Politics

Watch Anthony Albanese Dunk On The Government Over The #LibSpill On ‘Q&A’

"Anyone who thought Peter Dutton was the answer must have been asking themselves a pretty weird question."

by Tom Clift  4 September 2018
Albanese Q&A

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It’s got to be pretty nice being in the Labor Party right now. You’re killing it in the polls, your opponents are cannibalising each other, and basically all you need to do between now and election day is not fuck anything up.

Labor MP Anthony Albanese was clearly feeling confident on Monday night’s Q&A, as he casually dunked on the Liberals over their recent leadership shit tornado.

It’s hardly surprising that the knifing of Malcolm Turnbull is still a major talking point. But the outcome of the coup, in which both Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton fared better than Julie Bishop, had one audience member scratching her head.

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Last Night's 'Q&A' Was Just A Bunch Of People Slagging Off Peter Dutton

“Julie Bishop has repeatedly polled above all other contenders as the most preferred PM in the Liberal Party,” the questioner asked the panel. “If the aim of the leadership spill was to increase the Coalition’s chances at the next election, why did many members decide Peter Dutton was the man for the job?”

Defence Industry Minister Steve Ciobo, who backed Dutton in the spill, dismissed suggestions that Bishop was overlooked because of her gender.

“There’s a variety of factors that come into play when you make this decision,” he said. “The suggestion that the reason Julie didn’t get the support because she’s a woman is fanciful. That’s not the case.”

Regardless of why Bishop didn’t get the job, Albanese could barely keep the smile off his face when host Tony Jones asked whether she’d have been a more formidable opponent than Scott Morrison.

“Obviously,” said Albanese, generating a big laugh from the audience. “Mind you, anyone who thought Peter Dutton was the answer must have been asking themselves a pretty weird question.”

Albo: “I mean, what kind of IDIOT would vote for Peter Dutton??”

Steve Ciobo: “…”

“Peter Dutton hasn’t polled in double figures as preferred leader, ever,” Albanese continued. “It’s quite extraordinary that you had a coup against a sitting Prime Minister who had won 58 Newspolls in a row as preferred PM, was on 49 percent of the two party preferred vote… and then it just dissolved.”

He went on to point out that since the spill, “[Labor’s] primary vote increased by 6 percent, Bill Shorten is now the preferred Prime Minister, and we’re in a much stronger position than we were a fortnight ago.”

And with that, Albanese did a sick backflip and rode out of the studio on a motorcycle. I mean, not literally, but you get the idea