Dutton’s Woolworths ban is pure political positioning – but who would be suckered in by it?

‘The broader matter of national identity and celebration of an independent and prosperous democracy is beyond the opposition leader [Peter Dutton].’ Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

The brutish opportunism of Peter Dutton’s call for a shopper ban on Woolworths over the marking of Australia Day will be costly for the opposition leader in the political marketplace.

It wasn’t a smart strategy to threaten a corporate giant over its legitimate business decision. Other corporate giants who have backed the Liberals in the past might see this as a worrying precedent for a possible Dutton government.