Jacinta Price has responded to media scrutiny of her off-the-cuff 4-word comment.
Indigenous MP Jacinta Price is standing by her comments to “make Australia great again” after she received strong criticism from media outlets for echoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s famous slogan.
The Coalition’s prospective minister for government efficiency and Indigenous affairs wrote an opinion article on April 17 in response to the criticism.
“A few days ago, I said that I wanted to see Australia returned to its former glory,” the Northern Territory senator wrote in The Australian newspaper.
“And what I meant by that was exactly what I said. That I want the damage to be reversed; that I want our country’s trajectory to begin to point true north again; that we might begin to see some semblance of restoration, redemption—dare I say it, greatness.
“The media pile-on that subsequently ensued is no secret to anyone. Now, I’ve received my fair share of criticism about my opinions before, so the relentless attacks weren’t all that upsetting.”
Price echoed the Coalition’s main political attack point saying she wanted to help Australians struggling with cost of living amid the “worst downfall in living standards in history.”
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She said basic necessities had increased by 10 percent in price, and mortgage holders were paying $50,000 extra on their homes due to rising interest rates.
The senator spoke out against division and ideological attacks.
“There are no winners – everyone suffers in a country like that. Because as the past week has shown, instead of focusing on the real issues, people are now so prone to the separatist mentality that we’re all too willing to distract ourselves with the pile-on without a second thought.”
‘Culture War’ Tactic Deployed in Federal Election
The current federal election has followed a similar trend to the October Queensland state election, where a “culture war” issue has been deployed as the main point of attack against the Liberal-National Coalition.
Queensland’s current Premier David Crisafulli was accused of “Americanising” state politics with claims he would ban abortions—the issue was inflamed by media and political opponents of Crisafulli.
At the federal level, comparisons have been drawn between Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and U.S. President Trump, in an attempt to leverage media-driven concerns about the state of the U.S. presidency.
Whether this tactic succeeds remains to be seen as political analysts have repeatedly called the federal contest a “material election”—where the biggest focus of voters is cost of living and putting food on the table, not ideology.
