PM Orders Removal of Meme Mocking Opposition Leader and Spouse

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and wife Kirilly Dutton arrive at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 21, 2018. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ordered the removal of a meme mocking Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and his wife on social media.

On Dec. 30, the Victorian branch of Labor posted a meme on its social media accounts, which featured a photo of the couple and a quote from the wife, Kirilly Dutton, who said of her husband, “He is not a monster.”

The photo was retrieved from a 2019 Courier-Mail article, in which Kirilly Dutton defended her husband as he faced death threats while holding the Home Affairs minister position.

The meme also contained lines which read, “We all know that one couple,” and, “Justifying dating your new partner to your friends who don’t like him.”

Following the post, Peter Dutton took to social media to express his dissatisfaction, saying his party would never attack the prime minister’s fiancée, Jodie Hayden, and called on the federal Labor leadership to do the same.

“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 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I would ask the PM to equally respect my wife.”

The meme was removed around an hour after it was posted.

A spokesperson for Albanese said after the prime minister became aware of the meme, he ordered it to be taken down.

“Families should be off limits,” the spokesperson said.

Responses from Different Parties

After the incident, Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said the meme was a desperate action ahead of the next federal election.

“This cowardly attack on a politician’s wife reveals more about the Labor Party than it does about Peter Dutton, his family, or the Opposition,” he told Sky News.

“The Labor Party clearly has nothing to tell the Australian people in 2025, just as they have no solutions in 2024.

Liberal MP Michael Sukkar also criticised the Victorian Labor Party.

“Labor has trashed the Victorian economy and made life hard for everyday Victorians, so it’s obvious they can’t stand on their record,” he said on social media.

“All they can do is desperately try to distract from their criminal incompetence.”

Meanwhile, Victorian Labor Party Secretary Steve Staikos said the meme was not a “personal attack.”

“It’s supposed to be a comedic meme,” he said.

However, Education Minister Jason Clare appeared to disagree with Staikos.

In a press conference on Dec. 31, Clare said the post was “stupid and wrong” and that he was glad that it was taken down.

“A family should be off-limits. We’re on the ballot paper, not our partners,” he said.