Peter Dutton will live in the emerald city instead of Australia’s coldest capital if he wins the election.
Choosing a main residence is one of the first decisions a prime minister is asked to make after winning government.
They can choose to live at The Lodge, a Georgian revival-style manor located in Canberra’s leafy southern suburbs, or Kirribilli House, a gothic-style mansion with gun barrel views of Sydney’s gleaming harbour from its wealthy lower north.
For the opposition leader the answer is a no brainer.
“If you’ve got a choice between Kirribilli or living in Canberra and The Lodge, I think you’d take Sydney any day over Canberra,” he told the Kyle and Jackie O show on Monday.
“We love Sydney, love the harbour.
“It’s a great city.”
A prime minister’s main residence has long been viewed as a reflection of their priorities.
ACT Labor Senator Katy Gallagher has whacked Dutton over his comments.
“It’s no surprise to me that Peter Dutton is arrogantly measuring the curtains at Kirribilli House whilst he continues to kick Canberra,” she said in a statement.
“We know he has no respect for our hometown – he openly brags about attacking our city by sacking 41,000 Canberra workers, impacting every single family in the ACT.
“This arrogant attitude is in stark contrast to Prime Minister Albanese who proudly lives in Canberra and respects the Nation’s Capital.”
Although Kirribilli House is traditionally considered the secondary official residence of the prime minister, previous Liberal prime ministers John Howard, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison used the house as such.
The opposition leader’s choice appears to mirror the coalition’s disdain for the Canberra-based public service, which the party has committed to slashing the sector by as many as 41,000 jobs.
Upon his election in 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed he would live at The Lodge full-time as he felt it was important to spend as much time in Canberra as possible.
Meanwhile, Mr Dutton has been warned to keep Sydney’s multicultural communities at the heart of his campaign.
While the coalition has attacked Labor over the level of post-COVID-19 pandemic immigration, it plans to cut 25 per cent of Australia’s permanent intake.
Politicians needed to be in touch with all of Australia, former NSW Liberal premier turned Australian ambassador to India Barry O’Farrell said.
“This is heartland modern Australia and you’ve just got to look around to see different nationalities,” he told AAP at an Assyrian New Year festival in Western Sydney.
“If you ignore multicultural communities, if you don’t show an interest in them as you do with everyone else in Australia, you are not going to win.”
Mr Dutton leaned on his record as immigration minister – when he committed to resettle an additional 12,000 people displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq – to spruik his credentials at an Assyrian festival on Sunday.
The move was welcomed by the community and he was relatively well-received at the event, with Assyrian National Council president Hermiz Shahen thankful of Mr Dutton’s support.
The opposition leader then announced he would give the Al Madinah Mosque in Leppington $25,000 for CCTV and security upgrades so people could practice their faith in peace.
Asked whether Mr Dutton’s rhetoric on migration would harm the coalition in multicultural communities, Mr O’Farrell said “his rescuing of a number of ethnic groups at times of conflict just demonstrates that doesn’t matter what party you are”.
“We embrace multiculturalism,” he said.
Mr Dutton has committed to revealing what migration programs will be cut under his policy before voters hit the polls.
