The Peter principle: how Dutton’s election campaign in Dickson went horribly wrong

The Labor candidate for Dickson, Ali France, walks past a Peter Dutton poster while campaigning at Bray Park during the federal election. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

When Anthony Albanese visited Dickson on the first day of the election campaign, Labor strategists were still not expecting to mount a serious challenge in the Brisbane commuter belt seat, held by Peter Dutton for 24 years.

“I think the logic was to start the campaign on the front foot, in enemy territory, rather than anyone thinking too much that we could win Dickson,” a Labor source says.