Dutton not running out of juice on election eve
Peter Dutton has sipped fruit juice and talked about energy prices as he visited a fresh produce market in Pooraka on the last day of campaigning before the election.
At a fresh food market in Adelaideâs northern suburbs, Peter Dutton was up at sparrowâs to begin his final day of campaigning before the federal election.
The opposition leader has to squeeze every waking hour to overturn a deficit in the polls but he has little chance of swinging a victory in the seat of Makin, held by Laborâs Tony Zappia on a 10.8 per cent margin.
Modelling by pollster YouGov published on Thursday showed the coalition was on track for defeat on Saturday, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in with a strong chance of winning an increased majority.
But that would be a bad outcome for Australia, Dutton said.
âThis election is a referendum of the performance of the Albanese government over the last three years, and itâs been a bad one,â he told reporters at a fruit and vegetable stall.
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Dutton sampled mango and apple juice from Ceravolo Orchards and, in a well-worn routine, chatted to business owner Ralph Ceravolo about the rising cost of electricity.
âI always love coming to the markets because itâs where the bush and itâs where our rural, hard-working families meet the market,â Dutton said.
âItâs a reward for their effort and itâs a celebration of great hard work right across our society.â
The market tour was the opposition leaderâs second and final stop of a brief visit to the South Australian capital, after a supporter rally in the seat of Sturt on Thursday night.
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Dutton arrived to a rock star reception at the sprawling Arkaba Hotel, but the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for comeback candidate Nicolle Flint, challenging Laborâs Louise Miller-Frost in the electorate of Boothby.
Flint held the seaside seat until she bowed out of politics in 2022, after enduring misogynistic online abuse and debilitating endometriosis.
After a âmiracleâ health breakthrough helped her overcome the condition, the 46-year-old was only convinced to return to the fold because Dutton had taken over as party leader.
But even if Flint returns to parliament, it is unclear whether it will be under Dutton.
Potential leadership challenges aside, he faces a serious battle to hang onto his own seat of Dickson, with Laborâs Ali France whittling the margin down to 1.7 per cent over the last two elections.
Dutton visited Dickson on Thursday, ostensibly to launch a Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal charity drive, but the stop two days out from polling day raised a few eyebrows.
The prime minister was also in Dickson on Friday morning â a clear indicator of Laborâs ambition to win the seat.
Dutton rejected the dire polling, citing the 2019 federal election when the coalition under Scott Morrison defeated Bill Shortenâs Labor opposition, whom pollsters had widely tipped to win.
â⌠weâre in for the fight of our lives, because if you look at the seat-by-seat analysis, thereâs no doubt in my mind that we can win this election,â he said.
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