Batter to boat-rocker … and neither Khawaja nor Dutton will back down

2 days ago 2

Stand by, sports fans, and governmental observers. It’s each happening.

Last period erstwhile the ABC’s Laura Tingle, in quiescent conversation astatine the Sydney Writers Festival, opined that Australia is “a racist country” and accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s announced plans to chopped migration arsenic “so overmuch canine whistling ... it doesn’t marque rational sense”, each hellhole broke loose.

Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has criticised Opposition Leader Peter Dutton implicit remarks helium made successful notation to Fatima Payman’s resignation from the Labor Party.

Despite the information La Tingle enjoyed tremendous enactment for her views, the cardinal premise of her critics was that arsenic a publically funded writer she had to stay ruthlessly neutral successful her nationalist stances. The ABC advised that she had been “counselled her implicit the remarks”, portion Dutton thundered that Tingle had “outed herself present arsenic idiosyncratic who is simply a partisan, she’s a Greens/Labor supporter. I mean, she’s conscionable present wholly destroyed her credibility.”

But, what now?

Usman Khawaja, the antheral who is apt Australia’s astir fashionable and admired cricketer – with lone Pat Cummins to reason the flip – has gone a full batch further than Tingle did and his remarks connected Dutton volition make each spot arsenic overmuch of a storm.

The inheritance is that astatine a property league connected Thursday morning, Dutton made notation to Labor Senator Fatima Payman – who astatine the clip was suspended for having crossed the level to enactment a Greens question recognising a Palestinian state. (She has since resigned from the Labor Party.)

“I deliberation what it does demonstrate” Dutton said, “is that the premier minister, if he’s successful a number authorities successful the adjacent word of parliament, it volition see the Greens, it volition see the greenish Teals, it volition see Muslim candidates from Western Sydney. It volition beryllium a disaster. If you deliberation the Albanese authorities is atrocious now, hold for it to beryllium a number authorities with the Greens, the greenish Teals and Muslim independents.”

In response, Khawaja – a cheery, softly spoken antheral by nature, of mostly mean views, and the archetypal Muslim to play for Australia successful a Test lucifer – reached for the agelong handle.

“As a Muslim who grew up successful Western Sydney I find this remark from idiosyncratic who is moving for PM an implicit disgrace,” Khawaja said connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter. “Bigotry astatine its finest. Fueling Islamophobia from the precise top.”

True, Khawaja did not usage the connection “racist”, arsenic Tingle did, but the purport is precisely the same, erstwhile the accusation of “bigotry” is combined with that of “Islamophobia”. For an Australian cricketer of Khawaja’s repute and respect to impeach an alternate premier curate of thing truthful sedate arsenic racism, is simply without precedent.

Bear successful caput that when, past December, Khawaja wished to constitute thing truthful mild connected his cricket boots arsenic “All lives are equal” and “Freedom is simply a quality right” astatine a Test lucifer against Pakistan – successful presumed notation to the agony of Gaza – helium was hauled into enactment by the International Cricket Council and Cricket Australia. While some cricket bodies bash person ineligible rights implicit what helium displays connected his uniform, Khawaja is nether nary ceremonial oregon ineligible work to curtail his nationalist remarks astatine all.

As an Australian successful a escaped country, helium whitethorn accidental what helium damn good pleases this broadside of the defamation laws. But the convention is surely highly beardown that celebrated cricketers bash not marque heavyweight comments connected governmental matters. As a breed, Australian cricketers are mostly connected the blimpish broadside of things. They are batters and bowlers not boat-rockers, and their spot successful nationalist beingness is truthful exalted that John Howard erstwhile said that arsenic premier curate helium occupied lone “the 2nd astir important occupation successful Australia” aft Australian cricket captain.

That normal has been shattered.

Where to from here? Therein lies the interest.

Khawaja volition not backmost down oregon locomotion backmost his remarks. They’re un-walkable. And that tweet has the aerial of a antheral who has had a gutful and has said what helium thinks needs to beryllium said.

So volition Dutton backmost down? He evidently cannot hold that Khawaja has got it right. But it is besides hard to locomotion backmost those remarks that look to equate to having Muslim independents representing your electorate successful occidental Sydney arsenic a precise atrocious thing.

So Dutton will, presumably, basal by his remarks – unless helium says his contented is lone the horrors of an Albanese number government, not Muslim representatives per se. But that volition beryllium hard to support erstwhile Muslim representatives are mentioned successful the aforesaid scathing enactment arsenic Teals and Greens, astir whom helium is ever truthful pejorative.

Could this past be, perhaps, precisely the benignant of contention that helium wants? Is it a Trumpian play, whereby you accidental a seemingly outrageous thing, and reap the rewards of radical who softly deliberation precisely the aforesaid thing? Politically, the unusual happening is that conscionable erstwhile it looked similar the Prime Minister was astatine hazard of losing a batch of Islamic votes implicit the suspension of Payman, Dutton’s determination seems ill-timed to prime immoderate disaffected Islamic voters up.

We volition cognize much implicit the adjacent fewer days.

But we are moving into territory that Australia has ne'er been successful before.

And it truly is each happening. Just not successful a bully way.

Get a play wrapper of views that volition challenge, champion and pass your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.