Anthony Albanese orders Peter Dutton ‘smear’ featuring wife Kirilly be removed after sparking outrage

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has hit out at a Victorian Labor Party social media post mocking his marriage, prompting the Prime Minister to order its removal.

Victoria’s Labor Party was initially accused on Monday by Liberal Senator James Paterson of deploying “smear” tactics after posting a personal attack against Mr Dutton and his wife on its Facebook page.

The post shows a manipulated five-year-old newspaper headline stating “He is not a monster” above a photo of Mr Dutton and his wife, Kirilly.

The original headline from the Courier Mail in 2019 read: “My Pete’s no monster” and referred to Mrs Dutton’s defence of her husband as she revealed their family had been targeted with death threats.

The Victorian ALP site also adds the slogan: “Justifying dating your new partner to your friends who don’t like him.”

Mr Dutton tweeted his response on Monday evening, demanding the Prime Minister “respect my wife.”

“I can assure you the Liberal Party I lead will not be targeting Jodie Hayden. I respect and like Jodie but she is not an elected official and will not be the subject of humiliation, attack ads or public smear by the Liberal Party,” he said. “I would ask the PM to equally respect my wife.”

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said that when the social media post was drawn to his attention, he “demanded it be taken down. Families should be off limits.”

On Tuesday morning, Education Minister Jason Clare told reporters in Sydney that the post had been “stupid and it was wrong” and had rightly been removed.

“A family should be off-limits,” he said. “We’re on the ballot paper, not our partners, and that’s why, when the Prime Minister saw it, he demanded that it be ripped down and I’m glad it has,” he said.

The social media post follows two polls in the past week that reveal Labor is losing ground with voters across Victoria and NSW who are feeling the pinch of high interest rates and inflation on their household budgets.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson, a Liberal senator from Victoria, was first on Monday afternoon to hit out at the post as a low blow, urging the Prime Minister to tell the Labor party to remove the “grubby” meme.

“Labor has given up solving the cost of living crisis. All they have is nasty personal smears against Peter Dutton and his family,” tweeted Mr Paterson.

“We all know Labor’s plan for the election next year is negative personal attacks on Peter Dutton, this is just a preview,” he told The Australian.

“He [Mr Albanese] should order the Labor Party to take this grubby meme down immediately.”

The Nightly on Monday contacted the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Victorian ALP headquarters — which is understood to have responsibility for social media posts — for comment.

Jacinta Allan’s office appeared to distance the Victorian Premier from the post, saying it was a matter for the ALP Victoria Party.

Support is dipping for the ALP in Victoria, according to two surveys over the past week.

On Monday a poll by Resolve Strategic for the Sydney Morning Herald showed the Government’s primary votes dropped from 33 to 29 per cent in both NSW and Victoria since the last election with Victorian voters giving the Coalition its biggest boost in support since 2022 among the mainland states.

The trend in Victoria has raised the Coalition’s primary vote from 33 to 38 per cent, while NSW voters have increased their Coalition support from 37 to 38 per cent.

Last week, a survey by Newspoll published in the Australian showed that Labor remains vulnerable in the key battleground states among disillusioned 35-49-year-old voters who are struggling with higher mortgages.

The poll revealed the Coalition for the first time has drawn level with Labor in ­Victoria, with the federal two-party-preferred support now split 50-50.

The three-month total represents an almost 5 per cent swing against the Albanese government compared with the 2022 election result and Labor’s primary vote has fallen to a new low of 30 per cent in Victoria.