2 weeks Ago By Kat Wong
The election campaign has been no walk in the park for the opposition leader. Login or signup to continue reading And Peter Dutton was met with mixed responses in his third street walk since the starter's gun fired on the May 3 election. Touring the annual Sikh Games at Bass Hill in western Sydney on Good Friday, the coalition leader was welcomed by community figures.
Punters joined the crowd in the hopes Mr Dutton would offer a handshake or a chat, with one yelling "I love him" from the sidelines of a hotly contested musical chairs event. But others were more cautious. One woman tried to ask him about his climate change policy and was quickly redirected, another older man yelled "idiot" before being shushed by his daughters.
A group of first-time voters told AAP they would not pick their local Liberal candidate due to the party's environment stance, and said they were looking for a strong independent. Fresh YouGov polling has shown the coalition is on track to record its lowest share of votes at a federal election since the party's inception. But the opposition leader still managed to earn a modest applause when he thanked the crowd.
"We have an amazing Indian community here in our country," Mr Dutton said. "It continues to grow with people who are aspirational, people who work hard, people who have a love for family and love for this great country." The street walk was part of Mr Dutton's broader effort to get acquainted with Australia's multicultural communities.
The opposition leader and his wife Kirilly were among 20,000 worshippers at the Monastery of Saint Charbel in western Sydney when they attended one of Australia's biggest Good Friday services. Nearby roads were blocked off to allow attendees safe passage, as cars with ichthys and rosary decals mounted lawn strips in search of a park. The area is home to a tight-knit Maronite community, many of whom have grown frustrated with the federal government over its responses to the conflict in Gaza.
But that doesn't mean their votes will flow over to the coalition. The church service and the Sikh Games took place in the safe Labor seat of Watson, held by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. While many surrounding corflutes bore his name, other households preferred to spruik independent candidate Ziad Basyouny or the Libertarian Party's Vanessa Hadchiti.
The monastery's bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay offered Mr Dutton an invitation to the service, even though he is not known to be a religious man. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his predecessor Scott Morrison both attended the same event at Saint Charbel during the 2019 election campaign. And on Friday, Mr Morrison made his second appearance of the campaign at the event alongside his wife Jenny.
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