Peter Dutton has said welcome to country ceremonies are “overdone” and should be limited to major events such as the opening of parliament, stoking a culture war at the start of the final week of the election campaign.
At the final leaders’ debate of the campaign on Sunday night, the opposition leader and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, were pressed on their view of the ceremonies after a small group of people – including known neo-Nazis – booed them during the Anzac dawn service on Friday.
Dutton condemned the booing, saying Anzac Day was a “sacred day”.
But speaking more generally about welcome to country, Dutton said the ceremonies were “overdone”, arguing they were dividing the nation just as the voice to parliament did in 2023.
“For the opening of parliament, fair enough, it is respectful to do, but for the start of every meeting at work, or the start of a football game, I think other Australians think it is overdone and cheapens the significance of what it was meant to do,” Dutton said.
Albanese said it was up to individual organisations to decide whether to open their event with a welcome to country, but noted the ceremonies were a “matter of respect”.
Dutton and Albanese both supported Australia Day remaining on 26 January.
But after reaffirming his commitment not to stand in front of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at official press conferences, Dutton on Sunday said schools needed to stop teaching a version of Australia’s history that “says that our children should be ashamed of being Australian”.
“We have made mistakes in our history, no question about that, but we cannot live with that shame forever,” he said. “We need to accept that mistakes were made and need to make sure we celebrate our national day.”
The prime minister and the opposition leader squared-off for 60 minutes in the fourth and final leaders’ debate on Sunday night, held six days out from the 3 May poll.
A panel of 60 undecided voters assembled by 7News gave the debate convincingly to Albanese, with 50% voting for him, 25% for Dutton and 25% saying they were still undecided.
The two leaders criticised each other’s policies on easing cost-of-living pressure – arguably the single biggest issue of the campaign.
Dutton said Labor’s offerings – which includes a $5-per-week tax cut from mid-2026 – were a “Band-Aid on a bullet wound” after a collapse in living standards over the past two years.
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In response, Albanese highlighted the fact the Coalition’s major cost-of-living relief policies, including a 12-month halving of the fuel excise and income tax cut of up to $1,200, would “disappear in a year’s time”.
“We need permanent change that makes a real difference to the living standards of Australians,” Albanese said.
Dutton denied he had sought to distance himself from Donald Trump during the campaign, as Labor continues to draw parallels between the Coalition and the US president’s agenda.
Asked to describe Elon Musk, the head of Trump’s so-called department of government efficiency, Dutton said: “I think evil genius.”
In the opening pitches, Dutton said he was confident the public would “vote for change” despite polls suggesting the Coalition vote has collapsed, while Albanese said “in uncertain times we need certainty”.
“The opposition have chopped and changed. Australians deserve certainty. What we will deliver is just that,” Albanese said.
The 7News event rounded out the four leaders’ debates of the campaign.
Albanese was voted the winner of the first contest – a News Corp-hosted people’s forum – while Dutton was judged the winner of last week’s Channel Nine debate, scored by a panel of three of the network’s journalists.
The ABC did not have a winner in its format.
