Did Australian media weaken Dutton's appeal?

Throughout the election campaign, the Liberal Party and its leader oscillated between alignment with and distance from Donald Trump, which became a key narrative reinforcing voter distrust. But when Australian voters turned against the Liberal Party in the recent federal election, what role did media play in challenging Peter Dutton’s flirtation with right-wing Trumpian populism?

During the election campaign, our CMT team was actively discussing how the media responded to the influence of Trump-style tactics on Australian political electioneering. But we wanted to go beyond the headlines. So, we took a closer look and carried out a systematic analysis of media framing—focusing on coverage from the ABC, The Australian, and Sydney Morning Herald.

What we found was interesting: the media portrayed Dutton’s version of right-wing populism in a few key ways—as a political miscalculation or opportunistic move, as a threat, as a tool to stoke division, or simply as the product of incompetence.

Whilst the ABC News engaged in subtle criticism of the Trumpian tones in the Coalition’s election campaign, the Sydney Morning Herald outwardly rejected them, and The Australian downplayed Peter Dutton’s ‘risky’ manoeuvres taken from Trump’s populist playbook.

Four themes stood out in the media’s portrayal of Dutton in relation to Trump—a victim of an enemy media; a defender of the people against an elitist government; a figure engaged in a battle over national identity; and a champion of nationalism.

Dutton’s targeting of ABC’s funding and labelling of the ABC and The Guardian as 'hate media' prompted differing media viewpoints. The Australian supported Dutton’s claims against left-leaning media, describing the ABC as ‘boring’, ‘irrelevant’, and ideologically narrow. In contrast, the ABC and Sydney Morning Herald portrayed Dutton’s media attacks as strategically dangerous political miscalculations, quoting voices which drew parallels between Dutton, Trump, and Canada's Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre.

In response to the Coalition’s threats to slash public-sector jobs, all three media outlets exposed the consequences of populist simplification through anti-elitist rhetoric. They also scrutinised Dutton’s culture wars on school ‘indoctrination’ and the so-called ‘excessive’ Welcome to Country ceremonies. The Australian legitimised the Coalition’s policy as a justified correction to progressive overreach, the ABC interpreted Dutton’s campaign shift from cost of living to culture wars as a strategic move to generate political traction, whilst the Sydney Morning Herald strongly opposed the culture wars as rooted in a fear-mongering anachronism.

When the Coalition minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price vowed to 'make Australia great again' and accused media of being 'Trump-obsessed', all three news outlets avoided an overt interrogation of Trumpian populism while letting the associations speak for themselves, presenting Price’s rhetoric as a strategic asset as well as a liability for the Liberals.

As Trump’s tariffs shifted Australian attitudes towards the US, the reception of Trump-style tactics evolved in real-time, forcing politicians to adapt their messaging accordingly.

While Dutton’s version of right-wing populism was more controlled than anger-based, Australian media, though varied in tone, largely framed it as a divisive political miscalculation, a threat, and a crisis of competence.

Openly criticising Trump’s danger to Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald cast Dutton as an architect of his own failure both during and after the election. The Australian mainly supported Dutton’s anti-elite sentiments and culture wars. Initially measured in drawing parallels between Dutton and Trump, the news outlet became more direct closer to election day, framing Dutton as a leader losing grip on his narrative and alienating both staunch ideologues and those in the political centre. The ABC, though critical, neutralised Trumpian narratives; without directly condemning right-wing populism or casting Trump as a threat to Australia, the news outlet demonstrated how Dutton’s mimicry and ambivalence undermined his credibility.

Some populist themes—like cost-of-living or anti-elitism—can work if localised carefully, but fully fledged and overt Trumpian associations proved unpopular in the Australian context.  While Dutton’s loss resulted from a self-sabotaging campaign lacking policy depth and coherence, by delegitimising Trumpian tactics as culturally misaligned, Australian media helped stall Dutton’s political momentum.

References:

(Paywall) Bita, N and Yim, N. (2025, April 1). Coalition declares war on “woke” teaching. The Australian. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/education/coalition-pledges-to-weed-out-activism-in-universities/news-story/96e09a602148fc82788eb3888ba19a43 

(Paywall) Chambers, G. Election 2025: “Fewer ceremonies”: social battle hits the forefront of poll race. The Australian. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/election-2025-fewer-ceremonies-social-battle-hits-the-forefront-of-poll-race/news-story/7e0ce64bc1ce3c376d20811da5c5615c

Crowe, D. (2025, April 2). Albanese slips up but Dutton picks the wrong fight. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-slips-up-but-dutton-picks-the-wrong-fight-20250402-p5lokw.html

Crowe, D. (2025, April 14). We thought Trump was dragging down Peter Dutton. Now we know why. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-thought-trump-was-dragging-down-peter-dutton-now-we-know-why-20250414-p5lrox.html

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Dick, S. (2025, April 2). Dutton flags cuts to “wasteful” spending on education, health and ABC. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-02/dutton-flags-cuts-to-education-health-spending-election-2025/105125764

(Paywall) Gersh, J. Biased or just boring? ABC slips further into irrelevance. The Australian. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/the-abcs-fatal-flaw-irrelevance/news-story/c6ad351fc83f34b2cf36c8d5a37b304f 

Gould, C., Lowrey, T., Roe, I., Steedman, E., & Rawling, C. (2025, April 2). Federal election 2025: PM calls for tariff “perspective”, Dutton accuses Albanese of “politicising” wage rise fight — as it happened. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-02/federal-election-2025-live-campaign-trail-wednesday-april-2-blog/105124752

Ireland, O and Crowe, D. (2025, April 27). Peter Dutton brands ABC and The Guardian “hate media”. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/peter-dutton-brands-the-abc-and-guardian-hate-media-20250427-p5luj4.html

Orchard, S. (2025, April 9). The problem with going after “woke” diversity? It’s actually good for us. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/the-problem-with-going-after-woke-diversity-it-s-actually-good-for-us-20250224-p5lepc.html?dicbo=v2-1EdkKVV

Truu, M. (2025, April 13). Jacinta Nampijinpa Price vows to “make Australia great again”, accuses media of being “Trump obsessed”. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-12/jacinta-nampijinpa-price-trump-make-australia-great-again/105169348

Whittaker, J. (2025, April 26). US independence day? Poll shows Australians’ radical shift over Trump, economy. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-27/yougov-poll-united-states-alliance-donald-trump-relationship/105210660