The Labor Party has come under fire after posting a meme online referencing Peter Dutton’s wife.
A post shared by Victorian Labor on Monday featured the Opposition leader and his wife Kirilly from a 2019 newspaper front page with the headline ‘He is not a monster’.
The brutal post was captioned: ‘Justifying dating your new partner to your friends who don’t like him.’
‘We all know that one couple’.
The post remained online for hours and attracted a flood of angry comments before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese demanded it be deleted on Monday night.
‘The prime minister demanded it be taken down. Families should be off limits,’ a spokesperson told Nine Newspapers.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr Dutton and Victorian Labor Premier Jacinta Allan for comment.
But Victorian state secretary Steve Staikos insisted the post was ‘not a personal attack at all’.
Victorian Labor has come under fire over a post mocking Peter Dutton and wife Kirilly
Anthony Albanese ordered Victorian Labor to take down the meme hours after it was posted
‘It’s supposed to be a comedic meme,’ he told NewsCorp.
‘It was posted as a bit of commentary, like a lot of memes are by all political parties.’
Mr Albanese intervened after his rival referenced the Prime Minister’s fiancée in response to the post.
‘I can assure you the Liberal Party I lead will not be targeting Jodie Haydon,’ Mr Dutton wrote on X.
‘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.
‘I would ask the PM to equally respect my wife.’
The meme sparked outrage from senior Liberal politicians, who accused Victorian Labor from trying to distract from its political troubles.
‘Labor have trashed the Victorian economy and made life hard for everyday Victorians, so it’s obvious they can’t stand on their record,’ shadow housing minister Michael Sukkar told Sky News.
‘All they can do is desperately try to distract from their criminal incompetence by smearing their political opponents and anyone else who stands in their way.’
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson added: ‘We all know Labor’s plan for the election next year is negative personal attacks on Peter Dutton, this is just a preview.’
Victoria Labor took the image from a rare newspaper interview with Mr Dutton’s wife, initially titled ‘My Pete’s no Monster’.
Kirilly Dutton had said her family received threats and ‘perverted materials’ in an interview in 2019
In the 2019 interview, Kirilly Dutton, who usually prefers to remain out of the public spotlight, revealed her family had been the subject of death threats and abuse.
She said ‘demented and perverted’ material had been sent to their home, claiming her family had received death threats and abuse.
‘He is a really good man. He is a really good father and he’s not a monster,’ Ms Dutton told The Sunday Mail at the time.
It’s not the first time Labor has come under fire for mocking Mr Dutton.
In 2022, federal minister Tanya Plibersek was forced to apologise to the opposition leader for comparing him to a children’s book villain.
Ms Plibersek said he looked ‘a bit like Voldemort’ in a radio interview.
She later admitted her comments were a mistake.
The meme comes as the latest data from Newspoll had the party on level pegging with the Coalition in the state on a two party preferred basis.
It marked a five per cent swing against Victorian Labor since the election in 2022, with many Victorians concerned over the government’s growing levels of debt.
Federally, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s satisfaction rating has also slipped.
His approval rating nationwide has fallen from 46 per cent in the April to June quarter to a current low of 41 per cent.
His approval rating in Victoria has slipped to minus 12, the same as Mr Dutton’s.
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