do love Australia and the country it is today.

I’ll be having a BBQ and have the flag waving about.

@Elle Cehcker
What point is it with which you agree, Elle? His inability to purchase “inflatable thongs”? Or perhaps it’s the “Chinese-made plastic flag” that you’ll be waving about?
Contrary to your belief, many of us still “love Australia and the country it is today” (I’d add for the most part, but that’s just me) without feeling the need for jingoistic nationalism.

Here’s a novel concept for inner city progressives: Dutton is representing a constituency that, while reviled by people such as yourselves, does not share the progressive view that Australia Day should be undermined. Why does this author link it to the Voice? Let’s remind ourselves, that in that case, we found out the progressive vote was only 30% of the total, and mostly confined to wealthy inner city elite electorates And that result was after a campaign where progressives resorted to schoolyard name-calling rather than cogent argument and openly imputed their opponents’ views solely to stupidity and racism, with zero sophistication around the actual issues. Enough with the smug arrogance that inner city elites are always right. You’re in the minority. Respect the majority who don’t share your elitist views please.

@Rustygear
Nice rant. On whose behalf are you speaking again?
And for the record, Dutton linked it to the Voice before the author – inform yourself and read what Dutton posted as quoted above.

“schoolyard name-calling”

And there Rustygear is, at it again.

“Let’s remind ourselves, that in that case, we found out the progressive vote was only 30% of the total, and mostly confined to wealthy inner city elite electorates…”
You left out overwhelming YES votes at indigenous majority remote polling stations, so best to rephrase that as “wealthy inner city elite electorates and our poorest indigenous people.”

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