Seemingly taking a leaf out of Donald Trump’s playbook on Wednesday the Home Affairs minister, Peter Dutton, described Labor Senator Kristina Keneally as ‘unhinged’ in an ABC interview.
It came after Keneally raised concerns about the Federal government’s role in the Ruby Princess cruise ship which was able to disembark passengers in Sydney on the 19th March and is now subject to an inquiry and a police investigation. So far the boat has been linked to 700 cases of coronavirus in Australia and at least 20 deaths.
When asked about Keneally’s remarks that there were ‘too many cooks’ in regard to border controls Dutton did not hold back.
“Kristina Keneally was a New South Wales premier – a failed premier, but a premier at one point,” Dutton told ABC host Patricia Karvelas on Wednesday. “She never saw fit to change any of these arrangements – they are long-standing arrangements. Kristina Keneally’s frankly unhinged attacks on the Border Force uniformed officers have been quite remarkable and regrettable.”
Rather than place any blame for the ship with Australian Border Force Dutton appears to argue that NSW Health is responsible.
“I think an individual or others have made a mistake here in New South Wales Health… and it has been well documented, it was a decision that relied on information from the ship. All that is under investigation at the moment.”
Senator Keneally was undeterred and doubled down on her criticism of the federal government on Thursday following a new report that the cruise ship is responsible for an outbreak of coronavirus in Tasmania.
While Donald Trump famously labelled Nancy Pelosi as ‘unhinged’ on Twitter, for having the audacity to hold him to account, Dutton and Keneally have their own history with the term. Keneally has previously described Dutton’s focus on her as “unhinged”.
This history is partly why ABC host Patricia Karvelas didn’t challenge Dutton’s language, a decision for which she has attracted considerable criticism on social media.
